GI: Data Scientist: SL SC Succession Financial Planning (Lynnwood) (Temporary)

Full job description

Who are we?

Sanlam, is dedicated to support, grow and empower clients with affordable, easy and suitable solutions, primarily through face-to-face intermediary channels, but also directly. We have approximately 2,400 tied advisers and 2,000 supporting independent brokers, all dedicated to meet the financial needs of our clients. Our vision: We aspire to be the best at building enduring relationships by connecting clients with Sanlam. We create sustainable value by attracting new clients, supporting ongoing client engagement and providing adaptive solutions designed to answer life’s financial questions. ULTIMATELY, WE EMPOWER PEOPLE TO BE FINANCIALLY CONFIDENT, SECURE AND PROSPEROUS

As part of SanlamConnect, Succession Financial Planning (SFP) is a financial services provider with a focus on the Registered Financial Adviser (RFA), looking to grow a professional practice while offering holistic financial planning to their clients. SFP is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sanlam Group.

What will you do?

This is a 12-month contract position allowing the incumbent to gain relevant work experience in the financial services industry. The individual will be exposed to training, mentoring and office administration whilst being part of an administrative team at SFP. The responsibilities will include:

Support the collection, cleaning, and preparation of data from multiple sources across the business for analysis and reporting.

Assist in building, testing, and maintaining predictive models and analytical solutions to solve real business problems.

Explore and apply machine learning techniques (e.g. classification, regression, clustering) to optimise business processes and enhance decision-making.

Contribute to AI-driven projects, such as natural language processing (NLP) for document summarisation, chatbot improvements, or client sentiment analysis.

Identify data-driven insights and present findings to internal stakeholders to support better decision-making and improved client outcomes.

Work alongside senior data analysts, data scientists, and business leaders to track performance metrics and uncover trends, anomalies, and opportunities for innovation.

Develop dashboards and visualisations using tools such as Power BI, Python, or SQL to communicate key insights effectively.

Assist in the automation of data workflows and reporting pipelines using Python or cloud-based platforms.

Ensure all data and AI-related practices comply with governance, ethics, and regulatory standards in the financial services sector.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams (compliance, operations, distribution, etc.) to translate business challenges into AI and data science solutions.

Stay up to date with the latest tools, models, and best practices in data science, ML, and AI—and recommend how these can be applied to improve SFP’s digital capabilities.

Participate in digital transformation and innovation initiatives that leverage AI to improve the advisor and client experience.

What will make you successful in this role?

Qualification & experience

A relevant matric qualification

A completed three-year Computer Science and or IT related diploma/degree

Master's degree in a quantitative field like statistics, mathematics, computer science, or data science (advantageous)

Experience with building ML models (advantageous)

Experience with machine learning libraries (e.g., Scikit-learn, TensorFlow), statistical modeling, and deep understanding of algorithms.

Knowledge and skills

To be successful you will need to demonstrate good experience in:

Knowledge of and experience in MS Office

Good basic IT/systems operations knowledge

Financial Services Industry Knowledge (advantageous)

Relevant regulatory legislation and compliance knowledge (advantageous)

Proficiency in data analysis tools (e.g., SQL, Excel, Tableau, Power BI), statistical concepts, and data visualization techniques.

Strong programming skills (e.g., Python, Java), experience with databases (SQL, NoSQL), big data technologies (Hadoop, Spark), and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure).

Competencies

Cultivates innovation

Client centricity

Results driven

Collaboration

Flexibility and adaptability

Plans and aligns

Communicates effectively

Action oriented

Optimizes work processes

Please note: Your application will not be deemed complete without all required documents being submitted. Please submit a copy of your ID, matric certificate and qualification certificate.

Personal Attributes

Plans and aligns - Contributing independently

Interpersonal savvy - Contributing independently

Communicates effectively - Contributing independently

Optimises work processes - Contributing independently

Industries:Financial Services

Function: Data Science