Senior Specialist: Compliance Risk (x2) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

About the Position

• SARS is looking for an experienced and seasoned leader who is a highly skilled, results driven, self-directed individual with extensive enterprise risk management knowledge and experience, who will contribute towards SARS’ higher purpose and service orientation.
• S/he will be responsible for the leadership, innovation, governance, and management of risk from a second line of assurance necessary to enable the organisation in the strategic administration, management, reporting and guidance on the implementation of the risk management strategy across all categories of risk.
• Proven results driven leadership coupled with known specialized functional knowledge and know-how is required in order to enable business to translate the SARS vision and strategic intent into a world-class taxpayer service and delivery operation through sound risk management.
• Advanced risk trend analysis practices are required to assist the organization in pro-actively managing and mitigating risks within various business areas in line with industry benchmark and best practices. The ideal candidate will have exceptional people management skills necessary to develop leading partnership strategies with all key internal and external stakeholders across SARS.  Experience in preparing submissions to external stakeholders including the National Treasury, SCOPA, and  other reporting entities will be advantageous. S/he will be part of a dynamic and innovative team that seeks to implement a progressive risk culture at SARS facilitating the implementation of risk management practices and principles using the ISO 31000 framework as the base methodology. S/he will provide leadership within the  SARS ERM Team in defining a risk practice that operates and promotes modern thinking in Risk management, utilizing King IV Report’s Combined Assurance methodology on the 5 Lines of Assurance model.  S/he will be responsible for the research, design, implementation and translation  of SARS’ Enterprise Risk Management strategy into relevant policies, frameworks, guidelines and practices in support of SARS strategic objectives and enhance SARS’s ability to manage, mitigate and eliminate risks as they arise.
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of risk management processes, policies, guidelines, assessments and relevant legislations and experience in Business Continuity planning will be an added advantage.  Another added advantage would be that the candidate is a  Member in good standing, of Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA), with Certified Risk Management Practitioner (CRM Prac) qualification or equivalent.
• The ideal person should be a seasoned thought leader with extensive knowledge of Risk Management, in a large multi-divisional corporate that liaises with both Government and Private Sector Stakeholders.

Job Purpose

• To align and provide expert and specialist advice on risk strategies in order to achieve overall organizational business objectives.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Relevant Honours / Postgraduate Diploma (NQF 8) and 10-12 years' experience in a Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) environment with practical experience in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), or similar environment, of which 3-4 years’ experience should be at ERM specialist level.
• Relevant Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) AND 12 - 15 years related experience in Enterprise Risk Management(ERM), which ideally should have been practiced in a Governance, Risk and Compliance environment.

Job Outputs:

Process

• Ensure timeous communication on progress and challenges in achieving divisional and business unit goals to all relevant stakeholders.
• Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures, policies and practices.
• Contribute to the optimum utilisation of organisational resources, advising on effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans.
• Develop multiple practices in alignment with operational policy and procedural frameworks, supporting tactical development and excellence.
• Draw on own technical or professional expertise, knowledge & experience to identify & recommend tactical solutions to defined problems in practices.
• Influence and communicate across business areas impacted by practice area to minimise resistance and ensure on-boarding of new thinking.
• Integrate business information, compare, analyse & produce reports to identify trends, discrepancies & inconsistencies for decision making purposes.
• Optimise goal achievement through tactical strategy development and optimisation of practises, processes & systems across an internal value chain.
• Plan for value-added, continuous multiple practice and system improvement optimisation to deliver on objectives and to enhance tactical excellence.
• Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives, developing best practice solutions.
• Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associated procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation.
• Translate top-down policy, apply modification in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders.

Governance

• Develop and/or align governance, risk and compliance policies in own practice areas to identify and manage risk exposure liability.

People

• Provide specialist know-how, support, advice and practice thought leadership in area of expertise.
• Integrate new knowledge and transfer skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.

Finance

• Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of specialisation.

Client

• Participate in the specialist practice community and contribute positively to organisation knowledge management.
• Develop & ensure implementation of own practices to build delivery excellence, encouraging others to provide exceptional stakeholder service.
• Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.

Behavioural competencies

• Fairness and Transparency
• Analytical Thinking
• Accountability
• Conceptual Ability
• External Awareness
• Honesty and Integrity
• Trust
• Respect
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Organisational Awareness
• Building Sustainability

Technical competencies

• Risk Knowledge
• Risk Awareness
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Reporting
• Business Knowledge
• Creative and Innovative Thinking
• Efficiency improvement
• Policy analysis