Executive: Safe Services

Summary:

The Lead: Safe Services is accountable for defining, governing, and driving the enterprise-wide Safe Services (Regulatory Compliance) strategy across Massmart, ensuring the organisation operates within all applicable regulatory frameworks across key compliance domains. The role is also expected to provide enterprise leadership, governance, and assurance across critical compliance areas including Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Trade & Sanctions, Anti-Trust and Competition Law, Privacy, and Labour & Employment compliance, ensuring alignment to Massmart strategy, regulatory obligations, and Walmart global standards

FUNCTIONS / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Enterprise Safe Services Strategy and Business Enablement

• Define and own a 3–5 year enterprise Safe Services (regulatory compliance) strategy aligned to business growth, expansion, and risk appetite.
• Translate regulatory requirements into an integrated compliance roadmap that enables safe, compliant, and sustainable business operations.
• Ensure regulatory compliance is embedded into core business value chains, including new products, services, partnerships, and operating models.
• Drive enterprise-wide standardisation of compliance practices while enabling flexibility across jurisdictions.
• Ensure Safe Services strategy supports business continuity, enables growth and speed, revenue protection, and operational scalability

Enterprise Risk Ownership and ERM Integration

• Act as the accountable enterprise risk owner for regulatory compliance risks, including AML, Trade & Sanctions, Anti-Trust and Competition Law, Privacy, and Labour compliance domains.
• Accountable for mitigating high-impact regulatory risks that could result in financial penalties, legal exposure, operational disruption, or reputational damage.
• Align all compliance risk practices to the Group Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework led by Legal.
• Partner with the Enterprise Risk Management function within Legal to ensure accurate aggregation, reporting, and escalation of regulatory risks at Group level.
• Ensure integration of Safe Services risks into enterprise risk reporting, including Risk Committees, EXCO, and Board governance structures.
• Escalate material regulatory risks and compliance breaches through formal governance channels in line with Group protocols.

Regulatory Governance, Frameworks and Assurance

• Define and govern enterprise-wide compliance frameworks, policies, and standards across all Safe Services domains.
• Provide executive-level assurance on the effectiveness of compliance controls, monitoring mechanisms, and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure consistent application of compliance frameworks across all business units and jurisdictions.
• Oversee regulatory readiness, including audits, inspections, and compliance reviews.
• Ensure proactive management of regulatory change and emerging compliance risks

Supports development of global policies and standard operating procedures

• Manage benchmark progress of compliance initiatives with other markets and external companies or standards
• Recommend opportunities for enhancement of policies, standards and controls Benchmark progress of compliance initiatives with markets and external companies or standards.
• Ensure that compliance programs, policies, procedures and reporting are consistent with global direction and leverage global talent and resources.

Business Advisory and Compliance Enablement

• Act as the primary advisor to Executive leadership on regulatory implications of business decisions, including new products, services, and business models.
• Provide strategic guidance to ensure compliance requirements are embedded into business design and execution, and enable business growth and speed within a compliant framework.
• Enable the business to make informed, risk-based decisions while maintaining regulatory compliance.
• Balance regulatory requirements with commercial objectives to support sustainable growth.

Program Governance and Scalable Compliance Execution

• Provide governance and oversight of all Safe Services compliance programs, ensuring effective execution.
• Ensure all compliance programs are risk-based, scalable, and aligned to enterprise priorities.
• Drive integration of compliance requirements into operational processes, systems, and controls.
• Ensure effective utilisation of global compliance tools and systems to enhance visibility, monitoring, and control.

Regulatory Engagement and External Representation

• Lead enterprise engagement with regulators, industry bodies, and external stakeholders on compliance matters.
• Represent Massmart in regulatory discussions, investigations, and compliance forums.
• Articulate corporate positions on regulatory matters and ensure alignment with Legal and governance frameworks.
• Manage high-risk regulatory interactions and ensure consistent organisational positioning

Financial Management and Performance Oversight

• Own and manage the Safe Services functional budget.
• Drive cost avoidance through proactive compliance management, reducing exposure to fines, penalties, and legal costs.
• Ensure compliance initiatives are cost-effective and aligned to business priorities.
• Ensure a clear linkage between compliance performance and financial risk exposure.

Stakeholder Management

• Influence enterprise decision-making at Executive and Board level on regulatory risk, compliance posture, and strategic direction.
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships across Legal, Finance, People, Growth Office, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Product functions.
• Ensure alignment between global (Walmart) standards and local regulatory requirements

People Management

• Lead with a servant leadership mindset to create an inclusive, supportive, and empowering environment where team members feel valued and heard, fostering psychological safety.
• Develop and implement Individual Performance Development (IPD) plans tailored to each team member, providing clear performance expectations and ongoing feedback to drive growth and career progression.
• Hold regular, meaningful career conversations with team members to understand their professional aspirations, providing guidance and opportunities for development in alignment with their goals and organisational needs.
• Encourage open dialogue and provide constructive feedback that empowers team members to take ownership of their development while supporting them in overcoming challenges.
• Foster a continuous learning and development culture by encouraging participation in training, mentorship, and skill-building opportunities, ensuring that each individual’s potential is nurtured.
• Promote psychological safety by encouraging risk-taking, innovation, and sharing ideas without fear of failure or retribution, building trust and collaboration within the team.
• Actively support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to create a work environment where everyone can thrive, respecting diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
• Monitor team morale and well-being by regularly checking in with team members, addressing concerns proactively, and ensuring a healthy work-life balance.
• Recognise and celebrate individual and team achievements to reinforce positive behaviour and create a motivating environment for high performance.

Minimum Academic, Professional Qualifications and Experience required for this position

Requirements:

Qualification:

• Honours Degree / Post Graduate Diploma in Law / Internal Audit/ Risk Management/ Business / Compliance related qualification.
• MBA advantageous.

Experience:

• 10+ years’ experience in regulatory compliance/ risk/ legal roles of which 5 years must have been at an Senior Management level preferable within multi-jurisdiction regulatory.
• Experience in retail/ FMCG/ logistics/ similarly complex operational environments is required.
• Demonstrated experience in:
• Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Trust, Data Privacy
• Operating within complex, multi-jurisdiction regulatory environments
• Driving large-scale compliance transformation and culture change initiatives
• Embedding risk and compliance frameworks into all operationas, financial products, and growth initiatives
• Engaging at Executive and Board level on risk, compliance, and business continuity matters.

Please take note that by responding to this application and providing your personal information, you confirm your express and informed consent for Massmart Holdings Limited and all its subsidiaries and all affiliated companies (“Massmart”), to process your personal information in order for Massmart to consider your application for this position. All Personal Information that you provide to the Company will be used and/or retained only for the purposes for which it is collected, whereafter it will be permanently destroyed. Your information is only retained if it is required by law or where you have given consent to us to retain such information for an extended period.