Job Summary

• Management of the administration of Testamentary Trusts, Agencies, Inter Vivos Trusts, Curatorships, Policy Trusts, Road Accident Fund Trusts and Medical Negligence Trusts in accordance with the Trust Mandate, by ensuring that all assets, are properly and timeously invested, insured and administered to the optimal benefit of the beneficiaries within the legislative parameters.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities

• Management of the general administration of Trusts
• Keep abreast of knowledge and skills relevant to the fiduciary industry by reading all communication received from the legal department and attending all informative sessions (updates received from legal department, broadcasts, Economics, Cost to company etc.)
• Evaluate all new files for correctness, feasibility and addressing the potential risks (financial and legal implications).
• Ensure that all new files have been captured and added correctly on the trust system by the Trust Officer and that all assets have been received.
• Evaluate and approve/decline all requests from the Trust Officer for financial assistance with motivation for decision within approved boundary of R400 000.00- R800 000.00 Investment approval.
• Look at files that are not financially viable and get rid of them by looking at other options, e.g. increasing the fees and getting other Trusteeship. If uncertain escalate to the Branch Manager.
• Manage all types of trust assets, Policies, Investments and fixed properties (i.e. farms, houses etc.)
• Ensure that assets are bought, sold or rented at the best possible price and in the best interest of the Beneficiary/ Trust by sending them to an approved Evaluator.
• Ensure that all trust’s assets have been adequately and timeously insured by the approved insurer.
• Ensure that all Municipality rates and taxes and rent agencies have been paid timeously.
• Ensure that any properties that are rented monthly or per period is collected timeously. If not, that any outstanding payments are addressed through the approved panel of Attorneys to collect the outstanding monies.
• Evaluate, approve /decline continuous monthly and daily debit orders and ad-hoc requests in terms of the client’s needs analysis and trust mandates.
• Prepare e.g. requests from clients for approval by Branch Manager in more complex cases
• Interact with Funds/ Executors/ Attorneys/ Co-Trustees/ Masters Office/ Road Accident Fund & South African Revenue Services (where applicable) to discuss the Trust.
• To be involved in complex trust cases and also be part of communication with clients in the office and externally.
• Manage various daily, monthly, annual reports e.g. Investment Trust, New Trust, Trust in creation, Maintenance and Outstanding Insurance. 
• Ensure that the correct procedures are executed with the Maintenance and Existence Certificates to clients by the end of March every year (where applicable).
• Provide guidance to the Trust Officers with the tracing of beneficiaries via Central Information System, Information Tracing System and /or Tracing Agencies (where applicable).
• Evaluate and approve the final termination statements.
• Approve the final payments to clients, by checking the calculations and ensuring that it is the correct client, correct beneficiary, correct account and that tax is paid to SARS.
• Approving of the prepared terminated file for hand over to the strongroom and checking that the Compliance Policy is adhered to. 
• Administer the process of paying of funds to the Guardian funds when the beneficiaries are not traceable.
• Client Service
• Interact with walk-in and telephone clients on a daily basis.
• Attend to requests/queries received per SMS, e-mail, mail or fax specifically in the more complex cases within 48 hours.
• Ensure that the Trust Officers provide feedback to clients continuously of processes, procedures and progresses thereof.
• Ensure that Absa Group’s telephone etiquette is adhered to according to the Absa standards.
• Ensure that the Trust department keeps to the guidelines of the Service Level Agreement with Funds and other parties
• Spot check of daily incoming and outgoing mail, faxes-mails, and telephone enquiries from clients, as well as approving all correspondence of a more serious nature as indicated by the Branch Manager.
• Investments
• Keeping abreast of the latest available investment types by knowing what the different interest rates are, the potential capital growth as well as potential risk.
• Keeping abreast of the different investments suitable for individuals as well for trusts.
• Managing the revision of existing investment proposals – annually or as prescribed (i.e. If the value is in excess of R1.5 million, this is done every six months and if there are changes, they are done annually)
• Knowledge of Absa Approved Investment Policy, Absa Approved Policy and Absa Trust Investment Policy
