Team Leader: Data and Analytics

Are you an experienced and dynamic Data Scientist with a passion for leadership and advanced analytics? Capitec Bank is seeking a Team Leader for Data and Analytics to join their innovative team in Stellenbosch. This is a unique opportunity to lead a talented squad of data scientists and significantly influence critical client exposure models that impact financial lives.

About Capitec Bank

Capitec Bank is committed to empowering people by offering simplified, accessible, and affordable banking solutions. Our core belief is that by helping clients manage their financial lives better, we enable them to live better. We continuously seek energetic, motivated individuals who are eager to innovate, evolve, and contribute to building a banking brand we can all be proud of.

At Capitec, our values — Client first, Energy, and Ownership — guide everything we do. We foster a supportive environment that provides growth opportunities, competitive employee benefits, and cohesive teams, ensuring every member feels valued, focused, and has the chance to thrive and be their best.

About the Role: Lead Data Scientist (Retail Credit)

As the Team Leader: Data and Analytics, your main purpose will be to own and advance Capitec’s most impactful client exposure models. You will be instrumental in developing intelligent solutions that accurately identify salary deposits and drive credit eligibility and treatment strategies across both real-time and batch processes.

This role demands a blend of rigorous research and practical production implementation. You will be responsible for evolving our sophisticated sequence-type deep learning neural network models, ensuring they remain highly accurate, explainable, and robust under heavy loads and strict service level agreements (SLAs). You’ll play a key role in shaping the analytics behind our enterprise-wide “10-minute flow,” transforming complex data into simple, reliable decisions for both clients and bankers.

The position encompasses the full Machine Learning (ML) and Data Science lifecycles, along with the essential people leadership needed for successful execution. You will lead a squad of Data Scientists, guiding them through model design, feature governance, Model Risk Management (MRM) grade documentation, approvals, deployment, and continuous monitoring. Daily collaboration with Retail Credit & Enterprise Data (RCED), delivery teams, and Branch Operations will be crucial to maintaining healthy, well-documented, and continuously improved batch runs and real-time scoring. You will also help guide the team through platform migrations, stabilizing deployment services that the squad fully owns, thereby freeing up focus for critical areas like pay date intelligence, collections strategies, and cultivating a compounding client-level view.

What We’re Looking For (Requirements)

• 7+ years of experience building and operating high-stakes ML models in production (ideally in financial services or a related field), demonstrating clear impact on credit exposure or client treatment.
• Demonstrable mastery of sequence-type deep learning neural networks; comfortable balancing accuracy, explainability, and control.
• Hands-on ownership experience with both batch and and real-time scoring systems.
• Fluency in Python/SQL, including model packaging and service exposure.
• Experience with cloud platforms like AWS (SageMaker, Kubernetes, or equivalent), Git/GitHub, and collaborative documentation tools (e.g., Confluence).
• Proven leadership of 4–5 Data Scientists/ML Engineers, including establishing code/review standards, mentoring, and elevating research & engineering practices.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across RCED, Delivery, Branch Operations, and various governance forums.
• A robust Model Risk Management (MRM) mindset, ensuring rigorous documentation, adherence to approval pathways, continuous monitoring, and effective retraining of models.
• Ability to clearly articulate where and why a model is used, what happens if it drifts, and the potential risks to both clients and the Bank.

Bonus Skills (Ideal)

• Experience with pay date models, Next Best Action strategies, or collections.
• Prior exposure to Documents Exchange (multi-bank statements) and strategies for timely retraining when external data shifts.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking
• Exceptional leadership ability
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Effective decision-making skills
• Proficient researching skills
• Solid project management skills
• Excellent planning, organizing, and coordination skills

Education

• Completed a Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field.

If you are ready to be part of a dynamic team on a mission to build the best bank in the world by unlocking the potential of its people, we encourage you to apply! We would love to hear from you.

Capitec is committed to diversity and, where feasible, all appointments will support the achievement of our employment equity goals.