Who are we?
Sanlam Life and Savings (SLS) is focused on serving our retail and corporate clients in South Africa and further developing our strategic advantages in the South African market. Sanlam Life and Savings consists of the following business units Retail Mass, Corporate, Risk and Savings, Glacier and various business enabling functions. The Sanlam Life and Savings Office provides strategic direction, coordination and support to the four clusters, as well as performing governance oversight that includes assurance provided by second line of defense functions in SLS, to enable us to meet our business objectives.
What will you do?
This role forms part of the Credit,Banking and Rewards Cluster within SLS and is responsible for leading the development and execution of customer strategy and value propositions for the Sanlam banking-led ecosystem with the relevant Client Solutions teams — across all client segments and all distribution models (intermediated, direct, and digital). This role sits at the intersection of banking product strategy and customer need, ensuring that what is built and brought to market genuinely improves client value and/or financial wellbeing, works within an intermediated advice context, and is commercially sustainable.
The role works in close collaboration with the Head of Marketing (who focus on brand, go-to-market execution, and channel activation) and is the primary bridge between banking product design, the customer experience, and the distribution models through which clients are served — including intermediary-remunerated models. This role is the strategic heart of what Sanlam takes to market in banking. It ensures that product, proposition, and distribution are coherently aligned around a single outcome: a better financial life for every client we serve — however they choose to engage with us.
What will make you successful in this role?
1. Customer Strategy
- Define and implement the overall customer strategy aligned with the banking-led ecosystem vision, covering all client segments — mass, emerging middle market, and affluent.
- Develop differentiated acquisition, retention, and growth strategies by segment, with an explicit view on how each segment is best served — through intermediaries, digitally, or both.
- Ensure the customer strategy accounts for the full distribution context: where clients are intermediary-advised, propositions must be designed to function within that relationship and remuneration model.
Champion customer-centricity across the organisation — ensuring client value and/or financial wellbeing, not just product uptake, is the measure of success.
2. Proposition Development
- Develop differentiated customer value propositions that combine everyday banking, accessible credit, and financial wellbeing tools (budgeting, savings, responsible credit access, rewards).
- Ensure that the banking product strategy and customer strategy are genuinely aligned — i.e. that product design decisions serve client outcomes, not just business metrics.
- Design propositions with the intermediated model explicitly in mind: where an intermediary is involved, the proposition must be structured to accommodate intermediary remuneration, advice requirements, and the client-adviser relationship.
- Ensure propositions are commercially viable in the context of distribution costs — including intermediary remuneration — regulatory compliance, and client affordability.
- Oversee the end-to-end proposition lifecycle: ideation, design, piloting, launch, and ongoing optimisation.
3. Go-to-Market Collaboration
This role defines what is taken to market and for whom. The Head of Marketing focus on how it is taken to market. In collaboration with the Head of Marketing for Banking and Client Solutions teams:
- Co-create integrated, segment-specific customer value propositions across banking, credit, and insurance.
- Define positioning, messaging architecture, and value proposition frameworks tailored to each segment and channel — providing the strategic brief from which Marketing executes.
- Ensure GTM strategies reflect the distinct needs of intermediated vs. direct vs. digital journeys, and that digital delivery enhances rather than undermines the adviser model.
- Support post-launch performance reviews using customer and commercial data, feeding insights back into proposition refinement.
- In collaboration with the Head of Distribution for Banking, embed the customer value proposition into the intermediated client journey — including adviser toolkits, remuneration structures, and client communication frameworks.
4. Banking Product & Customer Strategy Nexus
- Serve as the primary point of integration between banking product strategy (owned by GoTyme and internal product teams) and the customer strategy — ensuring product decisions are evaluated against client outcomes, not only bank economics.
- Identify where banking product design creates friction or misalignment with client value, and advocate for product changes that resolve this.
- Ensure credit, transactional, and savings products are structured in a way that supports long-term financial health — particularly for clients transitioning from insurance-only relationships.
- Work with the Booost Head of Product to ensure the relevance and strategic fit of banking and credit rewards value propositions for the Sanlam client base.
5. Market & Customer Insights
- Identify and synthesise customer needs across transactional banking, credit, and the broader client journey.
- Monitor market trends, competitor offerings, and regulatory developments to keep propositions relevant and competitive.
- Gather and act on customer and intermediary feedback to continuously refine propositions and client journeys.
- Benchmark against local competitors and global best practices in embedded banking and financial wellness.
- Maintain a forward-looking roadmap of joint solutions to be delivered through the banking partner and credit product house.
6. Stakeholder Engagement
- Collaborate closely with GoTyme and other banking/credit partners, digital, operations, compliance, and the broader Sanlam Client Solutions cluster.
- Influence senior leadership and maintain alignment across business units on customer strategy priorities.
- Build effective working relationships with intermediary bodies and distribution leadership to ensure propositions are designed for real-world adviser adoption.
7. Leadership & Governance
- Establish governance frameworks for proposition development, including commercial viability sign-off that accounts for distribution costs and intermediary remuneration.
- Drive a culture of innovation, agility, and customer accountability.
Qualification and Experience
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or a related field (required).
- MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification (preferred).
Experience
- 10+ years in banking
- Experience in broader financial services including insurance and/or strategy consulting advantageous.
- Proven track record in customer strategy, proposition development, or product management in a financial services context.
- Direct experience working with or within intermediated distribution models — understanding of adviser remuneration, compliance obligations, and client-adviser dynamics.
- Experience building propositions that span digital and physical channels, with an appreciation that digital-first is not the same as direct-first.
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing at executive level
Knowledge and Skills
Business strategy development and implementation. Manage P&LDevelop and maintain strategic partnershipsBudgeting and expense managementRisk and compliance managementManagement of employees
Personal Attributes
Drives vision and purpose - Contributing strategicallyBusiness insight - Contributing strategicallyManages complexity - Contributing strategicallyBalances stakeholders - 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 strategicallyCustomer focus - Contributing strategicallyDrives results - Contributing strategicallyCollaborates - Contributing strategicallyBeing 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.
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.
