Director : Stress Testing - Operational Excellence

Head Operational Excellence – Stress Testing

Job Summary:

• Led operational excellence initiatives across the stress testing framework, ensuring seamless alignment with PRA regulations & Basel 4 compliance requirements, partnering closely with regulatory reporting teams to maintain accuracy and timeliness in submissions, while anticipating evolving regulatory expectations and embedding them into our operational processes.
• Transform raw data into actionable business insights through sophisticated analytical approaches, developing curated reports and dashboards that highlight key performance trends, variances, and opportunities.
• Partner with business leaders to design forward-looking analytics that move beyond historical reporting to predictive and prescriptive insights that drive competitive advantage.
• This pivotal role reports directly to the GPLs and partners with the central Process Performance Excellence (PPE) team to elevate operational maturity across GCFO workstreams.
• Drive PPE Framework & Op Ex Strategy within relevant GPL workstream to identify optimisation opportunities.
• Collaborate with GPLs and work on Book of Work to uplift the maturity of the processes, making them leaner, etc.
• Play a critical role in process mining, identifying KPIs & dashboards to drive process insights.

Responsibilities:

Process Transformation & Innovation

• L ead end-to-end process redesign initiatives across Stress testing teams managing large-scale, cross-functional initiatives that touch multiple geographies, business units, and stakeholder groups to standardise workflows and eliminate inefficiencies.
• Architect scalable operating models that support business growth while reducing complexity & operational risk.
• Establish PPE governance frameworks with clear ownership, controls, & performance metrics.
• Drive standardisation & harmonisation of processes across regions & business units.
• Drive towards developing sophisticated analytical frameworks to evaluate & identify optimal scenarios for stress testing, balancing regulatory requirements with business reality.
• Champion the integration of Generative AI and advanced analytics into the stress testing process, transforming how we generate insights from complex data sets.

Operational Excellence & Quality Management:

• Optimised the orchestration of multiple calculation engines, implementing robust data lineage frameworks that provided end-to-end transparency from source systems through to final outputs.
• Design and deploy standardized frameworks that balance flexibility for business-specific needs with enterprise-wide consistency in performance measurement and reporting methodologies.
• Deploy Lean Six Sigma methodologies to eliminate waste, reduce variation, & optimise resource utilisation.
• Build continuous improvement culture through kaizen events, process mining, & root cause analysis.
• Orchestrate the integration of multiple reporting systems and platforms to create a unified analytics ecosystem, ensuring seamless data flow and establishing common datasets that eliminate silos.
• Operationalise KPI dashboards & real-time monitoring capabilities for proactive issue resolution.
• Lead defect prevention programs & implement mistake-proofing techniques across critical processes.

Strategic Partnership & Change Leadership:

• Work with Finance leadership to translate strategic objectives into operational roadmaps.
• Act as trusted advisor to GPL and PPE Head on operational transformation priorities.
• Lead cross-functional teams through complex change initiatives with strong stakeholder engagement.
• Develop business cases demonstrating ROI for process improvement & technology investments.
• Foster collaboration between Finance, Technology, Operations & Risk teams.

Regulatory & Compliance Excellence

• Ensure process designs meet regulatory requirements (UK ACG, Basel, PRA, IFRS, tax & Regulatory compliance).
• Strengthen controls environment while simplifying processes & reducing operational burden.
• Support audit readiness through robust documentation, testing protocols, & evidence management.
• Drive remediation of audit findings & regulatory observations with sustainable solutions.

Capability Building

• Develop training programs to upskill finance teams on process improvement methodologies.
• Create a center of excellence for process optimization, automation, and quality management.
• Mentor Process leaders on operational excellence principles & change management.

Regulatory & Business Conduct:

• 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.
• Lead the country/business unit/function to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles.
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
• Exercise authorities delegated by the Board of Directors and act in accordance with Articles of Association (or equivalent).

Key Stakeholders:

• GCFO COO MT
• Relevant GPL
• PPE Team
• Global Op Ex team
• ARIS GPT
• SAP Signavio
• ProHance team
• Relevant Technology teams
• Infrastructure & Security Teams

Qualifications:

Education & Certifications:

• MBA, Master's in Finance, or equivalent advanced degree.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification required; Master Black Belt preferred.
• Professional certifications (CA, CPA, CFA, CIMA, or equivalent) highly valued.

Experience & Expertise:

• 12-15+ years in finance operations, with 5+ years leading operational excellence or transformation programs.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale process transformation in banking or financial services.
• Deep domain expertise across multiple finance functions (Accounting, Financial Reporting, FP&A, Treasury, Tax).
• Hands-on experience with process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping).
• Demonstrated success implementing automation solutions (RPA, workflow tools, AI-enabled platforms).
• Strong understanding of regulatory environment and compliance requirements in banking.

Technical & Analytical Skills:

• Expert in process mapping, analysis, and redesign using tools like ARIS, Signavio, or Celonis.
• Proficient in data analytics and visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI, Alteryx).
• Strong knowledge of ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) and finance technology ecosystem.
• Experience with project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid approaches).
• Advanced Excel and data manipulation capabilities for complex analysis.

Leadership & Soft Skills:

• Exceptional change management skills with ability to influence without authority.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and commercial orientation.
• Outstanding communication skills; ability to present complex concepts to C-suite executives.
• Proven ability to build consensus and drive results in matrixed, global organizations.
• Results-driven leader with high standards, attention to detail, and execution excellence.
• Cultural sensitivity and experience managing diverse, geographically dispersed teams.

Skills and Competencies:

• Action Oriented: Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, energy, and enthusiasm.
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Customer Focus: Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Courage: Stepping up to address difficult issues and saying what needs to be said.
• Instils Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Nimble Learning: Actively learning from experimentation, success, and failures. Applying lessons learned to new problems.
• Decision Quality: Making good and timely decisions that keep the organisation moving forward.
• Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organisation’s goals.
• Drives Vision & Purpose: Painting a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates others to action.
• Gives Clarity and Guidance: Providing direction, delegating and removing obstacles to get work done.
• Manages Ambiguity: Operating effectively even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into strategies that address changing needs while leveraging the bank’s strengths.

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.