Job Summary
The Strategy & Talent (S&T) Group Functions consists of the Global HR, CABM, Property/CRES, Procurement and Strategy Functions.
The Corporate Real Estate Services (‘CRES’) function manages a portfolio of more than 1,400 buildings across the Group. CRES is a globally managed function, integrating individual country CRES teams, together with specialist groups covering Workplace, Asset Management, Safety and Security. The current organisation includes 175 SCB employed workers and 10,000 Non-Employed Workers (‘NEW’) managed through three main supply partners.
This role will partner with the Group Head of CRES/Real Estate and the CFO of Strategy & Talent in overseeing the cost base of the S&T unit, enhancing cost discipline and effectiveness of the respective functions. It will also entail senior finance partnership and advisory to support the S&T Fit for Growth (FFG) agenda to help unlock and deliver sizable cost savings across the Bank.
The successful candidate will be a trusted partner and seasoned finance leader who will work hand in hand with the S&T organization and respective functional leaders to drive cost transformation.
Key Responsibilities
Performance Management and Decision Support
• Commercially minded CFO to partner with CRES/Property management and drive optimal financial outcomes for SCB.
• End to end ownership of the P&L of the CRES/Property cost base, driving performance management activities and ensuring that each of the units reach their financial targets.
• Provide independent challenge and senior influence to drive management actions and deliver targeted outcomes. Champion and drive a culture of cost discipline and enhanced cost focus across the functions space.
• Develop and embed quality MI and analytics to deliver insights and visibility on cost performance and productivity attainment.
• Provide thought leadership on market trends and deliver robust competitor benchmarking & peer analysis to understand our performance against market and influence strategies to optimize our cost base. • Ensure investments are properly managed and accounted for in line with the S&T function’s transformation agenda, including inputs into business cases with clearly defined benefits, articulated in sufficient detail to enable effective benefits tracking and realization.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with Business Finance and Group Finance cost teams to enhance consistency of approach and knowledge sharing.
Financial Control
• Develop and maintain appropriate policies and procedures which ensure that the cost budgets are rigorously adhered to, that resources under the direct control and influence of S&T are allocated appropriately.
• Ownership and control over all cost processes relating to the S&T cost base, including cost recharges and accounting treatment.
• Support independent attestation of cost saves including verification and documentation and ensure both cost savings and investment are properly and consistently accounted for across the bank.
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards, regulatory requirements and management reporting and policies.
• Lead finance activities relating to business realignment and restructures changes in the S&T domains including change management and restatement of financial and management reporting, corporate plans, scorecards, reporting structures, and financial systems as well as tracking and reporting of cost synergy achievements.
• Champion Functions Finance Change agenda by spearheading key initiatives to drive a “Best-in-Class” finance function with a specific focus on reports simplification, centralization and standardization and including the migration of activities to offshore support team.
• Lead the transformation programme for Property Finance which brings together the end to end ownership of Financial Accounting and Performance Mgmt.
Skills and Experience
People & Talent
• Provide coaching and mentoring to the onshore and offshore team, building out team’s capability and fostering a business partnership mindset.
• Ensure that holders of all critical functions are suitably skilled and qualified for their roles and that effective supervision is in place and appropriate ongoing training and development is available.
• Set and monitor job descriptions and objectives for direct reports and provide feedback and rewards in line with their performance against those responsibilities and objectives.
• Lead by example, develop and embed a high-performance culture with specific focus on capability, effectiveness, and productivity.
Risk Management
• Ability to interpret the firm’s financial information, identify key issues based on this information and put in place appropriate controls and measures.
• Ensure compliance with Group Accounting Principles and practices, Financial Control policy, and other regulatory accounting guidelines.
Governance
• Have an awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework in which the Group operates, and the regulatory requirements and expectations relevant to the role.
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. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate, and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
Our Ideal Candidate
· 20+ years of finance experience with specialization in Cost Management / Cost Transformation.
· Proven track record in leading and delivering cost efficiencies and productivity.
· Extensive senior stakeholder experience in a global, highly matrix organization, preferably Banking.
· Strong familiarity with the bank’s financial systems and control frameworks
· Academic or Professional Education/Qualifications:
· University educated, Bachelors of Accountancy or Finance degree
· Qualified Accountant i.e. CPA, CMA, ACCA.
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
• Exceptional stakeholder management capabilities, with the ability to build trust and creditability with senior stakeholders, providing advice and challenge at a strategic level.
• Strong analytical skills, using advanced quantitative techniques and modelling tools, with ability to conceptualize and develop proof of concept frameworks, scenario analysis and business cases.
• Strategic thinking with commercial acumen and independent thought, a sense of materiality and decision-making capability.
• Knowledge of cost recharge frameworks and familiarity with unit pricing models
• Excellent communication and influencing skills with gravitas and executive presence
• Strong awareness of the external and internal business environment and competitor landscape.
• High integrity, with a strong sense of independence and accountability
• Ability to independently, in a fast pace environment, under tight deadlines with high attention to detail and accuracy
• Innovative and resourceful – ability to adopt new methodologies and navigate the network to resolve business issues, manage risks and complexities.
• Inquisitive, self-starter with a ‘can-do’ and continuous improvement mindset
• Team player who facilitates the sharing of knowledge, looks for opportunities to grow others, develop talent, give clarity and guidance, drive purpose, and work collaboratively in the team.
• Familiarity of SCB Finance systems and processes
• Proficient in MS Tools (Excel, PowerPoint).
Role Specific Technical Competencies
· Microsoft Tools
· Cost Management or Cost Transformation
· Financial Control
· Property Finance
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.
Recruitment Assessments
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