Investec – Where Out of the Ordinary Happens

Who are we?
Investec is a distinctive financial services group serving clients principally in the UK and South Africa. Our culture gives us our edge: we work hard to find colleagues that bring out of the ordinary thinking, and we put them in environments where they'll flourish. We combine an accessible structure with a focus on internal mobility. The role demands an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to learn and collaborate to help the business grow and to drive profitability; to deliver a commercial impact for the business.

Role Profile

Description of role and key responsibilities:

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) is accountable to the Board for the integrity and effectiveness of IBCI's enterprise-wide risk management, compliance and financial crime frameworks. 

Whilst ownership of risk rests with the first line of defence, the CRO leads the Bank's independent second line of defence, providing objective oversight, constructive challenge and assurance to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Leadership Team and Board. 
 
The CRO helps ensure the Bank operates within its Board-approved risk appetite while supporting the delivery of the Bank's strategic objectives.  

The role is expected to build strong partnerships across the business, enabling informed decision-making whilst preserving the independence and integrity of the Bank's control environment. 

The CRO promotes a strong risk and governance culture across the Bank, ensuring that effective risk management supports safe, sustainable and commercially sound decision-making.

Key responsibilities:

Enterprise Risk & Governance 
•    Lead the development, implementation and ongoing enhancement of IBCI's enterprise risk management framework. 
•    Develop, quantify and maintain the Bank's Risk Appetite Framework, recommending risk appetite and tolerances to the Board for approval and ensuring they remain aligned to the Bank's strategy and operating environment.
•    Monitor and report adherence to the Board-approved Risk Appetite Framework, escalating material issues where appropriate. 
•    Identify, assess, monitor and report existing and emerging risks across the Bank. 
•    Ensure appropriate governance frameworks, policies and controls are maintained across the organisation. 
•    Maintain oversight of the Bank's principal risk categories, including operational, conduct, financial crime, regulatory, strategic, reputational and technology risks. 
•    Support the continued development of an effective Three Lines of Defence model. 
•    Act as custodian of the Bank's governance framework, ensuring governance arrangements remain effective, proportionate and aligned with the Bank's strategy and regulatory expectations. 

Board, Regulatory & Executive Leadership 
•    Provide independent advice and constructive challenge to the CEO, Leadership Team and Board on matters relating to risk, compliance and financial crime. 
•    Chair the IBCI Executive Risk Committee. 
•    Provide and ensure the Board and senior management receive timely, balanced and forward-looking information to support effective oversight and decision making.  
•    Support the Board and senior management in understanding their risk management and regulatory responsibilities. 
•    Act as one of the Bank's principal points of contact with prudential and conduct regulators on matters relating to risk and the control environment. 
•    Develop effective working relationships with Investec Group Risk, Compliance and Financial Crime teams to ensure alignment with Group policies and standards.

Risk Management & Regulatory Oversight 
•    Oversee the effective identification, assessment, monitoring and management of risks that could impact the Bank's objectives. 
•    Ensure risk management frameworks, policies and procedures remain effective, proportionate and aligned with regulatory expectations. 
•    Lead the independent risk contribution to ICAAP, stress testing and capital planning, working closely with the CFO to ensure these processes support strategic decision making. 
•    Support the ongoing development of the Bank's operational resilience and business continuity arrangements. 
•    Maintain oversight of the Bank's compliance and financial crime frameworks. 
•    Ensure material risks and control issues are appropriately escalated and addressed.

Strategic Partnership & Transformation 
•    Partner with business leaders to provide practical, commercially balanced risk advice that supports sustainable growth. 
•    Provide independent challenge and guidance on strategic initiatives, new products, client propositions and significant change programmes. 
•    Support the Bank's transformation agenda by ensuring risks are identified, understood and appropriately managed. 
•    Promote a culture where effective risk management enables informed decision-making rather than acting as a barrier to progress. 

Leadership & Culture 
•    Lead and develop a high-performing Risk, Compliance and Financial Crime team. 
•    Develop capability within the second line to support the future needs of the Bank. 
•    Promote a positive and pragmatic risk culture through coaching, communication and collaboration. 
•    Build strong working relationships across the organisation whilst maintaining independence of judgement. 
•    Develop succession plans and support the ongoing development of team members.

Essential Criteria:

The successful candidate will have strong banking risk experience together with the leadership capability, judgement and credibility to lead the Bank's independent Risk function. 

 Risk
•    Senior leadership experience within a banking risk function.  
•    Strong understanding of enterprise risk management across credit, operational, conduct, financial crime, compliance, prudential and strategic risk.
•    Strong understanding of prudential regulation, risk appetite frameworks, ICAAP, stress testing and capital management principles.
•    Experience engaging with Boards and Executive Committees, including preparing and presenting high-quality risk reporting and providing independent challenge to senior stakeholders.  
•    Demonstrable experience developing and operating Board approved Risk Appetite Frameworks.  
•    Experience building constructive and credible relationships with prudential and financial regulators and managing regulatory engagement.  
•    Experience supporting significant organisational change and transformation programmes.  
•    Experience operating within, or working closely alongside, an international banking group. 

Leadership 
•    Proven ability to influence, challenge and advise Executive Teams and Boards.  
•    Strong commercial judgement with the ability to balance growth ambitions and prudent risk management.  
•    Ability to build trusted relationships across the organisation whilst maintaining independence of judgement.  
•    Excellent written and verbal communication skills.  
•    Strategic thinker with the ability to translate complex risks into practical business decisions.  
•    Demonstrated leadership capability with experience managing and developing teams. 
•    Collaborative approach with the ability to support the business whilst maintaining appropriate independence. 
•    Exercises sound judgement and makes balanced, evidence-based decisions, demonstrating the confidence to provide independent challenge where required. 

 General 
•    Degree or equivalent professional experience. 
•    Relevant professional qualification in risk, banking, finance, audit or compliance would be advantageous. 
•    Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
•    High levels of integrity, professionalism and personal credibility. 
•    Self-motivated with a commitment to continuous learning and development. 

Regulatory and Control Environment 
•    Strong understanding of banking compliance, financial crime and regulatory requirements. 
•    Experience working with or overseeing compliance and/or financial crime activities within a regulated financial services environment. 
•    Excellent understanding of AML, sanctions, conduct risk and regulatory obligations applicable to banking. 
•    A recognised compliance, risk or financial crime qualification (or willingness to obtain one) would be advantageous but is not essential.

Embedded in our culture is a sense of belonging and inclusion. At Investec we want everyone to find it easy to be themselves, and to feel they belong. It's a responsibility we all share and is integral to our purpose and values as an organisation. We believe that innovation thrives when everyone feels respected, included, and empowered to contribute.

We actively seek out diverse talent and foster an inclusive environment, encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. Here, you'll find networks, benefits, and development opportunities designed to support your career journey, wherever it may lead.

If this role excites you but you don't meet every requirement, we'd still love to hear from you. Your unique perspective and experience could be exactly what we are looking for.  Get in touch!

At Investec, we're deeply invested in our clients, our colleagues, and our communities. It's more than a mindset; it's how we show up every day.

Be part of something Out of the Ordinary.

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We commit to ensure that everyone is fairly assessed during our recruitment process. To assist candidates in completing their application form, Recite Me assistive technology is available on our Careers pages. This can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Accessibility Options' link at the top of the page.

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