Senior Manager: Business Process Optimization

Absa Group; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 000 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading banking institution in Johannesburg is seeking a Senior Manager: Business Process Optimisation to enhance service delivery and value creation through automation and digitization. The role demands strong stakeholder engagement, operational oversight, and the ability to lead teams in a fast-paced environment. Candidates should have a Bachelor's degree and experience in process design and management. The role offers an exciting opportunity to drive efficiency and innovation within a growing team.

Qualifications

• 5-12 years of experience in a relevant area, including 3 years in people management.
• Exposure to process design, optimisation, and data-driven decision-making is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive growth through collaboration and innovation.
• Translate strategic objectives into operational plans with clear deliverables.
• Use customer insights to inform service design and delivery improvements.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and lead change initiatives.

Skills

Strong commercialisation skills

Digital affinity

Operational planning

Process optimisation

Customer experience management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or Post Graduate Certificate

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

The Senior Manager: Business Process Optimisation is a critical value enablement role reporting to the Executive: Operational Excellence. This role is accountable for the design, coordination, and delivery of process optimisation solutions that enable performance and value creation. The incumbent applies deep Business Process Management expertise and business insight to shape and implement tactical plans, optimise service delivery, and ensure alignment with strategic objectives. The role requires strong stakeholder engagement, operational oversight, and the ability to lead teams or practices through change and continuous improvement. Additionally, the role demands driving business ownership of results and embedding change at the organisational level.

Job Description

As a Senior Manager in the Absa Business Banking Operational Delivery Excellence, you will excel in commercializing and monetizing strategies with a strong financial acumen. Your ability to leverage digital tools and technology to automate processes and generate commercial value will be paramount. With a focus on efficiency driven by automation, digitization, and cost optimisation, you will consistently create demonstrated value for our clients.

Key Focus Areas

• We are shaping the future by turning bold strategies into actionable plans that deliver measurable impact.
• Our commitment to customer primacy ensures every solution is informed by insight and designed to create exceptional experiences.
• We drive sustainable growth through disciplined performance and smart investment decisions that unlock long‑term value.
• Innovation is at the heart of what we do—leading change, embracing new technologies, and fostering continuous improvement.
• We believe in the power of people, building inclusive, high‑performing teams and developing leaders for tomorrow.
• Operational excellence is our standard, optimizing processes and ensuring seamless delivery that exceeds expectations.
• Digital transformation fuels our progress, embedding automation and innovation to redefine how we work and serve.
• Integrity guides us as we uphold governance, manage risk, and ensure compliance with unwavering diligence.
• Data is our advantage—transforming insights into smarter decisions and creating value at every opportunity.
• Through strong stakeholder partnerships, we align priorities, communicate transparently, and deliver outcomes that matter.

Accountabilities

Strategy Formulation and Execution

• Drives growth through goal‑oriented collaboration, strong relationships, and innovative approaches.
• Demonstrates ownership of decisions, actions, and outcomes, consistently upholding high standards.
• Translates strategic objectives into operational plans with clear deliverables, timelines, and performance measures.
• Aligns team or practice area priorities with business goals, ensuring tactical execution supports broader strategic outcomes.
• Monitors progress, identifies risks, and implements corrective actions to ensure delivery.

Customer Primacy

• Uses customer insights to inform service design and delivery improvements.
• Champions initiatives that enhance customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty.
• Collaborates across teams to ensure consistent and differentiated customer journeys.

Sustainable Growth

• Advances efficiency through automation, digitisation, and digitalisation to optimise costs.
• Contributes to the development and execution of growth plans aligned with business unit priorities.
• Drives performance accountability within the team or practice area.
• Supports investment decisions through analysis of operational impact and value creation.

Client‑Driven Innovation and Change

• Identifies opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement.
• Leads change initiatives, ensuring readiness, engagement, and adoption.
• Supports implementation of new technologies, processes, and practices.
• Applies Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen principles to drive structured process improvement initiatives.
• Leads root cause analysis and implements corrective actions for process failures.
• Implements change readiness assessments and structured adoption plans for new processes and technologies.
• Drives stakeholder engagement to ensure successful implementation and sustainability of changes.

Leading Talent

• Champions talent development, inclusion, and fosters a culture of continuous learning.
• Develops team or practice capabilities to meet current and future business needs.
• Fosters a culture of performance, inclusion, and continuous learning.
• Manages performance, development, and succession planning.

Operational Effectiveness

• Translates business priorities into operational plans with defined KPIs and scorecards.
• Optimises processes for efficiency, quality, and alignment with customer needs.
• Resolves operational issues and ensures continuity of delivery.
• Establishes and maintains process architecture standards (e.g., BPMN) to ensure consistency and scalability across the organisation.
• Defines and governs process ownership frameworks to embed accountability for end‑to‑end processes.
• Develops and monitors process KPIs and scorecards to measure efficiency, turnaround times, and customer impact.
• Builds dashboards and reporting frameworks for real‑time visibility of process performance.
• Develops capacity planning frameworks to optimise resource allocation and support process efficiency.
• Aligns workforce planning with process redesign to ensure sustainable delivery.

Digital Adoption

• Promotes the use of digital tools and platforms to enhance service delivery and operational efficiency.
• Identifies opportunities for automation and digitisation.
• Supports digital transformation initiatives and ensures effective adoption.
• Partners with technology teams to integrate automation, workflow tools, and digital platforms into redesigned processes.
• Champions intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA) initiatives.

Good Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Implements governance, risk, and compliance frameworks within operational routines.
• Promotes risk‑aware decision‑making and ensures adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Monitors and manages operational risks, ensuring timely resolution and reporting.
• Embeds regulatory compliance requirements into process design and optimisation frameworks.
• Ensures all process changes meet audit and control standards.

Data Monetisation

• Uses data and analytics to inform decisions, improve performance, and identify opportunities.
• Ensures data quality and relevance for reporting, insights, and operational planning.
• Applies performance insights to drive continuous improvement and value creation.
• Uses process analytics and operational data to identify bottlenecks and improvement opportunities.
• Conducts trend analysis and predictive modelling to inform process optimisation strategies.

Stakeholder Management

• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Aligns delivery with stakeholder expectations and business priorities.
• Communicates progress, risks, and outcomes effectively.

Qualifications and Experience

• Education/Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Diplomas, Post Graduate Certificate, or B Tech [NQF7].
• Field of Study: Business, Commerce and Management Studies.
• Work Experience: 5-12 years experience in a specific capability important to the bank, including a track record of 3 years in a people‑management position.
• Exposure to process design, optimisation, quality management, customer centricity, technology and data‑driven decision‑making is preferred.

Competencies

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Thinking
• Business Acumen
• Communication
• Influence
• Leadership
• Delivering Results
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Decision‑Making

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong commercialisation and monetisation skills with an affinity for finance.
• Digital affinity and dexterity that leverages technology to automate and create commercial value.
• Mindset of efficiency driven by automation, digitization, and cost optimisation to create client value.
• Operational planning and execution.
• Process optimisation and service design.
• Customer experience management.
• Performance measurement and reporting.
• Governance and compliance.
• Digital tools and platforms.
• Data analysis and insight generation.
• Team leadership and development.

Education Bachelor’s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised.