Job Title: Compliance Risk Specialist
Position Reports to: Business Area Head: Enterprise Compliance
Division: Taxpayer Engagement Operations
Location: Pretoria (Brooklyn)
Advert Closing Date: 29 October 2026
About the PositionUse data. Understand behaviour. Shape compliance. SARS is seeking an accomplished Compliance Risk Specialist to help identify emerging compliance risks, understand shifts in taxpayer and trader behaviour, and translate data, research and analytics into actionable compliance intelligence.
Job Purpose To provide technical specialist expertise in the implementation of the taxpayer and trader compliance risk management framework, including the Compliance Programme, to promote voluntary compliance with Tax, Customs and Excise legislative obligations such as registration, filing, declaration and payment.
Education and ExperienceMinimum Qualification & Experience RequiredBachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Economics, Commerce and Management Studies, Taxation or Risk Management and 8-10 years' experience in a Customs, Audit, or Risk environment, of which 3-4 years at junior specialist level.
Alternative #Senior Certificate (NQF 4) and 15 experience in a Customs, Audit, or Risk environment, of which 3-4 years at junior specialist level.
Minimum Functional Requirements- Compliance risk management: Identify, assess, prioritise and monitor taxpayer and trader risks; maintain risk registers; and apply industry indicators, financial ratios and environmental intelligence.
- Compliance measurement: Measure and report voluntary compliance, including the VCI, filing, payment, Customs and Excise indicators, and behavioural shifts across major tax types.
- Data analytics and intelligence: Integrate and analyse governed data, apply advanced analytics, maintain CEMIS, and translate findings into actionable insights and recommendations.
- Research and behavioural insight: Research compliance trends and measurement methods, conduct diagnostic studies, and apply behavioural economics and psychology to shape compliance.
- Compliance programme development: Develop and refresh the SARS Compliance Programme to support voluntary compliance and revenue mobilisation.
- Stakeholder engagement and capability building: Provide specialist advice, build external knowledge networks, contribute thought leadership and support compliance risk-management training.
- Analysis and interpretation of data; tax administration across the compliance value chain; SARS operations; auditing; major tax types including PIT, CIT, VAT and PAYE; use of SARS core systems; and the use of analytical tools, including Excel and basic SQL.
Job Outputs:Process- Produce research reports and discussion papers on research findings to contribute to SARS's knowledge on compliance and compliance strategy development and refinement.
- Seek to establish coordination, collaboration, leverage of the SARS compliance approach across the compliance value chain to ensure achievement of strategic outcomes.
- Develop, review and update the SARS Compliance Programme according to the compliance risk management process.
- Plan for value-added, continuous practice and system improvements to deliver on objectives to enhance tactical implementation and excellence.
- Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associated procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation.
- Translate top-down policy, apply modification in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders.
- Integrate business information, compare, analyse and produce reports to identify trends, discrepancies and inconsistencies for decision making purposes.
- Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures, policies and practices.
- Contribute to the optimum utilisation of org. resources, advising effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans.
- Develop a single practice area in alignment with operational activity and procedural frameworks and ensure tactical implementation.
- Draw on own technical or professional expertise, knowledge and experience to identify and recommend tactical solutions to defined problems in practices.
- Optimise goal achievement through tactical strategy implementation and optimisation of practises, processes and systems across an internal value chain.
- Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives; best practice implementation solutions.
- Conduct diagnosis studies to identify areas within business's process, people, systems, policy, procedures that might be hampering the enhancement of compliance.
- Research methods of compliance measurement and application.
- Conduct research and analysis of compliance levels across major areas in the taxpayers and trader life cycles in order to provide insight into taxpayer and trader behaviour.
- Contribute to the implementation of a comprehensive compliance framework aimed at targeted responses in education, service and enforcement.
- Network with government departments, foreign tax administrations and academics for exchanging compliance information and improving compliance monitoring and measurement.
- Use behavioural economics and Psychology concepts to assist SARS to shape, influence and drive compliance behaviour, nudging, cooperative compliance, etc.
Governance- Develop and /or align governance and compliance policies for own practice area to identify and manage risk exposure liability.
People- Integrate new knowledge and transfer skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.
- Provide specialist know-how, support, advice and practice thought leadership in area of expertise.
Finance- Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of specialisation.
Client- Develop and ensure implementation of a practice that builds service delivery excellence and encourages others to provide exceptional stakeholder service.
- Participate in the specialist practice community and contribute positively to organisation knowledge management.
- Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.
Behavioural Competencies- Accountability
- Analytical Thinking
- Attention to Detail
- Commitment to Continuous Learning
- Conceptual Ability
- Expertise in Context
- Fairness and Transparency
- Honesty and Integrity
- Organisational Awareness
- Problem Solving and Analysis
- Respect
- Trust
Technical Competencies- Business Knowledge
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Economic Research
- Efficiency improvement
- Functional Policies and Procedures
- Reporting
- Reporting and Interpretation
- Risk and Compliance
- Risk Awareness
- Risk Identification
- Risk Knowledge
Compliance Competency- The position involves access to confidential and sensitive information, including taxpayer information. The successful candidate will therefore be required to demonstrate appropriate judgement, integrity and respect for the confidentiality of information.
