Senior Behavioural Economist

Job Requisition Details

REQ: 143752
Closing Date: 10 February 2026
Talent Acquisition: Noli Madikane
Cluster: Personal and Private Banking (Product Design and Innovation - PDI)
Location: Johannesburg, Sandton
Hybrid
Job Family: Finance
Career Stream: Strategic
Leadership Pipeline: Manage Others

Job Purpose
The objective is to foster positive behavioral changes among clients and employees, while assisting our clients in making more informed financial choices by utilizing behavioral science to design, assess, and implement scalable solutions. As a Senior Behavioral Economist, your responsibility will be to oversee a range of activities aimed at achieving our goal of generating value through positive behavior modification at an individual level. This involves leveraging your extensive behavioral expertise, strategic advisory skills, converting insights into actionable business recommendations, and guiding cross-functional teams, all while contributing to data-driven decision-making.

Job Responsibilities

Behavioral Research & Diagnosis

• Identify and prioritize target client behaviors alongside business units.
• Conduct literature reviews to understand behavioral barriers and possibilities.
• Lead qualitative and quantitative diagnostic research (interviews, field studies, behavioral mapping).
• Recognize psychological frictions, biases, and contextual elements influencing client behavior.
• Convert behavioral diagnoses into concise problem statements, hypotheses, and suggested interventions.

Behavioral Intervention Design & Testing

• Create behavioral solutions utilizing principles of behavioral economics and applied behavioral models.
• Develop structured frameworks for behavioral interventions and implementation roadmaps.
• Collaborate with data teams to analyze behavioral datasets for pattern quantification and hypothesis validation.
• Oversee the design and execution of experiments (RCTs, A/B tests, quasi-experiments).
• Produce clear and persuasive communications that encourage behavior change.

Strategic Reporting & Insights

• Generate strategic insights and management reports to aid in decision-making.
• Contribute to divisional strategy by identifying trends, emerging behavioral opportunities, and areas for optimization.

Stakeholder Collaboration & Governance

• Compile research and experimental insights into engaging presentations suitable for senior management.
• Cultivate and sustain strong relationships across Nedbank.
• Serve as a trusted advisor for the BE Unit through proactive engagement and thought leadership.
• Ensure that behavioral projects align with Nedbank's strategy, policies, and risk governance standards.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure the effective execution of behavioral projects.

People Leadership & Team Effectiveness

• Mentor and coach junior team members in behavioral research and scientific methodologies.
• Promote innovation, experimentation, and knowledge sharing within the team.
• Take part in recruitment, onboarding, and the development of team capabilities.

Operational Excellence

• Support ongoing improvement initiatives within the BE Unit.
• Maintain organized project documentation, processes, and quality standards.
• Contribute to knowledge management, capability enhancement, and practices within the internal behavioral science community.

Essential Qualifications - NQF Level

• Professional Qualifications/Honours Degree

Preferred Qualification

• Master’s degree in a related field

Minimum Experience Level

• 7+ years of experience applying behavioral science within the financial services sector.
• Proven experience in designing and assessing behavioral interventions.
• Proficiency in quantitative research methodologies (Excel, STATA, SPSS, or similar data analysis software).
• Experience in qualitative research (survey design, interview question formulation, familiarity with Qualtrics or equivalent).
• Experience conducting RCTs/A/B tests at scale.
• Skills in behavioral analytics and data interpretation (Martech, Adobe Analytics).
• Understanding of project management principles (AGILE, Waterfall, or other methodologies).
• Experience in stakeholder influence and communication.
• Knowledge of consumer behavior in financial services (including users, service providers, and delivery channels).

Advantageous:

• Experience in influencing senior stakeholders and integrating behavioral insights into product or strategy.
• Proficiency in utilizing AI tools and technologies to enhance productivity and develop agents.
• Experience in app development.

Technical / Professional Knowledge

• Business administration and management
• Change management
• Client service management
• Consumer behavior
• Diversity management
• Financial Accounting Principles
• Governance, Risk, and Controls
• Operations planning
• Principles of project management
• Strategic planning

Behavioral Competencies

• Aligning Performance for Success
• Building Partnerships
• Decision Making
• Business Acumen
• Guiding Team Success
• Planning and Organizing

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Please contact the Nedbank Recruiting Team at +27 860 555 566