Head of South Asia Operations / C16

Position Objective

The Head of South Asia Operations is responsible for leading and executing Operations strategy and priorities across all businesses in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. This includes driving Operations and Franchise wide initiatives with key focus on operations governance, resiliency & controls, regulatory engagement, compliance & change management, and country Operations Organizational Health (people aspect). Further also comprises of supporting cross franchise initiatives related to digitalization, productivity, and right placement, while maintaining a strong control environment

The Head of India Operations is a formally appointed role, providing horizontal oversight and governance representation for all Operations areas supporting the country. This role will also partner with Citi Solutions Center (CSC) Network and local management to ensure appropriate governance from country point of view, in alignment with globally consistent Citi practices.

The role represents Operations in the India Management Committee/Country Coordinating Committee (CCC) and is part of the Asia South Cluster Operations leadership team. The position reports into the India CCO and Asia South Operations Head. The role will partner with country and cluster management teams to ensure appropriate governance from a country perspective, in alignment with global Citi standards and practices.

India Operations supports 14 branches located across 14 cities with 1200 employees. The role supports USD 3.7 MM Trade transactions and USD 510MM cash transactions annually. Citi is the largest custodian in India with 35% Market share of FPI AUC and TTS Trade market share of 9%.

The role will also oversee Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Operations, with the day-to-day activities led by the respective Operations Heads for these markets.

The role requires strong understanding of local regulatory landscape, broad and comprehensive understanding of various systems and practices relevant to the function as well as practical experience of multiple business cycles. In-depth knowledge of the industry and direct competitors' products and services is necessary to contribute to the commercial objectives of the business. Excellent communication skills are required to influence wide range of audiences.

The role involves both internal and external engagement which will have a major impact and influence in the area managed as well as other related areas of the organization.

Responsibilities

Drive strategic Operations priorities and its execution with key focus areas on Operations Governance, Regulatory and Audit Engagement, Resiliency & Controls, People, Client & Franchise and Financial Management.

Operations Governance

• Actively participate and represent all Operations functions on required country governance committees, board of directors, where relevant and required locally.

• Oversee Operational Risk Events (Near-misses, Actual Loss, etc.) and drive lessons learnt across Operations supporting the country.

• Provide thought leadership and actively represent Operations in industry forums to shape policy and regulations.

Regulatory and Audit Engagement

• Act as the senior point of contact for local regulators on Operations items.

• Represent Operations to country regulators including regulatory meetings, ongoing regulator engagement/update, onsite inspections, and data requests.

• Ensure proper framework to comply with regulatory expectations and implement new local/global regulatory requirement across Operations.

• Partner with respective functions to ensure that regulatory expectations with regards to Operational Resilience, Data Privacy, Third Party Risk management are met.

• Ensure timely and accurate regulatory reporting across Operations units.

• Drive Cross Franchise Operations audits in the country.

• Ensure Transformation / Consent Order commitments & Data Concern Remediation Management items specific to country are executed.

Resiliency & Controls

• Escalate, manage, and report significant risk events and issues timely and with transparency to key franchise and cluster stakeholders following the escalation policy and standards.

• Foster an environment of proactive escalation and prompt resolution of all country Operations issues and create a culture of accountability.

• Represent Operations in Operations Resilience, Business Continuity and Crisis Management exercises in the country / cluster.

• Ensure timely closure Corrective Action Plans (CAP) across Operations in country.

• Embed control and compliance procedures into every aspect & appropriately assess risk during business decisions.

• Drive adoption of best practices across Operations processes and teams in the country.

• Demonstrate consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients, and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

• Adhere to Citi policies and guidelines and apply sound ethical judgment regarding personal behaviour, conduct and business practices.

• Ensure compliance risks are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled, consistent with the bank’s risk appetite statement and all policies and processes established within the risk governance framework.

People, Client & Franchise

• Maintain a strong focus on delivery of high-quality customer services through Operations processes while maintaining a pristine control environment.

• Execute functional strategies requiring coordination and integration across Operations in the country.

• Partner and influence country, cluster, and global Operations teams to determine and implement the strategic approach for Operations functions.

• Ensure continued alignment to the Operations Operating Model and strategic priorities, enabling the franchise and businesses to achiever their day-to-day operational and long-term goals.

• Understanding the industry, competitors, and internal product offerings to contribute to the commercial objectives of the business, and drive improvements within the functional areas, including leading a successful risk control environment.

• Lead a diverse Operations country management team, focusing on their individual development, and empowering them to build strong relationships with their product, cluster, and in-country partners.

• Promote talent development and mobility with focus on building a strong talent pipeline, diverse talent, leveraging opportunities to develop future leaders.

• Create and drive a culture of inclusion, diversity, and meritocracy, enabling strong ethical and leadership standards.

• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement within Operations teams.

• Actively champion Operations initiatives to drive workforce future-readiness and enhance people manager capabilities.

Financial Management

• Support the country Operations teams to meet and exceed financial goals. Work in partnership with cluster / business aligned Operations partners and country stakeholders to identify opportunities to optimize expenses.

• Oversee key process re-engineering and automation initiatives across Operations in the country to help reduce risk, build scalability, meet annual productivity commitments.

Requirements

Experience

• 15+ years of experience in relevant areas is mandatory. He/She should have worked in Banking – Operations related areas / projects involving Operations Policy and Planning / Financial Networks and Applications / Financial Information Systems / of which five years should be at senior management level.

• Significant understanding of the regulatory environment and experience in managing regulatory expectations in a complex environment.

• Experience of managing teams, employee engagement, development, and staff diversity will be key to ensure a motivated and engaged workforce.

Leadership

• Knowledge of local legal and regulatory requirements strongly preferred.

• Strong operational risk skills including the perceptiveness to identify early warning signals.

• Excellent strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities to navigate challenges and identify optimal solutions.

• Proven capability to lead and manage change effectively within a dynamic and evolving operational environment.

• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders at all levels.

• Demonstrated people leadership skills, including the ability to connect, motivate, inspire, and guide a diverse team to achieve organizational objectives.

• Demonstrated ability to build and promote diverse talent within the organization and embed career development pathways for succession planning.

• Strategic and innovative thinker with demonstrated ability to define strategy and provide direction and support with the skills to switch quickly from strategic to tactical.

• Ability to work effectively in complex and dynamic situations requiring analytical, interpretive, and problem-solving skills.

• Strong influencing and negotiation skills. Ability to explore alternatives and positions to reach outcomes that are supported and accepted by stakeholders.

• Excellent prioritization and time management skills.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent credentials (master’s degree preferred).

Job Family Group:

Business Strategy, Management & Administration

Job Family:

Business Management

Time Type:

Full time

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