Compliance & Internal Control Manager at Sanlam Nigeria

Job Summary

• The role is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing a robust Compliance Management System that ensures adherence to regulatory standards, reinforces internal controls, and builds a proactive compliance culture across the business.
• This role acts as a strategic advisor to the organization on compliance risks and leads the charge in identifying and mitigating legal, ethical, and reputational threats.

Responsibilities

Compliance & Corporate Governance:

• Develop and execute local initiatives in alignment with overall Compliance strategy as defined by SanlamAllianz Africa Governance & Compliance to establish local standards, platforms, processes and controls.
• Manage compliance tasks based on applicable laws and regulations throughout the Company.
• Manage compliance programs by adopting the Group and regulatory requirements.
• Act as a subject matter expert for assigned Compliance programs.
• Caretaker of the Company’s System of Governance to ensure the completeness of the corporate rules framework, its regular review, and collaboration with key control functions on monitoring the internal control system and mitigation of potential deficiencies at the Company.

Compliance Monitoring and Mitigation

• Identify and analyse key compliance risks and establish controls to mitigate them.
• Design and roll-out respective Compliance programs accordingly.
• Define and perform annual risk identification & maturity assessment in accordance with SanlamAllianz Group requirements and identify, monitor changes in and advise on areas of regulation which impact the business, aligning Compliance with business objectives.
• Execute comprehensive, accurate, timely and cost-efficient compliance quality assurance for the Company
• Remediation of identified improvement areas.
• Provide advisory service to employees in accordance with all relevant regulatory controls, Codes of Practice and SanlamAllianz Group requirements.

Internal Control:

• Manage the Internal Control function to support the Company’s compliance with governance and regulatory requirements and obligations related to ensuring an effective system of internal control exists.
• Development, implementation and management of the Internal Control framework (standards, guidelines, functional rules) and alignment of the same to that of the SanlamAllianz Group.
• Provide risk and control assessment information and reporting to key stakeholders and recommend actions where controls are deemed ineffective to ensure the risk is within acceptable tolerances.
• Ensure critical key control failures in core business processes are escalated to the Chief Compliance Officer and/or management to ensure they are resolved in an efficient and timely manner.
• Participate in and/or present at quarterly governance committees to ensure priority topics are brought to the attention of Management to discuss mitigation actions and provide status updates
• Examine and scrutinize internal work processes and activities to determine compliance with policies, plans, standards, laws and regulations.

Requirements

Academic Qualification & Work Experience:

• First Degree in Law, Accounting, Finance Risk Management, or related field.
• 7–10 years' experience in Compliance, Internal Control, or Risk Management—preferably in Insurance or broader Financial Services.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., ICSAN, ISAN, CCEP, CRMA, CISA) is strongly preferred.
• Strong familiarity with regulatory frameworks in Nigeria and across global jurisdictions

Required Competencies (KSA):

Technical Skills / Competencies:

• Knowledge of governance, risk, and control standards (e.g., IIA, ISO 31000, COSO).
• Understanding of regulatory and compliance environment - including relevant policies, laws and regulations - across multiple jurisdictions.
• Apply and act according to the SAZ Group Policy, the minimum standards and the IIA standards as well as the respective local audit policies and/or standards
• Apply the knowledge of the Company’s standards and steering KPIs
• Perform qualitative and quantitative assessment of risk
• Manage the relationship between various compliance teams, regulators and support team activities

Behavioural Competencies:

• Integrity and sound judgment.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Leadership mindset with the ability to influence across levels.
• Analytical thinker and problem solver