Head of Risk and Compliance at Africa Merchant Assurance Company ltd

Location: Nairobi, Head Office
Industry: General Insurance
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer & Administratively to the Board of Directors

About the Role

The overall purpose of this job is to ensure that AMACO operates within the boundaries of legal and regulatory requirements while effectively managing risks by maintaining the company’s integrity and protecting it from legal and financial risks. The role holder has accountability to advise the Board of Directors, Senior Management and staff on emerging compliance issues as well as consulting and guiding the company in the establishment of controls to mitigate risks.

Key Responsibilities

a. Strategic Risk & Compliance: 

• Develop creative and innovative Enterprise Risk Management strategies that are in line with the AMACO’s overall strategy.
• Keep abreast of local and global best practices in risk management and compliance and make recommendations to the Board Risk Committee on how these impact the company.
• Advise the management on regulatory matters, monitors and reviews the company’s operations, market position, strategic direction and potential systemic risks in various perspectives. 
• Communicate the Risk Management and Compliance department’s strategic direction and objectives to all staff.
• Participate as member of senior management in formulating corporate strategies, policies, plans and budgets and in monitoring the company’s performance to ensure that the corporate objectives and targets are achieved. 
• Monitor the department’s performance to ensure objectives and targets are achieved.
• Establish and communicate enterprise wide risk management vision of the company and communicate risk management policies and limits to the Board and Senior Management. 
• Develop, and revise policies and procedures for the risk management and compliance department. 
• Prepare the Risk and Compliance departmental budget and work program and follow up its implementation.
• Ensure that governance practices are effective and meet all statutory and regulatory requirements. 
• Identify, develop, deploy and retain talented staff including completing performance appraisals effectively and on time in accordance with the established performance management procedures. 

b. Compliance Management: 

• Develop and implement an effective compliance program to ensure adherence to insurance laws, regulations, and internal policies.

c. Risk Assessment and Management: 

• Develop, implement and administer all aspects of the company's risk and compliance management programs, policies, procedures and guidelines. 
• Provide leadership and guidance in the identification, measurement and evaluation of various potential risks and recommending measures in the areas of credit, interest rate, market, technological, foreign exchange, liquidity, regulatory compliance and operational risks as well as ensure that all required policies and operational procedures are put in place. 
• Identify, assess, and manage risks that could impact the organization by identifying key risk factors, obtain consistent and understandable strategic, credit, market and operational risk measures to ensure effective implementation of an integrated and responsive risk management system in the company. 
• Design and validate risk management framework for the company, including a risk rating system, to optimize risk-reward trade off. 
• Work with various departments to establish and quantify the company’s risk appetite ensure that the risk exposure is within the limits and risk-taking decisions are in line with the strategic objectives of the company. 
• Review trends in portfolio quality, restructured exposures and the adequacy of the company’s provision for credit losses with the view of recommending prudential measures.
• Ensure liquidity position of the company is assessed and evaluated periodically so as to identify any elements of liquidity risk, and advise ways to mitigate the risks. 
• Ensure that credit management reports are collected periodically; the associated risks are measured and recommend ways to mitigate risks. 

d. Internal Controls: 

• Establish and monitor internal controls to prevent and detect violations of legal guidelines and internal policies. 
• Ensure that the ERM practices are being handled as per the applicable laws and regulations, and promote awareness programs. 
• Measure risk potential surrounding the internal control system, process and operations and report on areas in need of management intervention. 
• Educate and train employees on compliance and risk management practices. 
• Conduct regular audits and reviews to identify potential risks and ensure compliance. 

e. Any other responsibilities assigned to the jobholder by the CEO from time to time. 

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Risk Management, Economics, Information Technology, Law, Accounting, Finance, or Banking from a reputable University. 
• Professional certification in Risk Management; Financial Risk Management (FRM), RCP Level 3, Chartered Risk Analyst (CRA)or Governance Risk and Compliance Management (GRCM).