WCOB and GEDD Governance Head

About Client and Financial Crime Operations 

We are a client due diligence and financial crime risk detection and reporting utility for Barclays UK and Barclays International trading entities. Our purpose is to onboard and maintain customer due diligence for Barclays customers while disrupting associated money laundering and financial crime risk. 

Within the operation are skilled analysts and expert teams across client and financial crime due diligence as well as data scientists supported by cutting edge intelligence tools to effectively and automatically identify Financial Crime risks within the Barclays ecosystem. This enables us to provide meaningful insights to business lines across the group to effectively manage risk and to protect our customers, colleagues, the bank and society in general from the negative impacts of financial crime.

The services we provide within our group wide Utility are: i) Payment Screening to manage Sanctions and Wire Transfer Regulations risks, ii) Customer Screening to manage Sanctions, AML and Adverse Media risks iii) Transactions Monitoring to manage AML risk iv) Enhanced Due Diligence reviews for High Risk customers including PEPs and a v) Customer Exits and client onboarding, regulatory due diligence, product due diligence and ongoing refresh of customer KYC.

About Client Due Diligence Operations (CDDO)

We are an enterprise-wide utility performing due diligence on our customer relationships. We endeavour to detect financial crime within the Barclays ecosystem through expert interrogation and collection of customer data and investigations. We ensure Barclays is not used to facilitate financial crime and ensure bad actors are identified quickly, helping keep the bank, and society at large, safe. Our Safeguarding Everyone Everyday (SEE) strategy drives us to continually strengthen our financial crime detection capabilities, innovate solutions to identifying risk more quickly, automate at scale through data analytics and AI, and drive to centralise screening services across the group.

Overall purpose of role

• As the governance lead, this individual will be responsible for owning the overarching governance framework in the department, including ensuring we meet our reporting and performance requirements across Wholesale Client Onboarding (WCOB) and Global Enhanced Due Diligence services (GEDDs) , TC01 and the wider COO and Business functions.

• Initial focus is to take ownership of the current governance and performance reporting structure, ensuring it is fit for purpose with necessary decision making and escalation frameworks in place, as well as driving a robust culture of consistent reporting across services.

• The role holder will face off against senior stakeholders from across the Barclays Group – often at Director and Managing Director level – to provide insight on CDDO performance, highlighting underlying trends and interlock future demand and budgets relating to service.

• The role will also encompass the ongoing development and continuous improvement of our governance and reporting, working closely with the functional leads and our support partners (Data & MI, Business Management, Finance etc) to deliver world class, concise and consistent reporting to our internal stakeholders. This will require the role holder to demonstrate an ability to come up with solutions based on sophisticated analytical before implementing the preferred solution.

• In addition to the above, given the high level of regulatory scrutiny, the individual will be required to provide clear and accurate updates for our key regulatory bodies – including the FCA and FINRA (amongst others) This will require a high level of attention to detail, and the ability to present complex business issues in a clear and transparent manner

Key Accountabilities

Performance reporting

• Own and manage the regular reporting process, working with the Financial Crime Screening management team, service leads and business points of contact as required to ensure the timely submission of reports to stakeholders and relevant governance meetings
• Coordinate the production of reports including collating inputs from multiple sources and on occasion relevant producing new reporting materials to ensure reports are accurate and consistent across the governance suite
• Drive continuous improvement of our suite of governance reports, enhancing and refining the MI and messaging within them to ensure our reporting is clear, concise and focuses on the key impacts/issues faced during the relevant period
• Provide support for to the management team and service leads for queries on governance processes within Financial Crime Screening and, where relevant, across TC01 and wider.

