Who are we?
Sanlam was established as a life insurance company in South Africa but has since transformed into a diversified financial services group that operates across the African continent, India, Malaysia and selected developed markets, with listings on the Johannesburg, A2X and Namibian stock exchanges. In 2018 the Group celebrated its centenary as well as 20 years since demutualisation and listing in South Africa and Namibia. Sanlam is one of the largest internationally active insurance groups in the world with a presence in 30 countries and has the biggest non-banking financial services footprint on the African continent.
The Group’s four business clusters (Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz and Santam) house the Group’s business operations. The Group Office provides strategic direction and support to the five clusters, assisting them in realising their strategies and meeting their business objectives. The Group Office is responsible for governance and for the Group’s centralised functions, which include: Finance, Actuarial and Risk Management, Strategy, Human Resources, Market Development and Sustainability.
What will you do?
The Group Office (Chief Financial Officer) CFO is a senior finance leadership role that operates as a key deputy and 2IC to the Group CFO. The role acts as the CFO of the Group Office as a corporate centre, while also providing enterprise-wide financial governance, performance oversight and reporting integrity across the Group. It supports the Group CFO by ensuring that the Group’s financial information, governance submissions, Board and Executive reporting, financial controls, reporting timetable, audit processes and Group Office financial management are technically robust, reliable and decision-useful. The Group CFO owns the overall finance message and strategic positioning; the Group Office CFO ensures that the underlying financial architecture, controls, analysis and governance are sound.
What will make you successful in this role?
As Group Office CFO, you will play a pivotal leadership role in safeguarding the Group’s financial integrity, driving financial performance, and enabling strategic decision-making at Board and Executive level.Areas of responsibility include:
- Leading the financial management of Group Office, with accountability for budgeting, forecasting, cost management, treasury costs, legal entity finances, allocations and management reporting.
- Ensuring financial governance and reporting excellence through oversight of Group financial control, consolidation, IFRS compliance, accounting policies, statutory reporting and internal controls.
- Providing enterprise-wide financial insight, analysing business performance, challenging forecasts, identifying risks and supporting strategic decision-making across the Group.
- Supporting the Group CFO, Exco and Board through high-quality financial reporting, Audit Committee and Board submissions, regulatory reporting, capital committee papers and strategic financial analysis.
- Leading Group finance operations, including financial reporting, technical accounting, consolidation, capital reporting, balance sheet management, reporting calendars and financial governance.
- Acting as custodian of financial integrity, ensuring reporting accuracy, compliance, strong controls, realistic forecasting and proactive risk escalation.
- Building and leading a high-performing finance team, strengthening technical capability, succession depth, accountability and continuous improvement.
- Managing key stakeholder relationships, including auditors, regulators, investors, analysts and Board-level stakeholders, ensuring transparent and credible financial communication.
What Success Looks Like
You will be accountable for:
- Delivering accurate, timely and compliant Group financial reporting.
- Maintaining robust governance, controls and regulatory compliance across the finance environment.
- Providing independent financial challenge and insight to support executive and Board decision-making.
- Driving disciplined financial stewardship of Group Office.
- Strengthening finance capability, operational excellence and stakeholder confidence.
- Upholding the highest standards of financial integrity and accountability.
Qualification and Experience
- Qualified CA(SA) and/or Actuary.
- 10–15 years’ progressive experience in financial reporting, accounting and finance leadership.
- Proven experience in a senior finance leadership role within a complex corporate environment.
Advantageous
- CPA, CFA, MBA or Master’s degree in Finance.
- Experience in insurance, investment management or broader financial services.
- Exposure to Pan-African and emerging market operations.
- Knowledge of financial sector regulatory reporting requirements.
What we need
- Deep expertise in IFRS, financial reporting, governance and financial controls.
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate complex financial information into strategic insights.
- Proven ability to influence and engage at Executive, CFO, CEO and Board level.
- Experience with finance technologies, automation, analytics and AI-enabled finance solutions.
- Exceptional leadership, stakeholder management and problem-solving skills.
- A strong control mindset, resilience under pressure and an unwavering commitment to financial integrity.
A detailed job profile is available during the recruitment process and will be provided to shortlisted candidates. Should you have any further questions feel free to reach out to Rene.Francis@Sanlam.co.za or Danielle.Houtzamer@Sanlam.co.za
Knowledge and Skills
Execute the required corporate governance and risk management
Drive shareholder value and profitability
Drive business innovation, market growth and change
Ensure leadership in the creation and execution of the Division vision and strategy
Positioning and representation of the company brand for the division in the market
Personal Attributes
Drives vision and purpose – Contributing strategically
Business insight – Contributing strategically
Manages complexity – Contributing strategically
Strategic mindset – Contributing strategically
Build a successful career with us
We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.
Core Competencies
Cultivates innovation – Contributing strategically
Customer focus – Contributing strategically
Drives results – Contributing strategically
Collaborates – Contributing strategically
Being resilient – Contributing strategically
Turnaround time
The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers.
The closing date for applications is 10 August 2026.
Our commitment to transformation
The Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace as we believe that these are key components to ensuring a thriving and sustainable business in South Africa. The Group’s Employment Equity plan and targets will be considered as part of the selection process.
