PBWM UK Chief Operating Officer

Role Purpose

As Director, Private Bank Wealth Management UK, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the delivery of the UK PBWM strategy and operational excellence. You will work closely with senior stakeholders to drive business performance, ensure robust and scalable operations, and deliver exceptional client and colleague experiences. You will help shape and execute the vision for PBWM UK (Private Banks clients above £3m investable assets and Wealth Management clients above £1m investible assets, booked in the UK), focusing on growth, efficiency, compliance, and cultural transformation.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership:
  Support the PBWM UK & Crown Dependencies COO in managing day-to-day operations and process optimisation across Private Bank & Wealth Management UK platform. Drive the cost budgeting, headcount management across PBWM UK COO
• Strategy Execution:
  Contribute to the design and delivery of the UK PBWM strategy, supporting business growth and transformation initiatives.
• Client Journey Ownership:
  Champion a client-focused approach, overseeing key processes such as onboarding, investments, credit, and digital journeys to ensure seamless and innovative experiences.
• Change & Transformation:
  Drive continuous improvement and efficiency gains, collaborating with cross-functional teams to implement business process enhancements and digital solutions.
• Risk & Compliance:
  Ensure all activities are conducted in full compliance with local regulations and group policies, embedding risk management and conduct considerations in daily operations.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including business heads, support functions, auditors, and regulators.
• People Leadership:
  Develop and nurture talent within the team, fostering a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and high performance.

Essential Skills

Private Bank COO experience

• Proven track record working internally in a financial services institution in the capacity of COO, ideally in the Private Bank space

Large scale bank change experience

• Strong change experience/ mindset to be able to drive business growth in a large scale and legacy banking set up
• Catalyst for cultural transformation, driving process optimisation, efficiency gains, and embedding a continuous improvement mindset across the organisation

Leadership, stakeholder & Team Management

• Ability to manage front office bankers and senior stakeholders with experience and understanding of the business and change agenda. Ability to establish high-performing teams, demonstrating self-motivation, logical thinking, and a collegiate, team-oriented approach

Highly Valued Skills

Strategic & Commercial Acumen and communication

• Structured thinker and communicator with appreciation for political sensitivity, able to design and execute strategy, drive business growth, and manage cost budgeting and control.

Risk Management & Regulatory Compliance

• Strong ability to manage risk and controls, ensuring compliance with group policies, regulatory requirements, and embedding conduct considerations in daily

Accountabilities

• Business ownership of system, processes & procedures on the platform and end to end client journey management, oversight, business continuity & service recovery.
• Management, understanding and interpretation of local & group regulatory requirements & standards.
• Driving Platform strategy and change agenda, seeking innovative solutions to differentiate, streamline and de-risk the platform to directly contribute to client experience, Banker efficiency and managing / reducing regulatory risk.
• Using KPIs and data to monitor and measure of the platform effectiveness and change improvements.
• Managing, reporting and representing the platform performance at relevant governance fora.
• External (where required) and internal stakeholder management including regulators, senior leaders, client facing colleagues and infrastructure partners.
• Provision of guidance, coaching and support to improve colleagues' delivery quality.

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.

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