Head of Custody

Job Purpose

Provide strategic, commercial and product leadership for the Nedbank Investor Services (NIS) role (i.e., Custody product franchise), with end-to-end accountability for defining, developing and delivering a differentiated, sustainable and client-centric custody, derivatives clearing, securities lending, fund accounting, trustee services propositions, and thus drive the growth of the NIS business portfolio across the geographic footprint of Nedbank (as well as, Global custody). 

The role is accountable for setting the strategic direction, product roadmap and ongoing evolution of the custody offering, ensuring that the proposition remains commercially relevant, operationally resilient, appropriately governed and responsive to changing client, market, regulatory and technology requirements. 

As the senior product authority for NIS, the Executive will work across Transactional Services, Coverage, Operations, Technology, Risk and other specialist functions to translate client and market needs into scalable product capabilities and sustainable business outcomes. 

Job Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Franchise Leadership

• Define and execute the strategic direction for the Custody Product franchise in alignment with Transactional Services and broader business priorities including international custody capabilities. 


• Establish a clear product vision, strategic positioning and medium-to-long-term roadmap for the custody proposition in South Africa and Africa.


• Maintain a deep understanding of developments across custody, securities services, capital markets and institutional banking.


• Identify structural shifts, emerging client requirements and market developments that present opportunities or risks to the franchise. 


• Determine strategic investment priorities and ensure product development is focused on areas delivering sustainable client and commercial value. 


• Position Custody effectively within the broader Transactional Services proposition and enterprise strategy. 


• Act as the senior product authority for Custody, providing strategic direction and specialist guidance on complex product matters.

Commercial & Financial Management 

• Own the commercial sustainability and overall performance of the custody proposition. 


• Working with the coverage and sales teams, grow the NIS business by participating in acquiring new mandates.  Leverage relationships built up in the FI sector, to drive traction in growing the NIS business.


• Drive sustainable revenue growth through proposition enhancement, client penetration, disciplined commercial management and new market opportunities. 


• Establish appropriate product economics, pricing principles and commercial frameworks. 


• Understand key revenue, cost and profitability drivers and identify opportunities to improve commercial performance and scalability. Evaluate investment requirements and business cases, balancing commercial opportunity, strategic importance, risk and implementation complexity. 


• Monitor business and product performance and initiate corrective or growth interventions where required. 

Client Proposition & Market Leadership

• Maintain deep insight into institutional client needs, market developments and competitive dynamics. 


• Ensure the custody proposition delivers a compelling, differentiated and consistent client experience. 


• Partner with Coverage and other client-facing teams on strategic and complex custody opportunities. 


• Drive and deliver the NIS outcomes, by participating in significant client engagements, as appropriate. 


• Translate client insights and market trends into product enhancements, new capabilities and prioritised investments. 


• Build credibility with key market participants and relevant industry stakeholders (represent Nedbank in post-transaction industry forums and boards, as appropriate). 


• Responsible to have a maximising mindset in the engagement with the various stakeholders locally and internationally.


• Required to execute non-executive director duties for Nedbank’s as the shareholder in Strate

Job Responsibilities Continue

Product Development, Innovation & Transformation 

• Own and continuously evolve the Custody Product roadmap. 


• Sponsor the development, enhancement and modernisation of custody capabilities, platforms and client propositions. 


• Translate strategic product priorities into clear business requirements and investment cases. 


• Partner with Technology, Operations and other enabling functions to simplify and modernise the product architecture and operating model. 


• Evaluate emerging technologies, data opportunities, automation and evolving market infrastructure to determine their relevance to the custody proposition. 


• Ensure product investment decisions appropriately balance strategic value, client demand, financial return, risk and delivery complexity. 
  Drive disciplined execution of strategic product initiatives and transformation programmes.

Operating Model & Service Excellence 

• Champion an effective end-to-end operating model across Product, Operations, Technology and client-facing functions. 


• Establish clear product standards, service expectations and accountability across the product value chain. 


• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, improve scalability and enhance the overall client experience.


• Use client, operational and product-performance insights to identify structural improvement opportunities. 


• Ensure that the proposition can support sustainable growth without compromising resilience, governance, risk management or client outcomes.

Stakeholder & Enterprise Leadership 

• Build strong partnerships across Transactional Services, Coverage, Operations, Technology, Finance, Risk, Legal and Compliance covering South Africa and Africa.


• Influence enterprise priorities and secure alignment around strategic Custody initiatives. 


• Represent the Custody Product franchise in appropriate senior business, investment and governance forums. 


• Develop effective relationships with relevant external industry stakeholders and market participants. 


• Navigate competing priorities and drive cross-functional decisions in the best interests of clients and the organisation. 
  Communicate complex product matters clearly and effectively to executive and senior stakeholder audiences.

People Leadership and Talent Development

• Build and lead a high-performing Custody team.


• Provide coaching, mentorship and career development opportunities.


• Drive succession planning and talent management in line with Transactional Services requirements.


• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation and client-centricity.


• Champion diversity, inclusion, transformation and Nedbank values.


• Lead employee engagement and capability development initiatives.

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor qualification in Finance, Economics, Accounting, Commerce, Law, or related field.

Preferred Qualification

• A relevant postgraduate qualification such as an Honours degree, Master’s degree, MBA or equivalent would be strongly advantageous given the strategic and executive scope of the position.

Minimum Experience Level

• +15 years’ experience within custody, securities services, post-trade services or related institutional banking products.
  Relevant professional qualifications or industry certifications within banking, investment management, securities services, financial markets or risk management would be advantageous 


• Extensive senior leadership experience in banking, custody, securities services, transaction banking, capital markets or a related institutional financial-services environment, supported by deep knowledge of the custody value chain, securities-market infrastructure and regulatory landscape. 


• Proven accountability for complex financial-services products, including multi-year product strategy, lifecycle management, pricing, profitability, investment prioritisation and the delivery of commercially sustainable institutional client propositions. 


• Strong track record of driving commercial performance across a product portfolio or business. 


• Demonstrated experience leading product, platform, digital or operating-model transformation while balancing technology investment, operational resilience, regulatory obligations and product, conduct and commercial risk. 


• Proven ability to influence across Product, Coverage, Operations, Technology and control functions; engage executive forums; lead specialist teams; build capability and succession; and create a high-performance, accountable and collaborative culture. 

Technical or Professional Knowledge

• Custody and securities-services expertise


• Securities-market and infrastructure knowledge


• Product strategy and lifecycle management


• Product economics and commercial management


• Regulatory and compliance expertise


• Product risk and governance


• Strategic investment and change execution


• Service management and operational resilience


• Market and competitive intelligence


• Technology, data and digital enablement


• Custody operating-model expertise

Behavioural Competencies

• Strategic Thinking


• Commercial Acumen


• Influencing and Negotiation


• Building Partnerships


• Client Focus


• Decision Making


• Leading Change


• Talent Development


• Collaboration


• Innovation


• Driving Execution


• Courageous Leadership


• Results Orientation


• Stakeholder Management

EE Statement

Preference to be given to under-represented groups.