Senior Manager: Learning & Development

To develop Advice and Investments (A&I) Learning and Development tactical strategy and delivery plans, formulate associated practice/s and to ensure operational implementation and adoption i.t.o. learning and development methodology, governance and delivery objectives. 

1.     Drive Learning & Development Strategic Solutions: 

·       Develop and execute the Advice and Investments Skills Development Strategy, oversee content development across all Business Units (Investments, AIFA, SPM, Absa Trust, and A&I Functions), and ensure that all learning and development initiatives are strategically aligned, effectively governed, and operationally embedded.

·       Oversee  AIFA curriculum design and content development, ensuring consistency, regulatory compliance, and alignment to business needs.

·       Manage L&D governance frameworks, standards, and evaluation processes to drive continuous improvement.

·       Maximise utilisation of internal solutions, while optimising external spend and vendor partnerships.

·       Leverage research and external best practice to introduce innovative solutions and maintain a leading-edge learning offering.

·       Partner with the People Lead, People Partners, Learning Specialists and Cluster LLT Lead to support the analysis and scoping of the L&D initiatives and ensure global consistency and execution of all L&D objectives and strategy aligned to business Human Capital agenda

·       In partnership with , People Partners, Learning Specialists, provide L&D expertise & insight at senior business meetings, either directly to the business head or to a wider management team. 

·       Act as the consultant/broker for the AIFA business to reset the L&D services. 

·       Act as the face of LL&D to the business, pulling in Leadership, Solution or Curriculum Specialists as required. Take the lead to the business to deliver aligned and seamless learning solutions to the business. 

·       Lead and programme manage the diagnosis and delivery of bespoke learning and development interventions in line with the Business goals, working in collaboration with the Learning Solutions teams to present an integrated L&D delivery model. 

·       Operate in a commercial and business management way, leverage internal governance, policies and processes as appropriate to agree; objectives, outcomes, communication and embedding practices, timescales, budget and ROI expectations. 

 

 

·       Guide and support L&D Partners in partnering with the Management teams of the Business areas and the People Partners to develop the Learning and Development plans for their business area in line with their business strategy. 

·       Build and maintain strong relationships with the clients and develop an excellent understanding of business strategy and objectives, identifying opportunities for learning and development interventions across the business areas. 

·       Manage the L&D budget for the business-aligned initiatives, work with the LLT Lead & People Partners to ensure cost effectiveness of learning development solutions. 

·       Maximise utilization of internal learning solutions and synergies in all learning propositions, across all business areas, optimising external spend. 

·       Embed the L&D demand model throughout the People Partners & Development Partner community. Where required, provide offsite facilitation to business/teams or source the appropriate external facilitator to support a managed team event. 

·       Ensure the development and delivery of quality learning plans from the Development Partners team as agreed by all stakeholders, within budget and ensuring they meet agreed time, cost and quality parameters. 

·       Support the Solutions & Delivery teams to source and identify Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from the Business to drive effective Learning delivery. 

·       Ensure effective evaluation of all business-aligned learning solutions, to ensure continuous improvement and contribution to business objectives (ROI Frameworks). 

·       Leverage and research external best practice to provide leading edge innovative solutions to the clients, and share this research with the team. 

·       Work with the People Lead to review and rationalise supplier base to align with business need/organisational requirements. 

·       Maintain internal relationships across the Group and learning suppliers to ensure delivery of the highest standards of supply, adhering to all governance frameworks. 

·       Engage with and build an external L&D network to ensure continuous updating of current best practise and leading edge knowledge of learning. 

·       Ensure adherence to HR/Group policies and standards, Governance and internal controls relating to learning activities. 

 

3.     Learning Thought Leadership: 

·       Keeps informed of leading practices, monitor and evaluate market trends in their areas of specialty. 

·       Monitors solutions, vendors and employee feedback to drive continual improvement. 

·       Draw out trends and meaningful insights based on data analytics & modelling that will support desired business outcomes. 

·       Aligns the innovation agenda with the needs and directions of the Clusters/divisions. Partner with People Partners in consulting with the business to create innovative solutions when standardized products are not sufficient. 

·       Monitor and evaluate consistency and harmonisation of policies and solutions across the enterprise as appropriate. 

 

5.Compliance & technical Content Design & Quality Assurance 

·       Deliver technical training that ensures compliant application of KYC Client Onboarding technical solutioning process as part of End-to-End Sales process.

·       Customer One Onboarding technical solutioning process as part of End-to-End Sales process 

·       Ensure training content addresses both technical and compliance requirements in line with regulatory frameworks.

·       Assist and contribute to the design of learning content for A&I BUs, applying specialist knowledge where relevant.

·       Research and understand business processes and requirements to ensure learning content is practical, relevant, and aligned.

·       Support maintenance and updates of existing content as business evolves.

·       Submit quality-assured content to client/design teams for review and sign-off.

·       Content development and training plans for new initiatives, which are aligned with business strategy and legislation,

·       Develop technical content for refresher courses to drive  Adviser CPD points, 

 

·       Optimally balance the resources in the team, and also utilizing the People Partner capacity to deliver and contribute to this team’s ability to make an impact to the overall business agenda Develop a high performing team by embedding formal performance development and informal coaching.

·       Determine development needs for the team itself and ensure that identified training requirements are budgeted for and executed Interview and recruit new members of the team, including determining appropriate compensation levels with input from Human Resources. 

·       Approve leave requests for team members and create leave plan to ensure adequate coverage. 

·       When required, initiate disciplinary processes for team members calling on support from People Lead when required Resolve grievances raised by team members and escalate only if required 

•         NQF Level6: B Degree in Education, Training and Development 

•         Regulatory Examination qualification will be advantageous 

•         6–10 years’ working experience within the financial services industry, preferably with a focus on Financial Planning, Estate, Life and Investment advice.

•          2–3 years’ management experience within an insurance business, service sales, or advice channel environment.

•         Proven experience in managing a sales business or Advice Channel, with demonstrable success in driving business performance and capability uplift.

Strong technical knowledge of:

·       Demonstrated ability to integrate technical expertise into content development, training, and capability-building solutions for advisers and frontline colleagues.

·       Solid understanding of compliance and regulatory frameworks (FAIS, CPD, FSCA requirements), with the ability to embed these into adviser training programmes.