The Head of Direct New Business – Employee Benefits is responsible for leading, driving, and accelerating direct new business acquisition within the Employee Benefits market. The role focuses on developing and executing strategies to secure new corporate clients, expand market share, and strengthen the organisation’s position as a trusted provider of comprehensive employee benefit solutions in South Africa.

Key Responsibilities

A. Strategic Leadership & Business Growth

• Develop and implement a direct new business growth strategy aligned to the Employee Benefits division’s objectives.
• Identify, target, and pursue new business opportunities within relevant sectors and markets.
• Build, manage, and motivate a high-performing new business team to deliver on growth targets.
• Collaborate with product, marketing, and distribution functions to design compelling value propositions and go?to?market campaigns.

B. Sales & Relationship Management

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers, including HR executives and C?suite leaders.
• Manage the full sales cycle from lead generation to proposal design, negotiation, and onboarding.
• Represent the organisation at industry events, conferences, and networking engagements to enhance market visibility.

C. Financial & Performance Management

• Set, monitor, and manage sales targets and team KPIs.
• Lead accurate sales forecasting, pipeline management, and performance reporting.
• Ensure profitability through effective pricing, risk evaluation, and product alignment.

D. Regulatory & Market Awareness

• Maintain up?to?date knowledge of the Employee Benefits landscape, including retirement funds, group risk, healthcare, and wellness benefits.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (FSCA, FAIS, POPIA, TCF).
• Track market trends, competitor activity, and new opportunities to inform tactical and strategic decisions.

E. People Leadership

• Recruit, mentor, develop, and retain high-performing sales and business development professionals.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Promote diversity, inclusion, and ethical business practices.

F. Additional Responsibilities

• Drive strong internal collaboration across the SBG group and broader organisational ecosystem.

Qualifications

Education

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or related field.
• Preferred: Postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA or relevant honours).

Work Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in the Employee Benefits or Financial Services industry.
• At least 5 years in a senior business development or sales leadership role.
• Demonstrated success in securing large corporate clients and achieving substantial revenue growth.
• Strong understanding of retirement funds, group risk benefits, healthcare, and wellness offerings.
• Total Experience Required: 10+ years.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Proven track record in new business growth for large employee benefits schemes.
• Deep technical knowledge of retirement, risk, and health benefit products.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to drive profitable growth.
• Excellent stakeholder management and executive?level engagement skills.
• Advanced negotiation, communication, and presentation capabilities.