IB Client Risk Governance Lead

The Investment Banking Financial Crime Client Risk Governance & Risk Appetite Lead is accountable for the design, operation and continuous enhancement of the Financial Crime client risk governance framework across the relevant Investment Banking businesses. The role ensures that material client risk matters are escalated, challenged and resolved through clear, evidence-based and defensible governance, with decisions aligned to approved Financial Crime risk appetite and delegated authority.

The role holder owns the Client Risk and Escalation Forum operating model, escalation criteria, risk appetite governance and executive Financial Crime Operating Committee (FCOM) pack creation and reporting. It provides senior coordination across the Business, 1LoD Financial Crime, Compliance, MLROs, Legal and other subject matter experts. KRI data production (unless specific to processes owned by the team), dashboard maintenance and routine metric calculation sit outside the role, while this role remains responsible for translating relevant inputs into executive insight, challenge and escalation.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead and evolve client risk governance and escalation frameworks.
• Lead and develop a high-performing governance team with clear accountabilities, service standards and succession plans
• Oversee Financial Crime Risk Appetite governance and exceptions management.
• Produce executive-level committee reporting and risk insights.
• Drive governance transformation, control enhancement and regulatory readiness.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to influence complex risk decisions.
• Act as the principal 1LoD governance contact for senior Business stakeholders, Financial Crime Responsible Executives, Compliance, MLROs, Legal and relevant control functions on client risk governance and risk appetite.
• Prepare senior leaders for material forum decisions and executive governance discussions
• Governance Transformation and Control Enhancement
• Lead simplification and enhancement of the client risk governance landscape
• Design and embed sustainable operating processes and metrics for escalation initiation, case tracking, prioritisation, breach management, decision implementation and evidence retention.
• Define requirements for supporting technology, workflow and document repositories, partnering with delivery and operational teams on implementation.

Essential experience

• Significant experience in Financial Crime, risk, controls, compliance, governance or a related discipline within a complex financial services organisation.
• Demonstrable experience designing, leading or enhancing senior governance forums and producing executive-level committee reporting.
• Considerable knowledge of client risk governance, financial crime risk appetite, escalation, risk acceptance and decision-making frameworks.
• Experience operating across Investment Banking, Corporate Banking and/or Markets, with an understanding of complex client, product and jurisdictional risk.
• Proven ability to provide credible challenge and influence senior stakeholders across the first and second lines of defence and partner functions.
• Excellent written communication, with the ability to convert complex risk information into succinct executive narrative and decision-ready materials.
• Experience managing multiple recurring governance cycles alongside transformation, remediation or control enhancement activity.
• Experience leading and developing teams in a high-accountability environment.

Desirable experience

• Experience developing or refreshing Financial Crime Risk Appetite Statements and associated escalation criteria.
• Experience responding to Internal Audit, assurance or regulatory reviews concerning governance, client risk or financial crime controls.
• Knowledge of KYC/CDD, sanctions, adverse information, PEP, suspicious activity and high-risk sector governance.
• Experience with governance workflow, reporting automation, document management and committee collaboration tools.
• Relevant professional qualification in financial crime, compliance, risk, law, accountancy or governance
• If based in Birmingham, travel to London once per month would be desirable.

Purpose of the role

To provide support to the Chief Risk Officer(S) in the implementation and ongoing effectiveness of the bank's risk management framework across various business units and functions.

Accountabilities

• Implementation support of risk management policies, standards, procedures, and controls across the bank.
• Asessment and promotion of risk management awareness and risk controls and culture.
• Review, challenge and monitoring of the effectiveness of existing risk management practices and identifying areas for improvement.
• Identification of new and emerging risks, and assessing the likelihood and impact of identified risks, and recommending appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Management and operation of associated committees, forum and meetings.
• Maintenance of risk inventories and governance documentation.

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.