Regional General Manager (Brokers): SanlamConnect

Job Description

As the Regional General Manager for Brokers at SanlamConnect in Umhlanga, you will lead a dynamic team to drive sales and market share growth in the East Coast Region. Your role is pivotal in shaping and executing the regional sales strategy, fostering a high-performance culture, and ensuring compliance with financial services regulations. You will collaborate with business managers, support teams, and stakeholders to penetrate new markets, build strong client relationships, and achieve business objectives. This position offers an opportunity to make a significant impact in a leading financial services group, guiding the region toward sustainable growth and client-centric success.

Requirements

• Sound Financial Services experience at a senior level within the corporate environment.
• Sales and Distribution exposure (10+ years).
• Sound management and leadership experience (10+ years).
• Business, Legal or Commercial Degree/MBA preferred.
• CFP.
• RE 5.
• Broad and significant Financial Services Industry knowledge/understanding.
• Financial Services Product Knowledge (Sanlam and competitors).
• Knowledge of Profitability/Value of New Business (VNB).
• Knowledge of Distribution Strategy and Models.
• Knowledge of Financial and budget/expense management.
• Knowledge of Corporate governance/risk management.
• Knowledge of Marketing and sales.
• Knowledge of Business planning, strategy planning and execution.
• Knowledge of Market and client segmentation.
• Knowledge of Relevant regulatory legislation and compliance within Financial Services/KI.
• Good general legal technical knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Undertake regional leadership for Brokers.
• Analyse the regional market changes, competitors, risks, opportunities and threats and create contingency plans to mitigate these in order to protect and grow market share.
• Serve on the regional Exco and contribute to the profitability and success of the region with respect to attainment of business plans, decision making, operations, sales, compliance and customer service.
• Drive a culture of high performance within the region through present and courageous leadership.
• Tactically execute the regional sales strategy through sales management.
• Ensure the regional strategy is understood and partner with sales management to formulate the regional business plan.
• Ensure Business Managers of Brokers effectively drive and attain sales targets.
• Ensure and drive the attainment of Broker manpower targets together with Business Managers in the region.
• Work with the Business Managers and specialist resources to identify, support and develop strategies that penetrate new worksites or market segments.
• Initiate, drive and promote various sales incentive competitions to encourage sales.
• Monitor and track MIS/reporting and undertake corrective actions if required regarding the effectiveness of the strategy execution.
• Re-enforce clearly how the different Broker units, including the E-Hub unit need to work collaboratively to achieve the regional strategy and that processes and communication within the region and between teams support this.
• Obtain regular feedback and updates from sales management and teams on sales performance against target. Report analysis to Regional Exco.
• Ensure tactical integration of specialist and support resources within the region.
• Work closely with support and specialist resources within the region and Head Office to ensure these are aligned to the achievement of the regional strategy.
• Ensure that the sales management teams effectively utilize these resources.
• Monitor regional expense budgets and profitability.
• Ensure risk management and compliance within the region (including Key Individual).
• Demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of all relevant regulatory and legislative laws/rules/frameworks applicable to doing business compliantly.
• Drive ongoing awareness and education of compliance within the region.
• Working closely with the Compliance Department/Officer, establish and implement compliance metrics/measures, structures, monitoring and reporting.
• Evaluate and resolve ‘escalated’ client/broker complaints by collaboration with the Compliance Department by following the prescribed process, undertaking client/intermediary contact and decision making.
• Identify areas of risk within the region and ensure there are appropriate management processes, monitoring, reporting and corrective actions in place to minimise or eliminate these.
• Work closely with the Regional Marketing Manager, Business Managers and different support resources to identify high impact clients, associations and worksites/companies (public and private sector) to approach and build relationships with.
• Partner with the Regional Executive to attend and host selected client engagement opportunities in order to market Sanlam.
• Look for opportunities to penetrate less utilized market segments within the region.
• Formulate creative value propositions and strategies to gain access to, and contract clients/leads working in these markets.
• Ensure that high potential talent is sourced and selected into the region to support the vision and talent succession needs.
• Embrace transformation in the region.
• Promote and communicate transformation as a key strategy within the region and support initiatives to achieve DTI targets.
• Align HR practices and decisions within the province, with respect to recruitment and promotion of staff, to support transformation targets.
• Ensure all direct reports have development plans, discussions and are suitably trained for their positions.
• Undertake performance management and performance discussions with all direct reports.
• Undertake staff career development and talent retention strategies.