Head of Strategic Initiatives

Join us as a Head of Strategic Initiatives at Barclays for our Private Banking and Wealth Management Chief Operating Office (PBWM COO), where you will play a leading role in identifying opportunities for driving progress towards the strategic objectives of the organisation and steering their implementation together with senior stakeholders.  

To be successful as Head of Strategic Initiatives, you should have:

• In-depth experience in strategy definition and execution across global Private Banking Wealth Management (PBWM) business with ability to drive strategy processes with senior stakeholders and conduct detail-oriented monitoring of impact.

• Proven leadership experience in strategy, transformation or programme delivery within private banking and track record of delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives in a high-governance environment.

• Proven track record in overseeing strategic initiatives, including definition of strategic direction, financials, allocation of clear responsibilities and monitoring of impact.

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to develop management-level presentation outputs with convincing narratives, including fluency in use of Excel and PowerPoint.

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Deep subject matter expertise in PBWM industry and business to impactfully drive strategic initiatives, including benchmarking and competitor analysis, business and sales management and efficiency / optimisation matters.

• Strong literacy in financial oversight, including business case modelling, cost planning and tracking.

• Background in strategy consulting.

You may be assessed on the key critical 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 be based in London.

Purpose of the role

To provide independent and balanced advice and counsel to senior stakeholders through problem identification, solving and decision making practices.

Accountabilities

• Provision of strategic advice to Group Executives to support the decision-making process of business challenges and opportunities.
• Development and implementation of strategic advisory incentives to grow and optimise the bank’s operations, through market research and analysis.
• Collaboration with various stakeholder groups to identify the appropriate strategic direction type to meet the needs of Barclays clients and investors.
• Development of financial models to support strategic recommendations and transactions through financial data analysis, financial projects and considering the financial impact of transactions.
• Management of transactions, negotiations, transaction structure development and post-transaction integration.
• Collaboration with internal stakeholders to maintain client relationships, and develop new relationships to identify opportunities.
• Identification of industry trends, maintain peer benchmarking and developments related to strategic advisory services by attendings conferences, participating in training and conducting market research.

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.