Job Description

Job Summary
The Head of FSS (Financing Securities Services), Risk & Control for Africa and Middle East will be a pivotal figure in managing and mitigating financial services risks across diverse markets. This role holds direct responsibility for identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks within the front office and operational segments of FSS South Africa, while also overseeing and coordinating the efforts of country Business Risk Managers (BRMs) covering the broader Africa and Middle East region. Collaborating closely with second- and third-line risk functions, markets, and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) stakeholders, this role ensures all business activities comply with relevant regulatory frameworks and that robust risk management strategies are effectively embedded. Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential, enabling the role holder to engage successfully with a wide variety of stakeholders across multiple markets and locations. This leadership position requires a strategic thinker with a proven ability to influence, lead, and embed risk-aware culture while supporting business growth in a complex regulatory environment.
As a leader within Standard Chartered, this position provides the opportunity to inspire a high-performing team, develop risk management frameworks regionally, and collaborate with global counterparts to enhance controls. The role promises exposure to multi-jurisdictional banking regulations, complex financial products, and the chance to shape risk culture at the top executive levels.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy Development and Oversight:

• Manage the formulation and implementation of comprehensive risk management strategies that align with the bank's enterprise risk management framework (ERMF) and support sustainable business growth.
• Drive regular risk assessments, ensuring emerging threats and opportunities across the Africa and Middle East markets are proactively addressed.

Business Risk Management:

• Partner with business units to perform thorough risk evaluations on new products, services, and bespoke client solutions, ensuring risks are well understood and managed.
• Facilitate timely and effective risk mitigation strategies that support innovation and client satisfaction without compromising regulatory compliance.

Process and Control Implementation:

• Serve as the first line of defense by collaborating with Operations teams to design, refine, and implement control measures that satisfy both internal policies and external regulatory mandates.
• Conduct ongoing reviews of key processes and controls, ensuring alignment with Group ERMF standards and adjusting protocols to respond to evolving risks.
• Maintain deep expertise in FSS product offerings and operational workflows to advise on optimal control strategies and risk mitigation.

Leadership and Talent Development:

• Inspire a culture of accountability, ethical conduct, and risk awareness within the teams and across business units.
• Ensure that team members, including holders of critical functions, possess the necessary skills, certifications, and supervision to perform effectively.
• Lead recruitment, retention, and succession planning strategies to build a resilient, high-performing risk management team.
• Monitor and manage team structures and capacity, providing clear job descriptions, setting objectives, and delivering constructive feedback and recognition to foster professional growth and motivation.

Skills and Experience
Our ideal candidate will have a strong blend of analytical, regulatory, and interpersonal skills to excel in this dynamic role:

• Data Analytics: Proficient in using data analytics tools and methodologies to identify risk patterns and generate actionable insights.
• Excellent Stakeholder Engagement: Ability to communicate effectively and build productive relationships with auditors, regulators, exchanges, depositories, and internal lines of defense across multiple jurisdictions.
• Financial Markets Expertise: Deep understanding of financial markets operations, banking products, and internal accounting procedures.
• Capital Markets Knowledge: Familiarity with capital market instruments, trading environments, and associated risks.
• Regulatory Acumen: Strong grasp of regulatory requirements and compliance standards relevant to banking risk management in the Africa and Middle East regions
• 10 years banking experience, with at least 5 years within Risk (or similar)
• Sound knowledge of Securities Service products - custody and clearing, and fund services

Additionally, candidates should demonstrate resilient leadership, strategic thinking, and a commitment to fostering an inclusive, collaborative team environment.
About Standard Chartered
We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.
Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.
Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer
In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.

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Skills Required