Senior Specialist: Regulatory Compliance

Requisition Details and Talent Acquisition Contact

REQ ID: 148011 - Michelle Thabethe

Cluster: Group Compliance - REGULATORY ADVOCACY AND POLICY

Location: Sandton

Closing date: 12 October 2026

Job Family

Governance And Compliance

Career Stream

Compliance

Leadership Pipeline

Role Purpose

The Senior Specialist: Regulatory Compliance provides expert regulatory policy leadership and advocacy within the compliance function, supporting the organisation’s engagement with regulators, industry bodies and policymakers, interpreting regulatory intent, shaping policy positions, influencing regulatory outcomes through structured lobbying and advocacy, and ensuring that external regulatory developments are translated into defensible internal positions and compliance frameworks.

The incumbent acts as a thought leader on regulatory reform, contributes to industry submissions, coordinates regulatory input, and supports senior stakeholder engagement on complex or emerging regulatory matters. within the compliance function and exercises independent regulatory judgement. The role provides structured advisory support, at times, compliance risk assessments, and supports regulatory inspections and supervisory engagements (as required). Through disciplined regulatory interpretation, structured risk evaluation and proactive stakeholder influence, the Senior Specialist protects the organisation from regulatory breaches, enforcement action, financial penalties and reputational harm. 

Accountabilities

Regulatory Interpretation and Advisory

• The Senior Specialist will lead or support analyses of proposed legislation, draft standards, consultation papers and policy reforms and interprets complex financial sector legislation to assess strategic, prudential, conduct and market‑wide i to determine their applicability and impact.
• Coordinates internal stakeholder input (business, legal, risk, strategy) into cohesive and institutionally aligned regulatory positions.
• Develops formal regulatory policy positions, advocacy submissions and industry responses (directly or through industry bodies).
• Supports senior executives in regulatory engagement strategy, including briefing notes, talking points and policy options
• The role prepares formal, well-reasoned and documented regulatory opinions that clearly articulate regulatory intent, risk exposure and where required, recommend control measures.
• The Senior Specialist participates in product approval forums, governance committees and strategic initiatives to assess regulatory implications before implementation.
• The incumbent evaluates regulatory implications arising from new products, digital innovation, structural changes and client propositions to ensure regulatory risks are identified early and mitigated effectively.
• The role escalates material regulatory exposures and ensures that advisory positions are legally defensible and aligned with regulatory expectations.
• The Senior Specialist maintains independence of judgement and demonstrates the ability to defend regulatory interpretations under internal or supervisory scrutiny. 

Regulatory Horizon Scanning and Change Management

• The Senior Specialist proactively monitors international and local regulatory developments, industry publications and supervisory trends to identify emerging regulatory changes.
• The incumbent may conduct structured regulatory impact assessments to evaluate how legislative or supervisory changes affect products, processes, governance frameworks and control environments.
• The role defines regulatory obligations arising from new regulatory requirements and maps and allocates these to impacted business units, for comment and / or impact
• Identifies opportunities for proactive engagement or advocacy in response to emerging regulatory themes.
• Differentiates between mandatory compliance requirements and areas subject to supervisory discretion or policy debate.
• Escalates matters requiring early regulatory engagement or industry alignment, rather than post‑publication compliance only. 

Compliance Risk Assessment and Control Evaluation

• The Senior Specialist leads or independently challenges compliance risk assessments within assigned portfolios.
• The incumbent identifies inherent regulatory risks associated with operational processes, client segments and product structures.
• The Senior Specialist may assist in determining whether control measures adequately address regulatory intent rather than simply meeting procedural requirements and provides structured recommendations to strengthen control environments in alignment with defined risk appetite and governance standards.
• The incumbent challenges inaccurate risk ratings and identifies systemic weaknesses or recurring breakdown patterns. 

Accountabilities Continued

Incident, Breach and Escalation Oversight

• The Senior Specialist supports investigation of regulatory incidents, breaches and material compliance failures.
• The incumbent assesses materiality against regulatory reporting thresholds and internal escalation frameworks.
• The role determines whether incidents trigger formal regulatory notification requirements.
• The Senior Specialist contributes to preparation of regulatory notifications and supervisory responses where required.
• The incumbent evaluates adequacy and sustainability of remediation plans.
• The role contributes to post-incident reviews to strengthen control frameworks and prevent recurrence. 

