Senior Manager: Stakeholder Relations

absa

Johannesburg

On-site

ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Job summary

Absa, a leading African bank, seeks a senior stakeholder engagement professional to drive the Group's relations strategy in Johannesburg. You will cultivate trusted government, industry, and civil-society partnerships to advance executive positioning and business objectives.

You will advise on policy developments, manage reputational risk, and lead cross-functional programmes with governance and risk oversight. The role requires strategic thinking and senior collaboration.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies or related field.
Experience in stakeholder relations or public relations preferred.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

Translate strategy into functional priorities and measurable outcomes.
Provide senior-level support for stakeholder relations and industry engagement.
Monitor developments to identify risks, opportunities and positioning.
Coordinate reputation-enhancing initiatives and thought-leadership platforms.
Deliver updates to executive management on stakeholder progress, risks and decisions.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Advanced communication

Planning & process

Governance & risk

Commercial awareness

Leadership & collaboration

Delivery focus

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications/related field

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

As a senior member of the Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Relations function, the role enables the execution of the Group's stakeholder strategy through the cultivation of trusted relationships, delivery of integrated engagement programmes and advancement of executive and corporate positioning priorities.

The role provides strategic advisory support across key stakeholder constituencies, including government, public institutions, business and industry associations, civil society and multilateral organisations. It identifies and responds to emerging stakeholder issues, policy developments and reputational risks, translating insights into actionable engagement strategies that support business objectives.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities:

Strategic Delivery and Business Enablement:

Translate the Group Corporate and Stakeholder Relations strategy into clear functional priorities, delivery plans and measurable outcomes aligned to Group Marketing and Corporate Affairs objectives.
Provide senior-level business management support to enable effective delivery of stakeholder relations, industry engagement and public-institution priorities.
Monitor socio-economic, industry and stakeholder developments to identify risks, opportunities and positioning platforms that support Absa's strategic agenda.
Coordinate reputation-enhancing initiatives, thought-leadership platforms and issues-management responses that support Absa's standing with key stakeholder groups.
Strengthen Absa's voice and influence in relevant business, professional and industry forums through structured engagement, insight and execution support.

Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship Management:

Build and maintain effective relationships across internal and external stakeholder groups to support coordinated engagement, early issue identification and proactive reputation management.
Influence and guide internal stakeholders on engagement approaches, reputational considerations and appropriate escalation pathways.
Represent the function in planning, governance and delivery forums, ensuring functional priorities are accurately reflected and progressed.
Ensure stakeholder concerns, requests and deliverables are managed through to closure, with clear ownership, quality assurance and fit-for-purpose outputs.
Agree service expectations, deliverables and ways of working with key partners to enable consistent and reliable execution.
Provide timely updates to executive management on stakeholder developments, delivery progress, risks and matters requiring decision or escalation.

Planning, Process Management and Performance Delivery:

Own and manage annual, monthly and ad hoc planning cycles for the function, ensuring priorities, milestones and dependencies are clearly defined and tracked.
Lead multiple initiatives concurrently, applying structured planning, prioritisation and execution disciplines to deliver within agreed timelines and quality standards.
Design, implement and continuously improve processes that support effective delivery of GMCA initiatives and enable cross-functional collaboration.
Coordinate resource planning, capability requirements and operational support to ensure the function is appropriately enabled to meet business expectations.

Governance, Risk and Control Management:

Provide oversight of governance, risk and control activities across the functional area, including the monitoring and resolution of open audit, risk and control items.
Ensure decisions, initiatives and operating practices are aligned to Absa strategy, business plans, policies and documented governance requirements.
Agree, track and close corrective actions within the Governance process with accountable stakeholders, ensuring clear ownership, evidence and sustainable remediation.
Promote compliance awareness within the function and obtain guidance from Compliance where responsibilities, obligations or interpretation require clarification.
Maintain an effective operating rhythm, governance discipline and decision-support framework to enable consistent execution and accountability.

Competencies: