A leading financial services group operating across South Africa and select African markets is seeking new joiner.
This established organisation provides a full range of banking, insurance, asset management, and wealth solutions to a broad client base. They focus on delivering innovative financial services while maintaining a strong commitment to integrity, sustainable growth, and positive impact in the communities they serve.
The role offers a stable, professional environment with opportunities for development in a dynamic sector
Head: New Ventures and Ecosystem Innovation
Final title might be aligned with the experience and seniority of the successful candidate.
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the end-to-end development of new ventures, from opportunity identification and concept validation through to market launch and early growth.
- Define venture strategy, market entry approaches, and growth pathways.
- Conduct market analysis and customer discovery to identify high-potential opportunities.
- Design and validate scalable business models with strong unit economics.
- Develop and evaluate venture investment cases, including commercial and financial models.
- Assess venture economics, scalability, and capital efficiency to guide strategic decision-making.
- Drive structured experimentation and rapid testing of venture hypotheses.
- Work closely with product, technology, and commercial teams to build and scale new solutions.
- Establish venture metrics, milestones, and operating disciplines to guide performance and growth.
- Mentor and develop venture teams, fostering a culture of learning, accountability, and execution.
- Engage with partners and the broader innovation ecosystem to identify opportunities and accelerate venture growth.
Education
- Bachelor's degree required
- MBA strongly preferred, ideally with a focus on entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation, or venture development
Experience
- 10–15+ years of relevant experience
- Experience in startups, venture studios, scale-ups, or new business creation environments
- Demonstrated track record of building ventures from concept to scale
- Experience working closely with product, technology, and commercial teams
- Exposure to African market dynamics
is strongly advantageous
Core Capabilities
- Venture building and venture incubation
- Business model design and venture strategy
- Strong understanding of unit economics and venture economics
- Customer discovery and opportunity validation
- Financial modelling and commercial analysis
- Data-driven experimentation and lean startup methodologies
Leadership & Mindset
The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
- A strong builder mindset
- Comfort operating in uncertain and ambiguous environments
- A bias toward action and disciplined experimentation
- The ability to coach and develop high-performing venture teams
- Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn quickly through iteration
Employment Equity
Preference will be given to suitably qualified Black African female candidates.
