Job Purpose

The Strategy Manager is responsible for leading the Bank’s strategic planning, formulation and execution processes to reposition the Bank for sustainable growth. Given the Bank’s current vision and aspiration, the Strategy Manager will play a pivotal role in driving efficiency, identifying new growth opportunities, and ensuring the Bank’s strategy is translated into measurable actions across all departments.

Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Planning for the Bank

• Support in the development of Bank wide strategies that address profitability challenges, cost optimisation, and market share growth, utilising competitive intelligence, industry benchmarks, and data-driven insights.
• Lead implementation of diverse products of initiatives, ensuring cross-functional alignment and synergies that reduce duplication, streamline processes, and maximise resource utilisation.
• Monitor implementation of strategic objectives and advise management on corrective actions to improve cost-to-income ratio and profitability.
• Drive Bank-wide initiatives on service quality, ensuring customer experience improvements are aligned with profitability and operational goals.
• Identify, analyse and monitor risk factors associated with strategic initiatives and ensure strategic projects deliver measurable outcomes.
• Provide thought leadership in strategy execution, ensuring initiatives are aligned with the Bank’s growth objectives and risk appetite.

Leadership and Drive of Detailed Implementation

• Translate the Bank’s strategy into detailed implementation plans, with clear milestones, KPIs and accountability frameworks.
• Ensure departmental operational plans are aligned with strategic objectives, particularly around cost reduction, revenue diversification, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor execution of these plans across departments, ensuring progress is tracked, measured, and reported transparently.
• Report on implementation effectiveness, highlighting successes, bottlenecks, and recommending corrective actions to keep the Bank on track toward profitability and market growth.
• Champion a culture of accountability and performance discipline, ensuring that strategy is not only designed but actively lived across the organization.

Resource Management (Finances and/or Assets)

• Support the Head of Strategy in preparing annual budgets and forecasts, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities of cost containment and revenue growth.
• Monitor monthly performance against budget, identifying variances early and recommending corrective measures to maintain financial discipline.
• Advocate for efficient resource allocation, ensuring investments are directed toward initiatives that deliver measurable returns and strengthen competitive positioning.

Staff Management

• Deliver recruitment, selection, induction, training, and development for direct reports, ensuring the team has the right skills to drive strategy execution.
• Manage performance of all direct reports.
• Setting clear performance goals linked to strategic priorities.
• Delivering performance appraisals and managing outcomes.
• Coaching and accountability to build strategic thinking and execution capabilities.
• Recognising and rewarding outstanding performance to motivate high achievers.
• Documenting and managing performance improvement plans for underperformers.
• Foster a culture of innovation and efficiency, encouraging staff to contribute ideas that reduce costs, improve processes, and enhance customer value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Banking and Finance, Accounting, Commerce, or Business Administration from a recognized university.
• Postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA, MSc in Strategic Management, Economics, or Finance) is an added advantage.
• Professional certifications in strategy, risk management, or project management (e.g., PMP, Balanced Scorecard, CFA) or finance goals are desirable.
• Strong knowledge of strategic management, financial modelling and business performance analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to translate theory into practice by designing and executing corporate strategies in a financial services environment.

Experience and Skills

• Minimum 5 years’ experience at manager or senior officer level in a busy financial services organization, with exposure to strategy formulation, business planning, and performance management.
• Excellent analytical skills – ability to analyse complex financial and operational data, design management information dashboards, and draw insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Strong organisational and management skills, including problem solving, prioritization, and the ability to coordinate cross-functional initiatives.
• Proven track record in cost optimisation and efficiency improvement, ideally in a commercial bank environment.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to contribute to long-term strategic decisions, balancing growth ambitions with risk appetite.
• Experience in project management and monitoring execution, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
• Ability to translate strategy into measurable actions, with clear KPIs and accountability frameworks.
• Computer and market analysis skills.

• Support in the development of Bank wide strategies that address profitability challenges, cost optimisation, and market share growth, utilising competitive intelligence, industry benchmarks, and data-driven insights.
• Lead implementation of diverse products of initiatives, ensuring cross-functional alignment and synergies that reduce duplication, streamline processes, and maximise resource utilisation.
• Monitor implementation of strategic objectives and advise management on corrective actions to improve cost-to-income ratio and profitability.
• Drive Bank-wide initiatives on service quality, ensuring customer experience improvements are aligned with profitability and operational goals.
• Identify, analyse and monitor risk factors associated with strategic initiatives and ensure strategic projects deliver measurable outcomes.
• Provide thought leadership in strategy execution, ensuring initiatives are aligned with the Bank’s growth objectives and risk appetite.
• Translate the Bank’s strategy into detailed implementation plans, with clear milestones, KPIs and accountability frameworks.
• Ensure departmental operational plans are aligned with strategic objectives, particularly around cost reduction, revenue diversification, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor execution of these plans across departments, ensuring progress is tracked, measured, and reported transparently.
• Report on implementation effectiveness, highlighting successes, bottlenecks, and recommending corrective actions to keep the Bank on track toward profitability and market growth.
• Champion a culture of accountability and performance discipline, ensuring that strategy is not only designed but actively lived across the organization.
• Support the Head of Strategy in preparing annual budgets and forecasts, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities of cost containment and revenue growth.
• Monitor monthly performance against budget, identifying variances early and recommending corrective measures to maintain financial discipline.
• Advocate for efficient resource allocation, ensuring investments are directed toward initiatives that deliver measurable returns and strengthen competitive positioning.
• Deliver recruitment, selection, induction, training, and development for direct reports, ensuring the team has the right skills to drive strategy execution.
• Manage performance of all direct reports.
• Setting clear performance goals linked to strategic priorities.
• Delivering performance appraisals and managing outcomes.
• Coaching and accountability to build strategic thinking and execution capabilities.
• Recognising and rewarding outstanding performance to motivate high achievers.
• Documenting and managing performance improvement plans for underperformers.
• Foster a culture of innovation and efficiency, encouraging staff to contribute ideas that reduce costs, improve processes, and enhance customer value.

• Excellent analytical skills – ability to analyse complex financial and operational data, design management information dashboards, and draw insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Strong organisational and management skills, including problem solving, prioritization, and the ability to coordinate cross-functional initiatives.
• Proven track record in cost optimisation and efficiency improvement, ideally in a commercial bank environment.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to contribute to long-term strategic decisions, balancing growth ambitions with risk appetite.
• Experience in project management and monitoring execution, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
• Ability to translate strategy into measurable actions, with clear KPIs and accountability frameworks.
• Computer and market analysis skills.

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Banking and Finance, Accounting, Commerce, or Business Administration from a recognized university.
• Postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA, MSc in Strategic Management, Economics, or Finance) is an added advantage.
• Professional certifications in strategy, risk management, or project management (e.g., PMP, Balanced Scorecard, CFA) or finance goals are desirable.
• Strong knowledge of strategic management, financial modelling and business performance analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to translate theory into practice by designing and executing corporate strategies in a financial services environment.