Regulatory Reporting and Engagement

• The Senior Specialist prepares technical inputs for compliance reporting to Executive Committees and Board governance structures.
• The incumbent ensures reporting accurately reflects regulatory risk exposure, remediation status and emerging risk themes.
• The role supports regulatory inspections and supervisory reviews by ensuring documentation is complete, accurate and defensible.
• Supports policy‑level regulatory engagements, consultations and working groups.
• Prepares briefings, regulatory engagement packs and advocacy narratives, in addition to compliance reports.
• Acts as a technical liaison point between as required between business, compliance, legal and industry forums. 

Stakeholder Influence and Governance Participation 

• The Senior Specialist builds strong working relationships with business, risk, legal and audit stakeholders to support effective compliance governance.
• The incumbent provides independent challenge when regulatory risk tolerance is exceeded.
• The role influences prioritisation of remediation initiatives by articulating regulatory implications clearly.
• The Senior Specialist participates in governance forums and decision-making committees to ensure regulatory considerations are embedded.
• The incumbent demonstrates ethical courage when escalating regulatory concerns that may be commercially sensitive. 

Essential Requirements

• Minimum 7+ years’ experience in regulatory compliance or legal, within financial services.
• Demonstrated experience interpreting complex regulatory frameworks.
• Experience participating in regulatory inspections or supervisory engagements.
• Relevant degree in Law, Risk Management, Finance, Business or related discipline.
• Ability to evaluate regulatory optionality, discretion and proportionality in regulatory requirements.
• Skilled in drafting consultation responses, policy memoranda and regulator‑facing position papers. 

Advantageous Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification advantageous.
• Professional certification (CPrac (SA), or equivalent, admitted attorney) advantageous.
• Experience working with or through industry associations (e.g. banking, payments, insurance, capital markets). 

Leadership Capabilities (Skills)

• Strategic Influence (Advanced) – Ability to shape regulatory outcomes through evidence‑based advocacy.
• External Engagement Credibility (Advanced) – Trusted representative with regulators and industry forums.
• Systems Thinking (Advanced) – Understands how regulation, supervision, policy and business strategy interact.
• Collaboration & Influence (Advanced) – Proven ability to work effectively with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Decision-Making (Advanced) – Proven ability to make balanced recommendations under pressure.
• Change Agility (Advanced) – Proven ability to adapt to evolving regulations and business changes.
• Technical Thought Leadership (Advanced) – Recognised as a go-to advisor for technical compliance questions. 

Technical Expertise

• Regulatory Interpretation (Advanced)- The ability to analyse legislation and supervisory guidance, determine applicability and intent, and translate regulatory requirements into operational obligations.
• Regulatory Change Impact Assessment (Advanced)- The ability to evaluate regulatory developments and define structured implementation requirements across portfolios
• Breach Classification and Escalation Judgement (Advanced)- The ability to assess incident severity and apply sound judgement in determining regulatory reporting and escalation requirements.
• Governance and Regulatory Reporting (Advanced)- The ability to prepare structured compliance reporting and support regulatory engagement with defensible documentation.
• Ability to analyse (Advanced) - policy objectives, regulatory trade‑offs and supervisory intent across jurisdictions or frameworks.
• Ability to develop coherent regulatory advocacy positions (Advanced) - aligned to enterprise risk appetite and strategy.
• Skilled in drafting (Advanced) - consultation responses, policy memoranda and regulator-facing position papers. 

Behavioural competencies

• Inspiring Excellence – Strives for quality and precision in compliance delivery.
• Business Savvy – Aligns compliance advice with business priorities and operational realities.
• Connected Decision-Making – Considers regulatory, risk, and business perspectives in recommendations.
• Cultivating Networks & Partnerships – Builds strong working relationships across teams. 
• Ethical Practice – Acts with fairness, transparency, and integrity at all times.
• Change Agility- The ability to adapt to evolving regulatory landscapes and organisational change.
• Analytical Thinking- The ability to break down complex regulatory issues, identify patterns and draw logical conclusions.
• Policy Judgement & Regulatory Foresight – Anticipates regulatory direction and supervisory posture.
• Constructive Challenge & Advocacy – Confidently advances institutional positions while maintaining regulatory trust.