Chief Technology & Operations Officer, Pakistan

Job Summary

Own and drive the integrated “One Bank” Technology and Operations agenda in Pakistan and bring alignment across the business and functions, working closely with Cluster T&O MT, Country MT, Group Technology and Operations MT and relevant stakeholders. This includes all the Country regulatory responsibilities and face-off to the regulators on behalf of Technology and Operations in the Country.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

• Partner with the Country CEO in developing and fine-tuning the strategy for the countries.
• Ensure alignment with Technology and Operations strategy (at a Country level, including the Functions) within the country. This includes ensuring the local needs of countries are factored in Group Technology and Operations strategy.
• Oversees the implementation of Technology and Operations service delivery strategy, working with Country CEO, Country business heads, functions heads, etc.
• Drive the successful implementation of key initiatives and projects that support the achievement of the Country strategic agenda.
• Manage critical country projects, including acquisitions, divestitures, regulatory projects, etc. This may include regulatory liaison depending on the nature of the project.
• Work with the country CEO in identifying and driving country initiatives designed to build the business franchise and increase business operating efficiency.
• Drive innovation and delivery the Technology and Operations transformation agenda for the country with the aim of making the Bank a leading digital bank.
• Drive transformation of Technology and Operations teams in the Country to adopt scaled agile delivery to drive outcome based OKRs/KPIs and improve customer experience.
• Drive strategy to streamline processes, enhance productivity, reduce risk, improve controls, leveraging technologies.
• Drive strategic investment reviews owned by the Country Management Team
• Play pivotal role in investment decisions at the Countries level.
  
  

Business

• Work with the Country Management Team and risk committees to ensure alignment with global process standards, improving efficiency and scalability.
• Work closely Country business heads to understand their requirements and implement a change management program to deliver the strategy while ensuring strong controls, processes, governance, and risk management for the Country.
• Work with the Country Management Teams to maintain rigorous cost and investment discipline. Ensure appropriate prioritisation of issues around risk, control, investment, people, projects, and change management within the Country.
• Work with Country COOs and CIO, bilaterally and as part of the Technology and Operations Management Team, to align across projects and priorities and the prioritisation plan for Country execution.
• Drive continuous improvements in Productivity and Cost Efficiencies at the Country level.
• Managing execution of performance objectives to ensure that Country technology and operations are stable, secure, and delivered in line with service requirements.
• Provide support and guidance, often hands-on, to countries where their scale doesn’t support local subject-matter expertise.
  
  

Key Regional Initiatives

• Manage critical regional projects, including acquisitions, divestitures, regulatory projects, etc. This may include regulatory liaison depending on the nature of the project.
• Work with the Country CEO in identifying and driving initiatives designed to build the business franchise and increase business operating efficiency.
• Drive strategic investment reviews owned by the Country Management Team
  
  

Risk, Control and Governance

• Effective execution of delegated responsibility for managing country governance, including governance of branches and legal entities, ensuring the country demonstrably meets governance standards, country engagement rules, etc.
• Ensure there is a framework for effective management of operational risks in the country and compliance with applicable internal policies, and external laws and regulations in the country.
• Ensure that Country’s exposure to each form of technology risk is understood and managed.
• Effective management of all Technology risks including reporting high or very high rated risks based on Group materiality thresholds to the relevant Risk Committees at the country level.
• Setting infrastructure and process frameworks to monitor, manage, and escalate risks affecting the business in its use of technology and escalating material risks for the Countries, in accordance with the Group's risk management framework.
• Support business and risk partners to ensure appropriate focus on High risk and Very High risks. Escalate to senior management where appropriate.
• Work with Country support function heads to proactively address thematic issues and significant operational problems as they arise, i.e., ‘joining the dots’ between SIS, Audit, BMA, peer reviews, etc., findings.
• Establish strong two-way links between Cluster & Country Risk Committee and business risk forums to ensure that relevant issues and priorities are channelled, discussed, and addressed.
• Support the country roll-out and embedding of the Risk Management Framework.
• Act to minimize operational loss and audit failures and in conjunction with country business heads and JCOOs, ensuring appropriate focus on issues and resolutions. Ensure strong partnership with second-line risk partners and Group Internal Audit.
• Chair any other relevant governance committees.
• Provide on ground support for subsidiaries where appropriate, including board appointments as applicable.
• Work with the relevant NFRCs/PGCs to ensure processes for products and clients in the Country are fit for purpose and meet regulatory requirements.
• Responsible, as a member of the Country Management Team, for
• maintaining a strong and appropriate control environment covering all businesses
• Restricting business if existing infrastructure and processes, capacity or capability are not fit to execute business within operational risk tolerance, regulatory standards or growth aspirations.
• Support Country CEO in country reviews and remedial planning where significant issues have been identified.
• Fully accountable and own regulatory audit / inspections in the country as well as offshore service centres.
  
