Finance & Procurement Cross-Function Director

Who we are

United by a sense of purpose towards our customers – to be a trusted partner for the long-term – and our universal banking platform in EMEA, SMBC Group has an international growth agenda and award-winning products, meaning we provide exciting opportunities to work on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. We deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers as well as investment banking and advisory services, and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets. Read on to find out how you could enhance your skills and gain valuable experience, by joining us to support our clients transition to a sustainable future.

Role Summary

Is the next step in your career at SMBC Group EMEA? We’re looking for a Head of Regulatory Finance Change to join our team within the Finance department. 

The purpose of this role is to provide leadership and guidance to the Finance Change team, and to deliver Finance change projects.  The role has responsibility over delivering Regulatory Change activities through strong knowledge and experience of UK Prudential Regulations and the EU Regulatory environment.

Business Area

This role is resides within the Finance function.  A dedicated team for Finance Change delivers holsitice change for Finance and this role is specific to change realted to Prudential regulation    

Background

Within the Finance change team is a dedicated resource pool focusing on Regulatory Change who are responsible for supporting, assisting and delivering Prudential Regulatory change impacting SMBC BI Plc (a Corporate & Investment UK Bank) and SMBC group companies across EMEA (key entities being EU branches of the Japanese Parent Bank and a German Bank).

This role will have overall responsibility for the Reg. Fin. Change Portfolio, both directly delivering change projects and manage / guide the team, providing drive and leadership as necessary.  The role requires extensive knowledge of prudential regulation as well as project management and business analysis experience in delivering multiple complex change projects and managing teams.

Facts / Scale

• The team currently consists of 5 permanent change professionals and four3 temporary team members
• The SMBC BI Balance sheet is approx. Usd 70Bn the German Bank Balance sheet is approx. Usd 30Bn
• The change team support the UK BAU team who are 18 strong and the EU Team who are 8 strong
• The role will have direct manger responsibility over Regulatory Change professionals, including 1 Dir and 4 VP permanent resource, as well as 3 VP temporary resource

Accountabilities / Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain good working relationships with Reg Tech partners and internal ITSD partners, ensuring high quality services levels;
• Control, manage and drive the change development schedule, prioritising activity and directing developer resource appropriately;
• Maintain and update the Reg Roadmap strategy, ensuring best in class architecture to support the execution of our Reg Reporting requirements
• Maintain close liaison with ITSD support and development teams, working in partnership to deliver priorities
• Manage project work load and work flexibly to prioritise the development resource as necessary;
• Communicate project progress to senior management and other relevant stakeholders through regular update meetings;
• Manage the processes for the design, development, support, testing and maintenance of business requirements to deliver projects;
• Understand and document business requirements to create development specifications, and undertake UAT and implementation testing for various new developments;
• Support BAU users across the EMEA region, as required, on new and existing functionality;
• Build a strong team by developing ongoing training and development plans for direct reports;
• Other Ad hoc project tasks as required;

Knowledge, Skills, Experience, Qualificitions

Qualifications

Part or fully qualified accountant - Desireable

Project Management qualification - Desireable

Job Knowledge

Extensive experience of Prudential regulation across EMEA - Essential

Functional expert and certified business analyst in Banking sector and across multiple countries (system currently supports UK, France, Belgium, Dubai, Italy, German, Spain, Ireland and Netherlands) - Desirable

Strong knowledge of data requirements and calculations required for Regulatory output - Essential

Financial Product Knowledge (IR & FX Derivatives, Securities, Equity, Loans, Deposits, Current Accounts) gained through working within the banking sector - Essential

Experience in producing business requirements in liaison with Regulatory reporting teams - Essential

Act as consultant to the Business for all tasks related to Finance Regulatory Reporting - Desirable

Ability to be able to interrogate and analyse data on Oracle based platform and / or MsAccess (SQL) - Desirable

Provide Knowledge and Documentation support for all aspects of the development life cycle (requirements, gap analysis, test plans, testing, issue and risk logs, user procedures and ongoing continual process improvements) - Essential

Needs to be as functionally knowledgeable as the software supplier business experts to be able to engage in discussions and provide meaningful analysis to them, including bug fixing / testing - Essential

Knowledge of upgrade procedure for management of all system testing and end to end testing of new software - Desirable

Manage testing phases with users in different entities/countries, including software training, user set-up and bespoke development software training - Essential

Leadership experience including managing and developing strong performing team - Essential

Experience

Experience delivering Prudential Regulation change projects - Essential

Preparation and analysis of regulatory and statistical reporting - Desirable

Working knowledge of reporting query software, spreadsheets and data mining - Essential

Experience in providing regulatory analysis to Front and middle office - Desirable

Good knowledge of Finance Systems, General accounting and business knowledge - Essential

Strong knowledge of all derivative and securities products - Desirable 

Skills / Abilities

Oracle SQL, MS Office Suite, AI literate - Desirable

Very IT literate (very good level of Excel skills and basic ability to use SQL) - Essential

Broad knowledge and understanding of technical aspects of vendor platforms - Essential

Ability to manage all functional issues as they inter-relate between forms and countries - Essential

Personal Qualities

Self motivated - Essential

A proactive individual who is willing and able to become a key player in a vital area of the bank’s development, and recognise opportunities to ensure that the links between regulatory imperatives and business strategy are reconciled in an efficient manner - Essential

Able to work in a flexible and responsive manner according to the needs of the company - Essential

Ability to multi task and to make progress on several items at the same time - Essential

Strong stakeholder management - Essential

Positive attitude to the team and customers - Essential

Ability to handle pressure of extensive urgent project with tight deadlines - Essential

Demonstrable success influencing stakeholders to deliver appropriate outcomes - Essential

Challenges

• Volume of simultaneous regulatory change
• Clear communication to stakeholders with varying degrees of subject matter knowledge
• Rigour in documenting requirements
• Developing the team
• Senior stakeholder management

Competencies

What we offer

For all the expertise and experience you bring to help us make a difference, it’s only sustainable if we support you to build your career and be your best self so we offer competitive company benefits, centred around promoting positive well-bring and work-life balance. We also believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, where all team members perspectives and contributions are valued. Initiatives in place which promote a diverse and inclusive culture and healthy work life balance include hybrid working, Sport & Social Clubs and Diversity and Inclusion networks.

As an employee of SMBC you have access to a host of both useful and exciting benefit offerings. See below some of the benefits on offer to you:

• Hybrid and flexible working 
• Competitive paid leave days
• Benefits to support your physical wellbeing, including private medical insurance and life and invalidity insurance 
• Various policies to support your mental wellbeing, including a robust behavioural health network with counselling and coaching services  
• Access a wide range of learning and development opportunities and career progression opportunities 
• Ambitious remuneration package

So, if you like a challenge and want to continuously grow and develop in a role where you will be supported along the way by a dynamic and diverse team, apply today!!