Group Environmental and Climate Risk Head

Group Environmental and Climate Risk Head page is loaded

Apply locations Johannesburg time type Full time posted on Posted Yesterday time left to apply End Date: April 4, 2025 (6 days left to apply) job requisition id R31294

The Head of environmental and climate risk will be responsible for leading the group's risk response to climate and environmental risks, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, industry best practice, and the bank's sustainability commitments. As a key member of the Enterprise Risk Management leadership team, this role will oversee the integration of environmental risk considerations into the group's risk frameworks, decision-making processes and business strategies and is responsible to implement strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate environmental risks across the organization. This role leads a specialist team within the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) function tasked with providing group wide second line risk management, reporting and communication with stakeholders on environmental and climate risk matters.

The incumbent is expected to commit to the FirstRand promises which are: making a promise, being deeply invested, valuing our differences, building trust and not territory, having courage, always doing the right thing and staying curious.

Role Purpose:

The Head of environmental and climate risk will be responsible for leading the group's risk response to climate and environmental risks, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, industry best practice, and the bank's sustainability commitments. As a key member of the Enterprise Risk Management leadership team, this role will oversee the integration of environmental risk considerations into the group's risk frameworks, decision-making processes and business strategies and is responsible to implement strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate environmental risks across the organization. This role leads a specialist team within the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) function tasked with providing group wide second line risk management, reporting and communication with stakeholders on environmental and climate risk matters.

The incumbent is expected to commit to the FirstRand promises which are: making a promise, being deeply invested, valuing our differences, building trust and not territory, having courage, always doing the right thing and staying curious.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

• Develop and implement the group's environmental and climate risk response strategy, ensuring integration into the broader group risk management framework and other relevant risk management frameworks.
• Provide guidance to the board, strategic executive members and segments on climate-related financial risks, environmental risks and sustainability-linked regulatory requirements.
• Be the group's subject matter expert on climate and environmental risk related matters for engagements on key governance committees including risk committees, sustainability and governance committees as well as running the climate/ environmental risk committee meetings.
• Represent the group in key industry forums, regulatory discussions and sustainability networks to shape best practices, influence policy development and to ensure that FirstRand has access to cutting edge technology, solutions and knowledge.

RISK MANAGEMENT AND INTEGRATION

• Establish, maintain and ensure embedment of a robust environmental and climate risk management framework, including scenario analysis, stress testing, risk appetite setting and RDARR compliance.
• Oversee the development of climate risk models and tools to assess transition risk, physical risk, and environmental liabilities across the group's lending and investment portfolios.
• Ensure that climate and environmental risks are embedded in credit risk, market risk, operational risk, investment risk and strategic risk assessments and oversee the execution of the environmental and social risk assessment (ESRA) of credit applications.
• Drive the integration of climate risk considerations into the capital adequacy assessments and ICAAP processes.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• Lead the group's response to evolving climate-related and environmental regulatory requirements from local and international regulators (including SARB, PA, the Equator Principles, International Development Funding agreements, regulatory Environmental and Social requirements, broader Africa jurisdictional regulatory requirements, UN Framework on Human Rights, Principles for Responsible Investment, SA National Development Plan, Integrated Resources Plan, UN Sustainable Development Goals, amongst others).
• In conjunction with investor relations, lead the group's approach to compliance with climate-related disclosure frameworks (TCFD, ISSB, Basel guidelines, and SARB/ Prudential Authority (PA) regulations) and responsible for the group's Pillar 3 disclosure as it relates to environmental and climate risk.
• Provide high quality reports to internal governance committees and externally, in public reports and other publications.

