Vice President - Client Service & Implementation Design

Step into the role of Vice President - Client Service & Implementation Design at Barclays, where you'll provide first-class support by conducting in-depth due diligence, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and safeguarding our clients and organization with expertise and care.

We are seeking a visionary and execution-focused VP, Client Service & Implementation Design, to lead the design and delivery of exceptional client service and onboarding experiences for Corporate Banking clients across APAC and the Middle East. This role will be pivotal in translating strategic objectives into seamless client journeys, ensuring the successful implementation of new products, platforms, and processes, and driving operational excellence in partnership wit h business, technology, and regulatory stakeholders.

You may be assessed on key critical skills relevant for success in role such as:

1. Operating Model Leadership

• Drive the design and continuous improvement of client onboarding and service processes for Corporate Banking clients in Asia, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and a differentiated experience.

• Oversee the implementation of new products and platforms, aligning operational readiness with diverse client needs across the region.

• Develop and document target operating models and process flows tailored for Asia, supporting scalable execution and clear accountability.

2. Enablement & Digital Transformation

• Identify and drive automation and digital enablement opportunities to enhance client experience and operational efficiency, leveraging regional technology trends.

• Translate business requirements into detailed operational specifications and service standards, ensuring clarity and accuracy throughout the implementation lifecycle.

• Map and document end-to-end operational touchpoints, enabling smooth handoffs and efficient execution across upstream and downstream interfaces.

3. Regional Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients and internal teams (front office, technology, operations, risk) across Asia, fostering collaboration and operational rigor.

• Represent the client service and implementation function in governance forums, client meetings, and regulatory discussions, ensuring regional alignment.

4. Risk, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure all activities comply with local regulatory requirements and internal policies, embedding robust risk management practices within the team.

• Manage process performance against agreed service levels and KPIs, driving a culture of continuous improvement across Asia.

5. Change Management & Operational Enablement

• Establish and lead an Operations Change Management Office (CMO) to bridge program delivery and day-to-day operations, translating strategic objectives into actionable operational requirements for Asia.

• Operate a dual-lead structure (Country BAU Operations Lead and Regional Corporate Banking Operations Lead) to ensure clear accountability and effective regional oversight.

• Design and deliver onboarding and implementation models that integrate client journeys, product requirements, and operational processes, consistent with global standards but tailored for Asia.

6. Client Service & Onboarding Excellence

• Lead the end-to-end design and continuous improvement of client onboarding, service, and implementation processes for Corporate Banking clients.

• Ensure client journeys are efficient, compliant, and deliver a differentiated experience, balancing regulatory requirements with commercial objectives.

• Act as the primary escalation point for complex client implementation and service issues, driving resolution and root cause analysis.

• Partner with front office, technology, and operations teams to ensure seamless client transitions and handovers.

7. Decision-making and Problem Solving

• Ability to understand and analyse complex problems and provide effective tactical and strategic solutions to escalations and issues.

• Make evaluative judgement of the day-to-day issues.

• Understanding of broader business strategy and apply this lens when taking team decisions.

• Aptitude to operate with close attention to detail and able to prioritise your key activities to ensure delivery.

Desirable Skillsets:

• Degree educated or equivalent qualification.

• Proven track record in client service, onboarding, or implementation leadership within corporate or transaction banking.

• Strong knowledge of operational procedures, client onboarding, and regulatory requirements in APAC & ME.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to liaise effectively with clients and stakeholders at all levels.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret data, draw conclusions, and communicate findings clearly.

• Excellent project management skills and a proven track record of leading and implementing change.

• Ability to liaise effectively with internal and external clients and stakeholders of all levels of seniority.

• Good verbal and written communication skills.

• Sound knowledge of the operational procedures and regulatory requirements in the region.

• Insight into external market developments and initiatives.

• Ability to interpret, draw conclusions from data and communicate findings in clear and convincing manner to stakeholders.

• Result oriented and commercial mindset.

• Commercial mindset and results orientation.

• Strong product knowledge in trade finance and/or cash management related products with a good understanding of end-to-end processes for each of the products.

• Working knowledge of cash platform buildout, local payment processes (such as MEPS, GIRO, FAST, Paynow), banking channels, liquidity management and/or virtual accounts management.

• .Knowledge of SWIFT messaging.

You may be assessed on key essential skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

This role is based out of Chennai.

Purpose of the role

To support the organisation, achieve its strategic objectives  by ensuring the business is ready to receive the agreed change (address business problems and opportunities), ensuring that change initiatives are successfully assessed and implemented to enable them to be embedded in the organisation.  

Accountabilities

• Identification and analysis of business impact and opportunities that require change within the organisation.
• Development of business readiness strategies that will help to ensure the successful implementation of change initiatives.
• Communication with stakeholders, including senior management, project teams, and external partners, to ensure that they are informed about change initiatives and that their needs and expectations are being met.
• Collaboration with Client Readiness, Operational Readiness & Tech Delivery to ensure business, sales, operations, client servicing and functional partners are prepared for a smooth transition of technology delivery into BAU (including Target Operating Model, Training, Communications, Service Agreements.) .
• Management of resistance to change, ensuring that stakeholders are engaged and that their concerns are addressed.
• Review of business readiness plans and status reports in conjunction with change delivery managers to ensure business readiness activities completed on time including newly identified risks, issues and dependencies.
• Collaboration with project teams to ensure that change initiatives are aligned with project objectives and that change management activities are integrated into project plans.
• Provision of guidance and support to business stakeholders, ensuring that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to implement change initiatives successfully.

Vice President Expectations

• To contribute or set strategy, drive requirements and make recommendations for change. Plan resources, budgets, and policies; manage and maintain policies/ processes; deliver continuous improvements and escalate breaches of policies/procedures..
• If managing a team, they define jobs and responsibilities, planning for the department’s future needs and operations, counselling employees on performance and contributing to employee pay decisions/changes. They may also lead a number of specialists to influence the operations of a department, in alignment with strategic as well as tactical priorities, while balancing short and long term goals and ensuring that budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements..
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others..
• OR for an individual contributor, they will be a subject matter expert within own discipline and will guide technical direction. They will lead collaborative, multi-year assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Advise key stakeholders, including functional leadership teams and senior management on functional and cross functional areas of impact and alignment.
• Manage and mitigate risks through assessment, in support of the control and governance agenda.
• Demonstrate leadership and accountability for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work your team does.
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the organisation functions to contribute to achieving the goals of the business.
• Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategies.
• Create solutions based on sophisticated analytical thought comparing and selecting complex alternatives. In-depth analysis with interpretative thinking will be required to define problems and develop innovative solutions.
• Adopt and include the outcomes of extensive research in problem solving processes.
• Seek out, build and maintain trusting relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in order to accomplish key business objectives, using influencing and negotiating skills to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.