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Job Description

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The Head of Executive Reward and Governance is a senior commercial leadership role responsible for establishing and growing Remchannel’s presence in the South African executive reward and governance consulting market. This is a market development mandate aligned with Remchannel’s ambitious growth strategy and the successful candidate will strengthen Remchannel’s executive reward consulting practice, targeting a significant share of this market.

The incumbent will act as a trusted strategic partner to State-owned enterprises, JSE-listed and large corporate boards, remuneration committees (RemCos), CHROs, CEOs and CFOs, developing strategies and advising on executive pay frameworks, short- and long-term incentive design, governance best practice and pay equity.

They will originate, close and personally deliver high-impact consulting mandates while simultaneously building the Remchannel brand as the premier independent executive reward and governance advisory firm in South Africa.

Responsibilities

• Market Development and New Business Generation: Proactively identify, target and win new consulting mandates from JSE-listed companies, large corporates, state-owned enterprises and private equity-backed businesses. Build and sustain a robust pipeline that delivers sufficient revenue to achieve consulting business targets and contribute meaningfully to Remchannel’s growth aspirations.

• Executive Reward Advisory: Design and deliver executive remuneration frameworks, including total guaranteed pay benchmarking, short-term incentive (STI) and long-term incentive (LTI) scheme design, business strategy review and performance condition setting, and dilution analysis for boards and RemCos.

• Remuneration Governance and Compliance: Advise boards and RemCos on King V remuneration governance principles, JSE Listings Requirements relating to executive pay disclosure, the Companies Act, and evolving best practice on say-on-pay and shareholder engagement.

• C-Suite and Board Relationship Management: Develop and maintain trusted advisor relationships with Chairpersons, Lead Independent Directors, RemCo Chairs, CHROs, CEOs and CFOs. Position Remchannel as the preferred independent partner for all executive reward and governance decisions.

• Remuneration Policy and Reporting: Author and review remuneration policy documents and remuneration reports (background statements, remuneration policy and implementation reports) that meet JSE and King V disclosure requirements and withstand institutional investor and proxy advisor scrutiny.

• Revenue and Commercial Performance: Achieve agreed annual revenue targets, progressing Remchannel from 0% to a meaningful share of the South African executive reward consulting market. Monitor utilisation, billing rates, pipeline conversion and client retention metrics.

• Thought Leadership and Brand Building: Position Remchannel as a leading voice in executive reward in South Africa. This includes speaking at remuneration forums and conferences (e.g. SARA, IoD SA), publishing market commentaries, authoring articles, engaging media and contributing to Remchannel’s executive reward surveys and research products.

• Solution and Service Development: Work with Remchannel leadership to develop and package executive reward consulting service offerings, including proprietary frameworks, toolkits and diagnostic products that differentiate Remchannel’s proposition from competitors.

• Stakeholder and Regulatory Engagement: Maintain awareness of PIC, GEPF, institutional investor (Allan Gray, Coronation, Ninety One etc.) expectations and proxy advisor (ISS, Glass Lewis) voting guidelines. Provide clients with early intelligence on emerging governance expectations.

• Practice Leadership and Collaboration: Provide specialist expertise to Remchannel’s broader consulting team; mentor junior consultants; collaborate with the broader Remchannel and Old Mutual Corporate Consulting (OMCC) teams to identify cross-sell opportunities and ensure a joined-up client experience.

• Risk and Quality Management: Ensure all consulting deliverables meet the highest standards of technical accuracy, independence and professional judgement. Maintain compliance with relevant OML risk and governance frameworks while exercising the independence expected of a trusted board advisor.

• Transformation and Employment Equity: Contribute to Remchannel’s Employment Equity objectives; actively support the development of a diverse executive reward talent pipeline; advise clients on equitable and fair executive pay practices aligned to the spirit of the Employment Equity Act and Pay Equity provisions.

Candidate Profile: Experience, Qualifications, Technical Skills and Personal Attributes

• Minimum 12–15 years of progressive experience in executive remuneration, with at least 8 years in a senior advisory, consulting or specialist reward role. Demonstrable track record of independently advising boards, RemCos and C-suite executives on executive pay strategy and governance.

• Deep technical expertise in executive reward instruments: total guaranteed pay (TGP) benchmarking, STI design and calibration, equity-settled and cash-settled LTI scheme design (share options, performance shares, restricted shares, co-investment plans), dilution modelling, and remuneration scenario analysis.

• Proven ability to author board-quality remuneration policy documents, background statements, policy statements and implementation reports fully compliant with JSE Listings Requirements and King V’s remuneration governance principles (Principle 14).

• Established personal network and respected market presence in the South African listed company environment. Known to and trusted by C-Suite Executives,  RemCo Chairs, lead independent directors, institutional investors and proxy advisors. This person is recognised as a go-to expert, not someone entering the market for the first time.

• Commercial acumen and business development capability: demonstrable experience originating and closing consulting mandates, managing client relationships through the full sales cycle, and generating recurring revenue from a portfolio of corporate clients. This role requires a hunter and a farmer.

• Thorough working knowledge of the South African and global regulatory and governance landscape relevant to executive pay: JSE Listings Requirements, King V Report on Corporate Governance, Companies Act No. 71 of 2008, Employment Equity Act (including Pay Equity provisions), Income Tax Act (sections 8A, 8B, 8C), and evolving institutional investor and proxy advisor guidance.

• Qualifications: A relevant postgraduate qualification (e.g. BCom Honours, MBA, CA(SA)or equivalent) is preferred. Professional membership of the South African Reward Association (SARA) at Master Reward Specialist level, and/or the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoD SA) would be advantageous.

• Board-level communication and influencing skills: Exceptional ability to present complex reward and governance matters to C-suite executives, non-executive directors, RemCo members and institutional investors in a clear, confident and credible manner. Equally effective in written deliverables and face-to-face advisory engagements.

• Intellectual rigour and independent judgement: The credibility to push back on a board or executive team when a proposed remuneration approach is inconsistent with best practice, governance principles or shareholder expectations. This person is a trusted independent adviser, not an order-taker.

• Entrepreneurial and self-directed: Able to operate effectively in a start-up market context within a larger corporate environment. Comfortable with ambiguity, capable of building from scratch, and motivated by the challenge of capturing market share in a competitive professional services landscape.

• Results orientation and commercial accountability: Driven by measurable outcomes. Comfortable being held accountable for revenue targets, client retention rates, new mandate wins and market share progression. Will not be satisfied until Remchannel is materially represented in the executive reward consulting market.

• Thought leadership and market profile: An active and visible presence in the South African executive reward community. Contributes to SARA, IoD SA or similar forums; is quoted in business media on executive pay matters; and is recognised by peers and clients as a subject matter authority.

Skills

Adaptive Thinking, Change Management, Commercial Acumen, Cultural Awareness, Customer-Focused, Executing Plans, Financial Acumen, Learning and Development (L&D), Negotiation, Negotiation Tactics, Performance Management Design, Policy Development, Professional Presentation, Servant Leadership

Competencies

Balances Stakeholders

Being Resilient

Builds Effective Teams

Business Insight

Communicates Effectively

Customer Focus

Drives Results

Ensures Accountability

Education

NQF Level 9 – Masters

Closing Date

23 April 2026 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

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