Senior Manager: Guarantees (Underwriting Risk, Claims & Governance)

Role Purpose

• Responsible for the independent & legal control of underwriting operations, underwriting discipline and risk quality, while retaining specialist responsibility of claims, recoveries and governance of the Guarantees division.

Requirements

• Minimum 10 years legal experience in guarantees, banking, credit and project finance.
• An undergraduate degree B.Law/LLB/BProcLaw, compulsory.
• A postgraduate degree LLM or similar, preferred.
• Certificate in Short-Term Insurance or working towards it.
• RE 5 Certificate for Representatives or working towards it.
• FAIS compliant or working towards it.
• Minimum 10 years working experience in the infrastructure industry in Africa.
• Contract Management experience including Infrastructure Contracts, Concession Contracts, Power Purchase Agreements, PPP Agreements, Management Services Agreements, Construction Management Agreements and Operations & Maintenance Agreements.
• Managing risks associated with Energy contracts.
• Experience with IPP Projects/renewable energy projects.
• Able to deal effectively with Claims, Disputes, Negotiations, Recoveries.
• Knowledge and strong understanding of infrastructure contracts, guarantees, project management, legal principles, corporate finance and project finance in Africa.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Oversee the underwriting & legal risk in construction, commercial and renewable energy guarantees transactions.
• Oversee the underwriting & legal risk in domestic, foreign, project finance and corporate guarantee transactions.
• Senior member of the underwriting risk committee for the Guarantees division.
• Develop and implement comprehensive risk mitigants/risk management plans on new project guarantee requests.
• Assessing of project, legal and contractual risks on new project requests and projects in distress.
• Structuring and negotiation of project finance and corporate finance deals across construction, commercial, energy and mining sectors.
• Manage, oversee and report on all legal, operational & administration matters in the Guarantees division.
• Drafting, reviewing, vetting and negotiating of all types of agreements including legal opinions, guarantee wordings, project agreements, finance agreements, security agreements and other legal documentation to ensure legal compliance.
• Oversee the entire the guarantee process from inception to cancellations.
• Review and enhance underwriting criteria/standards in the Guarantees division to world class standards.
• Manage, oversee & develop a robust underwriting framework, risk appetite framework, policy guidelines, mandates, data sets and workflows within the delegation of authority & reinsurance parameters.
• Implement a quality assurance programme to conduct internal audit, portfolio reviews & compliance checks.
• Prepare regular reporting for Management, Exco, Group and Reinsurers.
• Review claims received, coordinate claim investigations, prepare counterclaims, and participate in litigation if required.
• Manage, oversee and report on all claims matters and legal interactions in the Guarantees division.
• Lead the management of the end-to-end claims function i.e. review, advise, salvage, recoveries, negotiations, reserving to settlement.
• Develop strategies to minimise financial & underwriting losses.
• Develop project recovery plans and risk mitigation strategies for distressed projects.
• Drafting, reviewing, vetting of all claims notifications, cash calls and reinsurer updates.
• Develop & maintain a watchlist & runoff reporting platform to monitor & mitigate potential claims/loss events.
• Liaison with all external legal firms.
• Lead the claims, operations, data & administration team.
• Mentoring, coaching, developing & training the Guarantees team members.
• Familiarize and provide updates to all employees/stakeholders with key contracts, agreements and obligations.
• Provide permanent support to reinforce commercial and contractual awareness.
• Stay informed and abreast of developments in the construction, energy, surety, guarantee & related markets.
• Pursue relevant growth opportunities that would allow the Guarantees division to achieve its strategic targets, goals and objectives.
• Establish and grow strategic partnerships to support the goals and growth plans of the greater Guarantees division.
• Build, maintain and continuously strengthen all relationships with the Guardrisk Group's product, support, reinsurance, as well as broker partners.
• Ensure that all regular interactions with any of the Guardrisk Group's reinsurance, broker or product partners are done at the highest possible level of professionalism and ethical conduct.
• Ensure and maintain professional relationships with all customers, suppliers and trade connections of the Guardrisk Group with a view to maintain, uphold and improve the group's reputation and goodwill.

Competencies

• Sound risk judgment and decision making.
• Decisive critical & analytical thinking skills.
• Independent thinking.
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
• Operate in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Planning & organizing.
• Commercial acumen.
• Attention to detail.
• Conflict management and resolution.
• Accountability & ownership.
• Continuous improvement.

Closing Date

• 2026/10/05