Senior Specialist Quantitative Analyst

Job Description

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Role Purpose/Business Unit:

This role supports the Consumer Business Unit (CBU) Prepaid team by preparing advanced decision-making models/tools and analytics to aid product implementations and commercial and financial performance across all Prepaid business initiatives. The candidate will be responsible for optimising and automating daily and monthly reports/ models to improve team efficiency and modelling accuracy. The candidate will collect data and business strategy from all relevant stakeholders/teams and integrate them into the budget and rolling forecast process consistently. The suitable candidate will demonstrate excellent communication and collaboration skills to successfully guide and manage different stakeholders from products, pricing, commercial and finance through performance insights and commercial and/or financial levers to support executive and senior management strategic objectives.

Your responsibilities will include:

Advance Analytical Support:

• Collect, integrate, and store raw data from different sources into the Teradata platform in collaboration with Big Data to facilitate insight-building
• Create and set up automated and optimised tables in Teradata to support daily and monthly automation
• Build and automate budget models and/or daily and month-end reporting
• Seek opportunities to improve business processes; models and systems by identifying and recommending effective ways to operate and adding value to the Prepaid and FBP team
• Contribute to the development of differentiated; superior solutions that meet stakeholder and business requirements through analytical insights
• Supporting business continuity plans through upskilling junior team members and knowledge accessibility, through the creation of centralised data repositories for “how to” manuals, industry trends and best practice templates
• Building financial models, analysing customer trends/behaviour
• Discovering patterns in large data sets involving methods at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, econometrics, and database systems
• Identify key trends - identify & predict impact of potential risk factors
• Identify causal impact and attribution
• Analyse POCs and market tests – Post implementation reviews on products/customer responses/pricing
• Model and predict the future performance of users and/or products.
• Utilisation of intelligent methods to extract data patterns — the overall goal of which is to extract information from a dataset, and transform it into an understandable structure for further use in terms of quantifying financial impact
• Perform sensitivity analysis by stress testing models

Driving Business Impact:

• Collaborate and work closely with cross-function business partners to identify performance gaps & approach problem-solving in a structured manner.
• Create insightful presentations and analysis that tell a story with a focus on insights and actions, not just data
• Synthesize methodology and data into actionable business strategy and communicate findings to product, sales, and management teams – drive action and subsequent tracking, with support for implementation

Month End:

• Customer analytics on Prepaid P&L movements to explain financial impacts – analysis of surplus
• Pro-actively identify key risks on the basis that it will potentially impact performance
• Analysis of B/S provisions & movements on loyalty & deferrals on a segment and per customer level
• Ad-hoc resolution of queries – in support of month-end reporting

Monitor and evaluate implemented strategies and models. Including:

• Campaigns – ATL and BTL
• Performance of, and impact on strategic pillars – monitoring, analysing, synthesising, and communicating, with commercial teams
• Support planning cycles and Long-Range Planning financial modelling
• Provide the CBU executive team and Vodacom South Africa finance team with support in respect of financial reporting, planning and analysis for Prepaid CBU (P&L, A&R, Terminals)

Communicate findings and make recommendations to stakeholders across the business.

• Manage the financial budgeting and forecasting processes
• Deliver high-quality reporting and financial planning to ensure CBU meets its objectives and financial targets
• Support central FP&A to ensure the overall plan for CBU is consistent with Company targets and plan
• Engagement with key stakeholders for information into the budget
• Rolling forecasts and scenario modelling – engage and challenge stakeholders in integrating current trends, future product rollouts and initiatives, supported by detailed driver-based modelling

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

• BSc (Actuarial/Statistics/Applied Mathematics, CompSci), BSc Eng
• Experience in data analytics and financial modelling.
• 3-5 years experience

Job-Related Skill:

• External perspective and appreciation of the macro-economic environment.
• Business leadership and transformation.
• Adaptability.
• Relationship Management.
• Business & Commercial Acumen.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Effective communication and influencing skills.
• Resilience.
• Ownership and drive for impact.
• Attention to detail & Quality conscious.
• Disciplined & Deadline driven.
• Financial analysis & interpretation.
• Report writing.
• Narrative building
• Business planning.
• Performance Monitoring.
• Problem-solving ability
• Track records with large and complex data sets
• Predictive modelling using several techniques
• NPV models to financially quantify strategies and business cases.
• Presentation skills.
• Clear communicator, written and oral
• Ability to engage effectively with the senior leadership team

Job Knowledge:

• Proficient in statistical tools like SAS, R etc.
• Advanced skills in Excel, Word and PowerPoint, SQL, SAS, R.

We make an impact by offering:

• Enticing incentive programs and competitive benefit packages
• Retirement funds, risk benefits, and medical aid benefits
• Cell phone and data benefits, advantages fibre connection discounts, and exclusive staff discounts offered in collaboration with partner companies

Closing date for Applications: 03 May 2025.

The base location for this role is Midrand, Vodacom Campus.

The company's approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.

Vodacom is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates, and values diversity & inclusion.