Governance and transparency

• Own the structure of all governance meetings in Client Due Diligence Operations (CDDO) including decision making abilities, escalation routes, and continuously improving and updating this in line with the governance requirements at the time
• Overall ownership of action tracking across all CDDO governance meetings. This is an important characteristic of the role given the high level of scrutiny which CDDO receives from across the Barclays Group and our regulatory bodies
• Drive an action orientated execution mind-set across the management team through regular chasing and updating of open actions ensuring timely progression and completion
• Ensure all governance meetings are scheduled in diaries at the appropriate cadence with relevant areas correctly represented
• Effective challenge of the functional leads across the CDDO and the wider TC01 business – this will be predominately at MD and Director level

Resource management

• Work closely with Business Management, Business Finance and business units to ensure an accurate, dynamic view of the current workforce is calibrated and readily accessible, including current vacancies and progress on hiring updated on a regular basis from the available MI
• Construct and own a Service Consumption model for CDDO – delivering insight around demand and capacity which can be used to drive enhanced resource allocation
• Use complex analytical skills to identify opportunities for operational efficiencies – working with the Functional head to translate this from concept to a formal initiative, supporting execution and benefit tracking
• Financial management
• Work closely with TCO1 Finance Business Partners to ensure an accurate, dynamic view of the current and forecast financial position is available to the management team and service leads and is updated on a regular basis
• Lead on the Group-wide Medium-Term Plan (MTP) process for CDDO – ensuring interlock between each of the functional areas and Finance Business Partners

Stakeholder Management and Leadership

• Effective leadership and extensive stakeholder management across CDDO - multiple services across business units and functions in multiple global sites with most stakeholders being at MD and Director level.
• Encourage a collaborative culture and inspire a trusting and cohesive environment to maximise successful delivery across all lines of operation.
• Build robust relationships and influence a network of key stakeholders to help deliver on our shared objectives.
• Highlighting critical issues to leadership and service leads whilst assisting in the correct messaging of impacts and resolution actions underway

Decision-making and Problem Solving

• Operate within complex and changing environments.
• Adept at problem solving and ability to support and drive others to deliver.
• Seek to develop new or enhance existing systems and processes to improve governance efficiency, effectiveness and clarity.
• Provide advice and guidance, influencing the effectiveness of our service reporting.

Person Specification

• Strong relationship management with the ability to influence across CDDO and TC01 leadership.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills – demonstrating interactive listening in order to influence internally with others often at a senior level.
• Strong leadership skills with evidence of managing individuals.
• Project Management/Governance expertise, with experience in managing multiple workstreams and governance forums.
• Knowledge of key Financial Crime functions and able to demonstrate the key emerging themes/trends which are impacting this area.

Essential Skills/Basic Qualifications:

• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build and leverage relationships.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, presentation and influencing skills. Able to deliver reporting at the level of Executive committees and senior stakeholders.
• Project Management/Governance expertise, with experience in managing multiple workstreams and governance forums.
• Understanding of Barclays’ Businesses, Products, Processes and Technology

Desirable skills/Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience of setting up and managing governance frameworks across multiple workstreams
• Knowledge of key Financial Crime functions – including Screening and Transaction Monitoring – and able to demonstrate the key emerging themes/trends which are impacting this area.

Purpose of the role

To manage operations within a business area and maintain processes, risk management initiatives and compliance with relevant regulators. 

Accountabilities

• Identification of trends and opportunities to improve areas and develop new process and procedures through the monitoring and analysis of operation data and performance metrices.
• Management of operations for a business area and promote efficient processes, risk management and compliance initiatives to support the bank's operations.
• Collaboration with internal stakeholders (including business leaders, project manager and SMEs) and external stakeholders (including vendors and service providers) to support business operations and promote alignment with the bank's objectives and SLAs.
• Management of operational professionals and provide guidance, coaching and support to improve colleagues' delivery quality.
• Management and development of KPIs to measure the effectiveness of operation functions, utilising data and technology to support the identification of areas that require improvement.
• Compliance with all regulatory requirements and internal policies related to customer experience.
• Creation of a safe environment for colleagues to speak up, actively and regularly encourage and solicit feedback to ensure people agenda remains focused on the right areas.
• Management of attrition by working closely with HR in implementing retention initiatives for work force.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior 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.

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.