Who is Futuregrowth?

Futuregrowth has been South Africa’s leading developmental, responsible and fixed-income investor for over 25 years. We manage a range of fixed interest and development funds and play a key leadership role in the South African asset management industry. We are committed to investing our clients’ funds in a responsible manner, with the interests of our clients always coming first.

Purpose of the position

Reporting to the CEO and working in close partnership with the Executive Committee (“Exco”), the Head of Governance and Assurance is responsible for designing, owning, and continuously strengthening Futuregrowth's Assurance function. This function is comprising of Risk, Compliance, Legal and Governance. The role serves as the firm's senior governance authority embedding regulatory discipline and risk consciousness into strategic decision-making, while ensuring Futuregrowth meets its obligations to clients, regulators and the Board of Directors (“Board”).

The Head of Governance and Assurance is responsible for shaping and leading the firm’s governance and assurance capability through its respective capability leads. The role is accountable for setting the integrated assurance architecture and for the overall quality of the firm’s control environment. This is a leadership and oversight role, rather than one focused on execution across each discipline.

Key responsibilities of the position

1. Executive Board Advisory
o Serving as the trusted risk, compliance, legal and governance adviser to the Exco and the Board, including as a key representative on the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee;
o Leading the annual assurance planning process and setting the strategic focus for assurance activity across the firm;
o Providing oversight of thematic reviews, control assessments, and post‑incident reviews;
o Delivering an independent, evidence‑based view of the effectiveness and maturity of the firm’s control environment to the Board and EXCO;
o Integrating risk, legal and compliance considerations into strategic planning and decision-making by design, not as a retrospective check;
o Preparing and presenting high-quality, insight-driven Board and committee papers that enable informed, timely decision-making;
o Providing emerging regulatory horizon intelligence to Exco, with actionable guidance on implications for the business; and
o Supporting Board and Committee Chairs in the effective discharge of their fiduciary duties, including maintaining records of decisions, conflicts of interest disclosures, and reserved matters.

2. Corporate Governance
o Acting as the primary point of contact for industry regulators, overseeing all statutory reporting and control audits;
o Ensuring Board, Exco, Investment Committee/s, and Audit and Risk Committee operate in accordance with their terms of reference, applicable law, and regulatory obligations;
o Overseeing the governance calendar. This includes Board and committee scheduling, agenda-setting, minutes, and action tracking;
o Embedding a strong culture of governance and ethical conduct across the business, supported by policy communication and training;
o Maintaining service provider standards for statutory registers, filings, and corporate records in compliance with the Companies Act and applicable regulatory obligations; and
o Overseeing fit-and-proper assessments for director and senior manager appointments, resignations, and ongoing obligations.

3. Client governance and conduct obligations 
o Ensuring the firm's governance framework encompasses its obligations to clients, including fiduciary duties, treating clients fairly principles, and applicable conduct requirements;
o Overseeing client-facing governance processes. This includes client disclosures, mandate compliance, conflicts of interest management, and complaints handling governance;
o Supporting the investment and distribution teams in responding to client due diligence requests, RFPs, and governance questionnaires; and
o Ensuring the Board receives regular reporting on the firm's adherence to conduct obligations and emerging client-related risks.

4. Risk framework and Assurance 
o Owning the firm’s enterprise risk management framework, including the risk appetite statement, risk register, and key risk indicators. Ensuring these remain dynamic, forward-looking, and well integrated into both operational and strategic decision-making.
o Setting risk appetite, leading stress-testing and scenario analysis for the organisation;
o Coordinating internal and external audit activities (excluding statutory financial components) to ensure assurance coverage is complementary, non-duplicative, and sufficient across the firm's key risks;
o Monitoring the timely resolution of assurance findings and management actions, escalating overdue or high-severity items to the Audit and Risk Committee and Exco; and 
o Implementing quality assurance frameworks that identify systematic improvement opportunities and ensure implementation.

5. Leadership and Stakeholder Management
o Leading and developing the Assurance function (Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Company Governance), setting standards, building capability, and ensuring the function operates as an integrated whole;
o Building and maintaining strong partnerships with Exco and functional heads across the business;
o Managing relationships with external partners, service providers, and regulators; and
o Managing cooperative relationships with governance stakeholders across Old Mutual Investments and Old Mutual Group Limited, including Group Compliance, Risk, Legal, and Group Internal Audit.

Requirements

Knowledge and experience required

Skills, know-how and experience:
o Minimum 15 years' experience in financial services, preferably with substantial time in asset management, across compliance, risk, legal or audit disciplines; with 5+ years in a senior leadership role. 
o Demonstrated experience designing and building governance and assurance functions, and leading change within these disciplines. 
o Comprehensive understanding of South African legislation applicable to asset management, including FICA (AML/KYC), FAIS, Reg 28, Reg 30, Exchange Control, and POPIA. 
o Approved as a Compliance Officer by the FSCA. Eligibility for approval as a JSE Compliance Officer (Bonds and Derivatives) is advantageous. 
o Experience as Money Laundering Compliance Officer, having fulfilled all related obligations. 
o Demonstrated ability to lead regulatory liaison and navigate surveillance requests. 
o Proven ability to lead, develop and integrate multi-disciplinary teams. 
o Proven track record of operating and influencing at executive and Board level, including presenting independently to Audit Committees, Risk Committees, and Boards in a regulated environment.
o Excellent planning and organising skills.
o Ability to work independently and at strategic, operational and tactical levels.

Professional Qualifications:
o Law degree (LLB or equivalent) with commercial focus, or a postgraduate qualification in Compliance combined with substantial post-qualification experience in a regulated financial services environment. Finance or Commerce qualifications will be considered where the candidate's track record demonstrates clear credibility across the legal, compliance, and risk disciplines.
o Further post-grad qualifications and/or certifications in Governance, Compliance, Risk or Business Administration would be advantageous.
o Professional Memberships such as Compliance Institute of South Africa (CISA) preferred.
o Completion of regulatory exams RE1, RE3 and RE5.

Key behaviours and competencies: 
o Governance mindset
o Intellectual curiosity 
o Business acumen 
o Sound judgement
o Collaborative 
o Strengthens cross-functional coordination
o Solution-seeking
o Ability to constructively challenge executive decisions
o Strong interpersonal and communication skills
o Process discipline

Personal Attributes
o Ownership 
o Delivery driven 
o Detail oriented 
o Independent thinker
o Judgement
o Maturity
o Collaborative
o Unimpeachable ethics and deep respect for fiduciary responsibilities

Recruitment process

Selected candidates will need to attend a series of competency-based interviews/ activities and a psychometric assessment.

Application Link

Click here to apply (https://bit.ly/4cFVgd4)