BUSINESS ENABLEMENT AND ADVISORY

• Provide expert advisory support to segments and business units on sustainable finance, green lending, carbon accounting and climate and environmental-related opportunities.
• Assist the segments to report on climate balance sheet and monitor whether shifts in lending are aligned with net-zero commitments.
• Support the group's transition to a low-carbon economy by advising on risk-adjusted lending strategies, sustainable investment opportunities, and drive operational decarbonisation.
• Provide risk-assessment support to product teams to develop climate-resilient financial products and services that align with the bank's climate commitments.
• Enhance environmental and climate data information and systems to ensure that risks are effectively managed and that possible opportunities are identified.
• Provide innovative solutions for risk assessment and management capabilities, climate and environmental data analytics, scenario-analysis and stress testing and responsible for the group's climate risk stress testing and scenario analysis process.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• Collaborate with sustainability and risk teams across the group to align on risk management practices and the group climate strategy and enhance FirstRand's environmental and climate related risk and opportunity management.
• Collaborate with investor relations team on external climate risk reporting.
• Engage and build strong relationships with all internal and external stakeholders (including regulators, industry bodies, policy makers, international funders) to advance robust practices and to ensure that FirstRand's interests are appropriately represented.
• Development of team members and their dedicated portfolios, ensuring continuous personal development and individual performance management.
• Drive internal awareness and capacity building on environmental and climate risk management practices, ensuring that climate, nature and environmental operating standards, frameworks and guidelines are well documented and communicated throughout the group.
• Interpretation of legal and/or voluntary agreements and financial agreements with development finance institutions to ensure that the group can meet all commitments and ongoing monitoring of compliance. Accountable for annual monitoring reports to Development Finance Institutions in as far as accuracy, completeness and protection of client and personal information is concerned.
• Maintaining a high standard of climate and environmental subject knowledge coupled with an advanced understanding of financial and risk management capabilities and strive continuously to improve on quality-of-service delivery by identifying and realising personal areas of development.

You will be an ideal candidate if have:

Minimum required

• Bachelor's degree in environmental science, environmental engineering, risk management, sustainability or a related field.
• Post grad qualifications and skills - environmental law, environmental or climate risk management.
• Experience in the financial sector.
• 10 years in risk management, sustainability, or climate risk within financial services, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.

Advantageous

• An industry related qualification or sound understanding of the finance sector.
• Understanding of economics, environmental sustainability and climate change.
• Master's degree in any of the relevant fields of study.

KEY COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS

Technical skills

• Expertise in climate risk modelling, stress testing and scenario analysis, climate-related regulatory and reporting frameworks, climate and sustainable finance trends, and enterprise risk management within a banking environment.
• A talent for bridging sustainability expertise with commercial insight and pragmatism, which requires a strong collaborative and solutions orientated approach with business colleagues.
• Advancing impactful decarbonisation and reporting, strategic hiring, targeted training and capacity building, pro-active, data-driven approaches aligned with business objectives.
• Driving environmental risk management initiatives amid possible constraints like budget limitations, rising investor demands and the management of diverse stakeholder interests.

Strategic and leadership skills

• Ability to shape long-term risk strategy and influence senior leadership.
• Experience engaging with regulators and industry bodies.
• Strong executive presence and ability to drive change across the organisation.
• Proven leadership and team management skills.

Soft skills

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Responsible decision making and strong cross-functional collaboration.
• Display the highest level of honesty and integrity.
• Resolve disputes through negotiation, facilitation & persuasion techniques.
• Ability to effectively deal with people in general and specifically in challenging/conflict situations and to both maintain effective and build strategic working relationships (people networking skills).
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally both verbally and in writing.
• Display strong analytical skills to accurately interpret findings, prepare clear and concise reports and to make appropriate recommendations.
• Quality focused, decisive and self-motivated.
• Innovative, creative and forward thinker.

You will have access to:

• Challenging work in a complex and exciting environment.
• Opportunities to innovate and create efficiencies.

Are you interested to take the step? We look forward to engaging with you further. Apply now

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Take note that applications will not be accepted on the below date and onwards, kindly submit applications ahead of the closing date indicated below.

04/04/25

All appointments will be made in line with FirstRand Group's Employment Equity plan. The Bank supports the recruitment and advancement of individuals with disabilities. In order for us to fulfill this purpose, candidates can disclose their disability information on a voluntary basis. The Bank will keep this information confidential unless we are required by law to disclose this information to other parties.