FAIS Team Leader

Purpose of the Role:

The FAIS Team Leader plays a key role leading and managing a team of FAIS Supervisors to ensure they act as the primary line of defence in conjunction with the Legal and Compliance Team in identifying and addressing any compliance issues within sales practices, ensuring that the KI’s strategic oversight is well-supported with accurate and consistent monitoring.

The Team Leader is accountable for overall team performance, productivity, and conduct, ensuring that financial advisors/agents are effectively supported, developed, and monitored through the FAIS Supervisor function. This role serves as a key link between strategic direction and operational execution, ensuring that compliance oversight is embedded.

This role is essential in driving ethical sales practices, mitigating regulatory risk, and delivering sustainable business growth, while maintaining a strong culture of accountability, professionalism, and customer-centricity.

Role Summary:

As the FAIS Team Leader, you will manage the FAIS Supervisors, perform certain direct supervision of financial advisors/agents and oversee the supervision framework applied to financial advisors/agents.

Your primary focus will be to ensure that FAIS Supervisors perform their duties effectively, including competency assessments, supervision plans, monitoring activities, and reporting. You will also ensure consistency, quality, and accuracy across all supervision activities. In addition, you will manage supervision registers (updating), supervision (conclusion) and related documents for signature by the Key Individual

As part of your day-to-day you will review outputs produced by FAIS Supervisors, provide guidance and coaching, and ensure alignment with regulatory expectations and internal compliance standards.

By strengthening oversight of the supervision function, you will support the KI and Compliance Team in maintaining a robust control environment that mitigates regulatory risk and ensures adherence to FAIS requirements.

Benefits:

• The right candidate will have the opportunity to lead and shape the FAIS supervision framework within the business.
• Work closely with the Key Individual, Sales and Compliance leadership, providing exposure to regulatory governance.
• Development of leadership capability within a highly regulated environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Supervision Team Oversight:

• Manage and oversee the FAIS Supervisors to ensure effective execution of supervision responsibilities.
• Ensure supervision plans, competency assessments, and monitoring activities are completed consistently and to a high standard.
• Review supervision outputs to ensure regulatory alignment and accuracy.
• Drive consistency in the application of FAIS supervision practices across the team.
• Ensure that supervision methodologies align with internal policies and regulatory expectations.

Competency Assessment and Supervission Management

• Development of Supervision Plans for each financial advisor/agent requiring supervision that you are responsible for.
• Conduct monthly competency evaluations of financial advisors/agents, assessing their ability to comply with FAIS requirements, demonstrating ethical sales practices, and identifying areas for improvement.
• Oversee the competency register
• Oversee the tracking of fit and proper status for each financial advisor/agent, including qualifications, RE Exams and CPD progress (where applicable).
• Sign off on DOFA vetting's for financial advisors
• Draft and manage supervision agreements.
• Provide structured feedback to supervised financial advisors/agents to close competency gaps.
• Identify training needs and recommend targeted interventions.

Sales Activity Monitoring:

• Review and evaluate sales of financial advisors/agents and transactions, ensuring compliance with FAIS and preventing misrepresentation or mis-selling. Ensure that financial advisors/agents meet all legal and ethical sales requirements.
• Review all replacement sales to ensure the requirements as set out in FAIS are met.

Reporting and Feedback:

• Prepare detailed compliance reports for the KI, Compliance and Sales Team summarising the results of your assessments and feedback on financial advisors/agent compliance.
• Consolidate and review reports produced by FAIS Supervisors.
• Provide clear insights to the KI and Compliance Team on trends, risks, and supervision outcomes.
• Ensure reporting is accurate, consistent, and aligned to regulatory expectations.

Communication with Sales Leadership:

• Deliver clear and constructive feedback to Sales Leadership, outlining areas for improvement and reinforcing compliance standards. Set specific expectations for performance, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements.

Documentation and Record Keeping:

• Ensure there are accurate, up-to-date records of all assessments, evaluations, and feedback sessions, ensuring proper documentation for compliance reviews and audits with company compliance strategies, and address any compliance concerns or issues.

Risk Mitigation:

• Identify potential compliance risks and proactively recommend corrective actions to minimise legal exposure. Support the KI in addressing compliance issues and maintaining the company’s reputation for legal and ethical conduct.

Coaching and Development:

• Provide guidance, mentoring, and development support to FAIS Supervisors.
• Identify capability gaps within the supervision function and implement development plans.
• Support continuous improvement of supervision skills and regulatory understanding.

Technical Skills:

• Strong understanding of FAIS, compliance requirements, Fit and Proper Requirements and other applicable financial services regulations.
• High level of proficiency in MS Office, particularly Excel and Word, to analyse data, generate reports, and document compliance activities.
• Skilled in reviewing sales processes to spot any compliance issues and suggest practical improvements.

Soft Skills:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills to effectively provide feedback to Financial Advisors, Agents, Team Leaders, Managers, and preparation of detailed compliance reports for the KI.
• A meticulous approach to reviewing sales activities, identifying compliance risks, and ensuring accuracy in reporting.
• Commitment to upholding high standards of integrity and ethical conduct, especially when dealing with sensitive compliance matters.
• Demonstrated capacity for leading, mentoring, and coaching financial advisors/agents while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
• Ability to quickly adapt to evolving regulations, processes, and company requirements.

Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in the long-term insurance industry, with a focus on compliance, supervision, or regulatory oversight. Where a minimum of 2 years in management experience is required.
• Experience in maintaining a competency register and conducting supervision sessions
• Proven track record in assessing and monitoring sales performance, especially in relation to compliance standards and regulatory requirements.
• Experience providing feedback and performance improvement plans to help financial advisors/agents align with compliance standards.
• Ability to speak and understand multiple languages

Qualifications:

• Minimum NQF Level 5 Qualification (FSCA recognised)
• RE 1 / RE 5: Regulatory exams (Beneficial)
• FAIS-Specific Training, Additional FAIS or compliance certifications are highly advantageous to demonstrate a strong grasp of relevant financial regulations.