Senior Manager, Risk at Aceli Africa

Job Description

• Aceli’s next phase of growth requires effective enterprise risk management, business continuity and organisational controls that work reliably across five countries and several legal entities. Reporting to the Managing Director, Technology & Operations, the Senior Manager, Risk will lead Aceli’s enterprise risk framework and crisis preparedness, and oversee the legal, compliance and policy control environment, including information security governance. The role will line-manage the Legal & Compliance lead. We are looking for a hands-on senior manager who uses sound judgement, translates frameworks into practical action, and ensures that material risks and agreed mitigations are managed through to completion.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Risk

• Own Aceli’s enterprise risk management framework and actively maintain the organisation-wide risk register as a management tool.
• Run the Risk Management Group: proactive agendas, risk reporting, action tracking and follow-up. Escalate overdue actions and material new risks.
• Prepare consolidated risk reporting for Aceli’s Leadership Team and Global Board, focused on material enterprise exposures, emerging risks, and the decisions and actions required.
• Integrate risk identification and analysis into management decisions, including entry into new countries, development of products, and engagement with new partners and vendors.

Business Continuity and Crisis Management

• Lead Aceli’s business continuity planning across the organisation and country operations, keeping plans practical, current and suited to each operating context. Test preparedness through simulations and post-incident reviews.
• Maintain clear arrangements for incident reporting, escalation and crisis response, including information security incidents. Coordinate the management response to material disruptions and ensure lessons learned are implemented.

Legal & Compliance, Policies and Controls

• Oversee Aceli’s Legal & Compliance function through its lead, covering data protection, legal and regulatory compliance, country legal-entity governance and company secretarial work.
• Own the organisation-wide policy framework, including ethics and integrity (Code of Conduct, Anti-Fraud, AML, Whistleblowing), safeguarding and duty of care, and data, IT and AI. Ensure clear policy ownership, approvals, review cycles, staff training and attestations, in coordination with HR.
• With the Legal & Compliance lead, oversee a single calendar of statutory, regulatory, donor, legal-entity and policy obligations across Aceli’s entities, working with Finance, HR, and the Grants, Contracts and Procurement team.
• Ensure actions arising from risk reviews, audits and internal control assessments are tracked to completion. Identify material control gaps and agree proportionate remedial action.
• Oversee Aceli’s insurance programme, including appropriate coverage for country legal entities (such as professional indemnity), periodic coverage reviews, renewals and claims follow-up.
• Provide oversight of information security governance, working with the IT service provider and the Legal & Compliance lead (who owns data protection compliance). Ensure policies, roles and procedures remain current, including third-party and vendor risk management.
• Ensure information security awareness, staff training and attestations are completed, and identified vulnerabilities are tracked through to remediation.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Risk Management, Business Administration, Finance, Law or related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 12 years’ progressive experience in risk management, governance or operational control functions, with demonstrated accountability for enterprise risks and control frameworks.
• Proven experience in a growing, mission-driven organisation implementing enterprise risk frameworks, managing risk registers and mitigation plans, and reporting to senior leadership and Boards.
• Hands-on experience developing, implementing and testing business continuity plans and managing operational disruptions.
• Experience managing organisational policies, compliance processes and operational controls.
• Strong track record of cross-functional delivery, stakeholder management, and staff supervision.

Preferred

• Multi-country experience in East & Southern Africa, ideally in international development, financial services or donor-funded organisations.
• Professional training or certification in risk management or business continuity.
• Familiarity with insurance, legal and regulatory compliance, procurement and information security governance.
• Experience strengthening risk management and control systems in growing organisations.

 Who This Role Suits

• A strong executor. Turns agreed priorities into completed actions, not just frameworks and plans.
• Structured and disciplined. Keeps reliable systems for planning, documentation and follow-through.
• Pragmatic. Builds controls proportionate to the risk and avoids unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Proactive and accountable. Anticipates issues, takes ownership and escalates early.
• A collaborator. Influences colleagues across functions and countries without relying on formal authority.
• A developer of people. Sets clear expectations, gives direct feedback and hands over real ownership.
• Clear and concise. Communicates risks and recommendations in a way that supports timely decisions.