  

Processes

• Lead in delivering ‘horizontal’ (i.e., across the client journeys) process excellence in the country to reduce handoffs, reduce risk and improve client service in collaboration with Journey COOs and GBS leads.
• Work with the Country Management Team and risk committees to ensure alignment with global process standards, improving efficiency and scalability.
• Input to the design of global policies and procedures ensuring local requirements are considered. Monitor dashboards and provide general oversight to escalate issues promptly, e.g., AML and sanctions checks, protection of Bank, client information and assets.
• Implement digitisation projects and manage the change process to reduce manual hand-offs, reduce risk and improve client service collaborating with Journey COOs and GBS leads.
• Drive adoption of best practices, architecture, technology standards and methodologies.
• Drive the integrated “One Bank” agenda and bring alignment across the business and functions, working closely with segment and product heads.
• Work with other COOs, bilaterally and as part of the Regional Operations Management Team, to align across projects and priorities and the prioritisation plan for regional execution.
  
  

People and Talent

• Champion and act as a role model of the Group’s values and culture in the countries. Lead through example and build the appropriate culture and values. Sets appropriate tone and expectations for their team and work in collaboration with risk and control partners.
• Lead and support a change in mindset, building a culture of client centricity, agility, and accountability through standardised metrics and measurement, ensuring everyone in Technology and Operations in the Country are drivers and owners of client outcomes.
• Create a culture of operational and service excellence across the Countries.
• Set the appropriate tone and expectations for the Country CTOO team and work in collaboration with risk and control partners.
• Attract, employ, and retain high quality people such that Technology and Operations team in the Country is skilled and experienced to deliver superior experience for our clients, build a fully Agile organisation, and promote team diversity and inclusion across capabilities, background, gender, and race.
• Ensure team structure/capacity is reviewed to enable agenda delivery, and succession plans for critical roles are in place.
• Ensure the provision of on-going training & development, ensure that direct reports are suitably skilled and qualified for their roles and that they have effective supervision in place to mitigate any risks.
• Create a motivational and challenging environment for staff which is conducive to creativity and performance with customer-centricity in mind.
• Set effective metrics and standards, transparently communicating these to team members, providing feedback and rewarding employees accordingly.
  
  

Business Resilience

• As matrix manager to Country Business Resilience, ensure the country resilience frameworks adequately support the Cluster/country business strategy. Where necessary provide Country executive sponsorship for major resilience initiatives.
• Monitor and Manage IT business resilience in the country and escalate all risks to IT related resilience and business continuity as per the country/group resilience framework.
  
  

Regulatory and Business Conduct

• Oversee Country conduct planning and escalate issues to the accountable manager (CEO).
• Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
• Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
• Lead the Country COO and CIO teams to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles: Fair Outcomes for Clients; Effective Financial Markets; Financial Crime Compliance; The Right Environment.
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate, and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
  
  

Key Stakeholders

Internal

• Technology & Operations Management Team in Country Cluster and Group
• Technology Management Team and Various technology domains across the group
• COO CIB Management Team
• Cluster and Country CEO and Cluster and Country Management Teams
• Leadership team of Local subsidiaries where appropriate
• Functional partners in Country teams
• Business partners in country teams
  
  

External

• Local regulators and other government departments/officials
• Clients
• Industry partners, Banking Associations, etc
  
  

Other Responsibilities

• Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and valued behaviours in the Technology & Operations function.
• Responsible for building a culture of good conduct.
  
  

Competencies

Action Oriented

Collaborates

Customer Focus

Gives Clarity & Guidance

Manages Ambiguity

Develops Talent

Drives Vision & Purpose

Nimble Learning

Decision Quality

Courage

Instills Trust

Strategic Mindset

Technical Competencies: This is a generic competency to evaluate candidate on role-specific technical skills and requirements

Skills And Experience

• Academic or Professional Education/Qualifications – relevant degree
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of professional experience as a C-suite People Leader
• Min 5-7 years of leading or a technology background and experience.
• Sound understanding of IT Infrastructure and Banking systems.
• Strong background in leading and managing a global workforce covering Operations and Technology domains within international firm/organisation.
• Stays current in knowledge with a focus on the future of technology.
• Self-motivated leader with a growth mindset
• Advanced level communicator, with ability to influence and manage stakeholders from various seniority and backgrounds, preferably with international exposure.
• Highly innovative and current in application of human centred design principles
• Leads on 'agile' as a way of working and proven experience transforming tech organisations to agile.
• Builds a culture and environment that attracts and retains top technology talent including driving hard on Diversity and Inclusion
• Licenses and Certifications/Accreditations – as required by role remit and responsibility.
• Professional Memberships – as required by role remit and responsibility.
• Bank training, i.e., mandatory, and developmental – as required by role remit and responsibility.
• Languages – fluency in business English
  
  

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together We

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term
  
  

What We Offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.