Senior Role - Digital Transformation - Finance Processes

Role Purpose : 

Global Finance Operations (GFO) vision is - to be an efficient, innovative, globally integrated team which is the backbone of Global Finance.

The aim of the unit is to work as one team and progress against the following 8 priorities:

1. Strengthen people capabilities

2. Effective communication and change management

3. Establish - data management capability

4. Embed operational disciplines and automation

5. Align organization to operating model

6. Review and optimize location strategy

7. Agree scope, operating model and service proposition

8. Delivery transformation initiatives

- This role is expected to contribute significantly to the above priorities in the following manner :

- Be a catalyst for change, especially in digital transformation

- Support / Advise Global Process Owners on choices of digital transformation available, which are relevant to their processes and associated pain points

- Liaise with IT / Finance Change delivery to stay abreast of all strategic changes related to digitization / introduction of new technologies

Principal Accountabilities: Key activities and decision making areas

Impact on the Business/Function

1. Digital transformation catalyst for Finance processes

2. Stay in touch with new developments in technology / digital transformation in the industry and keep internal stakeholders updated on new trends in the industry applicable to Finance

3. Understand Finance processes and challenges specific to HSBC Finance

4. Assess and propose choices available for digital transformation to Global Process owners / stakeholders based on needs - will include objectives to make processes cheaper, faster etc.

5. Conceptualise end to end projects around digital transformation, starting from understanding needs, assessing and proposing choices, making a business case, identification and agreement of scope of application and driving implementation to check results against clearly drawn out acceptance criterion

6. Conceptualise roll-out of plans of successful proof of concepts to a larger commercial scale

7. Drive implementation of large scale digital transformation work streams, examples will include Robotics, Machine learning, visualisation, Natural language generation

8. Quality and timeliness of solutions, communications and governance

Customers / Stakeholders

- Will involve working with multiple stakeholders as follows:

- External partners, including consultants / development vendors

- Finance IT / other IT teams

- Finance Change delivery

- Fintech research units

- GPOs from Global Finance Operations and senior Finance leadership

- Finance process experts across teams

- Establish and maintain effective relationship with all stakeholders, including external stakeholders

- Continuous review of issues to ensure timely resolution

- Developing analytical skills within the team to deal with difficult situations and encourage a solution oriented approach

- Managing accurate, timely and effective delivery of governance mechanisms / related reports on initiatives

- Investigating any risks or issues and implementing a resolution plan

- Change agenda delivery performance v/s plan

- Customer feedback

- Speed of response

- Quality and timeliness of solutions

- Repeat issue tracking

- Stakeholder feedback from work stream / Transformation leads

Operational Effectiveness & Control : 

- Adherence to Group policies, audit, controls, and compliance requirements including but not limited to declaration of secrecy, data protection act, health, safety and security, clear desk policy

- Validation of progress made on transformation initiatives / change projects

- To continually assess the operational risks inherent in processes, taking account of changing operating procedures, staff movements, legal and regulatory requirements, management restructures, and the impact of new technology.

- Effectively drive and manage change initiatives

- Internal Audit observations

- Incidences of non-compliance or controls failure

Major Challenges:

- This role needs the ability to operate independently and be able to collaborate, influence & drive the right outcomes with multiple senior stakeholders across GFO and Global Finance

- Influence senior stakeholders in Global Finance to drive further utilisation and effectiveness from GFO, through successful digital transformation initiatives

- The Role holder may need to balance between conflicting needs and priorities of different teams across Finance

Role Context:

- This role is expected to contribute significantly to the above priorities in the following manner:

- Be a catalyst for change, especially in digital transformation

- Support / Advise Global Process Owners on choices of digital transformation available, which are relevant to their processes and associated pain points

- Liaise with IT / Finance Change delivery to stay abreast of all strategic changes related to digitization / introduction of new technologies

Management of Risk:

- The jobholder will also continually reassess the operational risks associated with the role and inherent in the business, taking account of changing economic or market conditions, legal and regulatory requirements, operating procedures and practices, management restructurings, and the impact of new technology.

- This will be achieved by ensuring all actions take account of the likelihood of operational risk occurring.

- Also by addressing any areas of concern in conjunction with line management and/or the appropriate department.

Observation of Internal Controls: 

- The jobholder will also adhere to and be able to demonstrate adherence to internal controls. This will be achieved by adherence to all relevant procedures, keeping appropriate records and, where appropriate, by the timely implementation of internal and external audit points, including issues raised by external regulators.

- The jobholder will implement the Group compliance policy by containing compliance risk in liaison with Global Head of Compliance, Global Compliance Officer, Area Compliance Officer or Local Compliance Officer. The term - compliance- embraces all relevant financial services laws, rules and codes with which the business has to comply.

- This will be achieved by adhering to all relevant processes/procedures and by liaising with Compliance department about new business initiatives at the earliest opportunity. Also and when applicable, by ensuring adequate resources are in place and training is provided, fostering a compliance culture and optimising relations with regulators

Knowledge & Experience / Qualifications :

- Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA,CWA, ACS) or MBA from Tier 1 institution with +10 post qualification experience (PQE) in Finance and Change Management.

- Experience of Finance / Accounting in a Financial Services organisation

- Experience of leading or supporting a digital transformation initiative on Finance processes. Examples could include Robotics, Visualisation, Machine Learning, Natural Language Generation

- Possess strong analytical and lateral thinking skills.

Experience in leading / supporting large change / transformation programmes, in banking / financial services. He/ She should have a proven track recod in managing diverse and global stakeholders at senior levels. In addition the incumbent must have the following skill sets as well:

- Experience managing, negotiating and influencing senior business relationships

- Ability to drive change and deliver creative and flexible customer solutions related to digital transformation

- Keen understanding of Finance processes and their objectives

- Strong navigating skills to be able to conceptualize initiatives based on very little information or heads up.

- Strong verbal, written and presentation skills

- Good team player, ability to successfully interact and influence with internal stakeholders in service delivery teams