Job Title: Principal Officer: Sanlam Umbrella Fund
Location: TBC
Perm/Contract: Permanent
Who are we?
The Sanlam Umbrella Fund was founded in 2008 and over the years has been the fastest growing commercial umbrella fund in South Africa. The Sanlam Umbrella Fund consists of 3 legal entities namely Sanlam Umbrella Pension Fund, Sanlam Umbrella Provident Fund and Sanlam Unity Umbrella Fund.
What will you do?
Key Responsibilities:
- Fund Governance Services by preparing and maintaining:
- a fund governance and risk management plan in which the functions and duties of the Board for the next one to three years are recorded and monitored.
- a risk schedule in which the risks facing the Fund are identified, rated and quantified where practicable.
- protocols and action plans in terms of which governance and compliance can be ensured by the Trustees.
- strategies to ensure compliance with King IV, the Code on Responsible Investing in SA, Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and similar codes and requirements.
- a year planner on which the dates of Trustees meetings and other important dates and functions are recorded.
- Trustee Meetings:
- To attend all meetings of the Trustees.
- To attend such committee meetings as the Trustees may request the PO to attend or serve on.
- To oversee the secretarial functions performed by the Fund’s Secretariat that will support the Trustees in fulfilling their duties, including, but not limited to the taking of minutes of the meetings and the preparation of agenda packs for the Trustees and its committees.
- Operational Responsibilities:
- Operations: To help ensure that the operations of the Fund are in compliance with the Fund objectives and the policies and protocols adopted by the Trustees.
- Representation: To represent the Fund in interactions between the Fund and its stakeholders.
- Implementation: To introduce and oversee the necessary processes to ensure that all decisions by the Trustees are properly identified and implemented accurately and on time.
- Contractual relationships: To introduce and oversee a process of ensuring that:
- all relationships between the Fund and its service providers are contained in written agreements which comprehensively set out the requirements and expectations of the Trustees.
- these relationships are managed prudently and are reviewed from time to time in line with the policies accepted by the Trustees.
- Risk management: To oversee the process of ensuring that the operations, conduct and policies of the Fund are considered and analysed in order to identify the risks for the Fund and to help develop strategies that will mitigate these risks.
- Compliance:
- Compliance with the law: To introduce and oversee the process of ensuring compliance monitoring that will help ensure that the Fund complies with all statutory obligations in terms of the Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, government notices, PF Circulars, PF Directives and codes.
- Trustee training: To introduce and oversee the process of ensuring that each individual Trustee has done the recommended training, is aware of and understands his or her fiduciary duties.
- Monitoring Service providers: To introduce and oversee the process of ensuring that all service providers appointed by the Fund (excluding portfolio managers and asset managers managed and monitored by the investment committee, the group insurance policies monitored by the risk benefits committee and auditors monitored by the audit committee) fulfil their duties in terms of the relevant service level agreements and to make proposals for changes as and when necessary in order to ensure that the needs of the Fund are met.
- Stakeholder communication: To introduce and oversee the process of ensuring that the Fund communicates and reports to stakeholders / authorities as required in consultation with the communication committee.
- To help to refer matters identified by the Fund to industry forums such as the Institute of Retirement Funds and Batseta for consideration and action.
- Fund Investments:
- Compliance with the law: To advise the Board on its investment governance and compliance model and propose changes as and when necessary, in consultation with the investment committee.
- To keep the Board abreast of relevant trends and developments in the investment industry and in the regulatory environment which could impact on processes and procedures and to propose changes to the Fund’s processes and procedures that will ensure compliance and efficient functioning.
- To keep the Trustees abreast of relevant trends and developments in the retirement industry and in the regulatory environment and to propose changes to the Fund’s processes and procedures that will ensure compliance and efficient functioning.
- To perform all the services required of a principal officer in terms of the Act and agreed by the Trustees and the PO.
- To perform such other tasks and duties that the Parties agree from time to time are reasonably incidental to the above.
Qualification and Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent with a relevant Post graduate qualification (legal qualification an advantage)
- 5 years of experience in a similar role
- At least 10 years’ previous experience in retirement fund industry specifically Consulting or Product development experience
Knowledge and Skills
- Retirement fund industry dynamics
- Retirement Fund regulation
- Investment, Risk & Administration products & services
- Good presentation & leadership skills
Personal qualities
- Responsible with a high level of accountability
- Excellent interpersonal and communication (written and verbal) skills
- Client focus
- Professional profile
- Excellent report writing skills
- Effective time management skills
- Process orientated
- Self-motivated with a strong focus on delivery
- Conceptual thinking skills
- Must be able to work under pressure, Individually or as member or a team
Please email CVs to Charlotte Solomons – Charlotte.Solomons@sanlam.co.za
Applications closes at – 16h00 on Wednesday, 31 August 2022.