Senior Manager : Customer Care

Absa Group; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 700 000 - 900 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading South African banking institution seeks a lead specialist for managing escalated complaints and interpreting customer experience feedback. The role requires a minimum of 8 years' experience in customer care and a strong understanding of regulatory compliance. You will work closely with various teams to ensure customer satisfaction and drive strategic insights into customer needs. This position is crucial for enhancing customer experiences and requires strong analytical skills and stakeholder engagement.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years' experience in customer care, experience handling complaints.
• Deep understanding of PPB products and regulatory landscape.
• Proven ability to engage with regulatory bodies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the investigation of high-risk complaints.
• Interpret customer experience metrics to identify service gaps.
• Represent Customer Care at governance forums.

Skills

Customer experience management

Complaint resolution

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business, Banking, Legal, or related field

Honours or Postgraduate qualification in Customer Experience, Compliance, or Business Strategy

Regulatory and customer service certifications (e.g., FAIS, Compliance)

Job description

Job Summary

To act as the lead specialist for managing escalated complaints and interpreting customer experience feedback across the Personal and Private Banking (PPB) portfolio in South Africa.

This role is pivotal in ensuring resolution of complex and regulatory complaints, surfacing customer insights through Voice of Customer (VoC), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Customer Experience (CX) metrics, and representing Customer Care at strategic forums such as MANCO.

The position supports Absa's commitment to Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and continuously enhancing customer journeys across channels and products.

Key Accountabilities

Complex Complaint Handling & Resolution (35%) – Lead the investigation and resolution of high-risk, escalated, or regulator-referred complaints (e.g. Ombudsman, FSCA) within PPB South Africa. Ensure customer outcomes align with internal policy, Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), and regulatory expectations (FAIS, NCA). Partner with Legal, Compliance, Product, and frontline teams to close complaint loops and prevent recurrence. Track and report complaint themes and root causes to senior leadership. To ensure that we consistently meet and exceed client expectations, there will be occasions when after-hours work or tasks is required.

Customer Experience Metrics & Insight (30%) – Interpret VoC, NPS, CES and other CX data across PPB products and channels to surface pain points and service gaps. Translate qualitative and quantitative feedback into business actions and service improvement opportunities. Collaborate with CX analytics teams to develop dashboards and insight reports tailored for business use. Support strategic planning with customer-centric recommendations based on feedback analysis.

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement (20%) – Represent Customer Care at governance forums such as PPB MANCO, CX SteerCos, Risk Committees and operational review meetings. Influence product, process, and service teams by presenting clear customer insights and complaint trends. Support the embedding of the "Customer First" mindset within the PPB business by advocating for systemic improvements. Engage with business leaders on customer trends, reputational risks, and service recovery plans.

Risk, Governance & Regulatory Compliance (15%) – Ensure all complaint-handling practices adhere to South African legislation (FAIS, NCA, POPIA, TCF) and Absa's internal policies. Prepare documentation and responses for internal audits, regulator enquiries, and risk forums. Maintain detailed records and analysis of high-impact cases, trends, and resolution outcomes.

Education & Qualifications

Minimum : Bachelor's Degree in Business, Banking, Legal, or related field

Preferred : Honours or Postgraduate qualification in Customer Experience, Compliance, or Business Strategy

Certifications : Regulatory and customer service certifications (e.g., FAIS, Compliance) beneficial

Experience Required

Minimum of 8 years' experience in customer care, customer experience, or complaint handling within the South African banking sector. Deep understanding of PPB products and regulatory landscape (e.g. home loans, investments, transactional banking, etc.). Proven ability to resolve high-risk, complex complaints and engage with regulatory bodies (e.g. Ombudsman, FSCA). Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Compliance, Risk, and frontline teams. Prior exposure to senior governance forums (e.g. MANCO, ExCo, Audit Committee).

Education

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

Equal Opportunity

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of

• 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.

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