• Ensuring that investments are placed as approved, i.e. approving investments from R400,000.00- R800,000.00 and escalating to the Branch Manager, investments that are from R800,000.00- R1.5 million and investments that are above R1.5 million, to be tabled to the Investment Committee
• Managing the regular revision of investments portfolios as per the prescribed office policy.
• Evaluate, approve/decline investment proposals with a motivation for decision.
• Managing the liquidity of funds as well as ensuring the timeously investment of surplus funds on a daily basis
• Reports
• Check reports on a monthly basis for discrepancies
• Work through and correct transactions/details where applicable by ensuring that the action is executed per the Investment decision, i.e. the Investment Product Type is paid to the right Investment.
• Ensuring that all hand fees are taken timeously (where applicable).
• Indicate on report/s reasons for discrepancies, sign off and date as per prescribed rules
• Finalize the reports on/or before the agreed date.
• Make use of various Investment models on a daily basis.
• Make use of daily Investment reports, Liquid Investment greater than R10 000.00 or R30 000.00 and termination on report, before the termination date.
• Year End Statements
• Spot checking the capturing of transactions by the Trust Officer for the correct codes and language usage.
• Evaluating the short statements as prescribed by February every year for the correctness of the codes and the language usage and all the entries are correct.
• Follow up on outstanding beneficiary address and / or Trustee address and update the trust system.
• SARS E-Filing
• Evaluate and approve the submission of IT12TR returns by the Trust Officers where applicable on/or before the due date and approve.
• Evaluate and approve the Provisional Tax returns where applicable on /or before the due date.
• Approve the payments of Trusts to SARS where applicable.
• Evaluate and control assessment for correctness.
• Ensure that the Tax returns are completed, submitted and paid in time. (Where applicable).
• Leadership
• Develop a high performing Trust team by embedding formal performance development process, coaching and mentoring of the Trust Officers.
• Coach the Trust Officers on the meaningful Performance Development discussions.
• Determine and analyze development needs for the team and ensure that identified training requirements are budgeted for and executed.
• Set and manage overall budgeted and related costs for head count at departmental level.
• Ensure that performance development plans are appropriately undertaken for all the Trust Officers and monitored on a quarterly basis.
• Establish and maintain a succession plan for the next level role using the formal Talent Management process for the identified talent and am informal process for the remaining roles.
• Create a suitable and a conducive atmosphere in terms of leadership skills by coaching and mentoring the Trust Officers thus ensuring that they meet the required organizational expectations.
• With the support of the Human Resources interview and recruit direct reports.
• Act as the first point for all grievances raised in the business unit.
• Approve leave request for direct subordinates for direct reports and ensure that leave planning is effective.
• Ensure that all poor performance is addressed through appropriate ABSA performance programs and that continued poor performance is adequately dealt with.
• Motivate employees in the department and ensure that their efforts are recognized.
• Develop appropriate Employed Opinion Survey (EOS) action items together with the team members and ensure that the items are executed.
• Identify training needs within the department and ensure that all the staff is trained on the training needs identified.
• Compliance
• Ensure adherence to ABSA’s compliance requirements and industry related legislations within teams
• Ensure adherence to business processes and control practices for the team members
• Ensure that the processes that impact on the area are mapped and understood by all team members.
• Own and agree corrective action items with the Internal Audit and Management Assurance for items related to the Trust Office. Ensure that a zero-tolerance approach to audit findings is understood by the team and arrange issue assurance for closed audit findings
• Complete required compliance attestation and ensure that the team also completes the required attestations.
• Ensure that the team members understand all compliance requirements and escalate to the Branch Manager to request for the area Compliance Officer to conduct briefing sessions if gaps are identified.

Qualifications and Experience

• NQF Level 6: B Degree
• B Comm. Degree
• Advanced Certificate Estate & Trust Diploma
• LEAD Certificate in Deceased Estates
• Four (3) years’ experience in Fiduciary Sector
• Three (3) years’ experience in management 
• Three (3) years’ experience within the Fiduciary environment in Trust Administration
• Two (2) years’ experience in 

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)