The Role Responsibilities
Strategy
Drive full implementation and adherence to Financial Controls Policy across the West African Cluster (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivorie, Sierra Leone and The Gambia) and also serve as a contact point / Subject matter Expert to the Cost Centre / Account Owners on all requirements of the Financial Control Policy
Drive the GL accounts reconciliation process bank-wide ensuring completeness, timeliness of reconciliations at the right quality and also ensure all material risks are identified, assessed, mitigated, monitored, and promptly escalated.
Foster a culture of risk awareness by communicating clear standards of conduct and driving the message of zero tolerance for operational losses.
Business
Support the business in minimizing operational risks and losses, and ensure material operational losses are investigated to prevent recurrence per group policy.
Partner with the business and support units on finance operational risk matters to ensure business growth is balanced with risk management and controls
Drive bank wide adherence to reconciliation requirements of the FCP.
Processes
Support the day-to-day controls & periodic monitoring of activities, timely identification and reporting of significant risks & losses, and effectiveness of risk mitigation actions
Continuously improve the operational efficiency and effectiveness of processes and drive the adoption of standardized reporting across West Africa
Maintain the PeopleSoft Financial Control System to ensure a robust reconciliation environment by ensuring that all accounts are appropriately owned and mapped,
Ensure strong GL controls are in place by ensuring all dormant cost centres and accounts are monitored and closed at the FCP required frequency
Review of Manual Entries in TP Control Accounts
Ensure TP / GL reconciliations are being tracked and resolved by TP owners
Drive the account maintenance process by ensuring proper FINETL rule engine and PSGL Rule Maintenance
Perform reasonableness review of high-Risk Accounts and ensure prompt escalation of any exceptions
People and Talent
Set appropriate tone and expectations in terms of ensuring effective financial controls.
Work in collaboration with all reconcilers, approvers and control partners to ensure that
Serve as Secretary to FORTM and ensure all minutes are promptly circulated and action plans are tracked
Work with the colleagues to deliver specific projects and deliverables, as determined by the Country CFO.
Develop and embed a high-performance culture with specific focus on capability, effectiveness and productivity
Risk Management
Responsible for the timely identification, assessment, mitigation, reporting and escalation of all identified Operational Risk exposures.
Assist in identification of operational risk for new products and new business, regulatory and thematic risks and implementation of appropriate controls to mitigate those risks.
Execute an effective risk management framework and promote a strong risk management and a compliance culture.
Drive adherence to the operational risk management framework i.e. the identification, assessment, mitigation, control and monitoring of operational risk and control issues.
In addition, monitor all material Operational Risk exposures and key external trends in accordance with Operational Risk Policies and Procedures and any directives, policies and procedures
Ensure that material gross and residual risk exposures, control weaknesses, losses and near misses are reported to the FORC and Unit mangers as appropriate.
Responsible for the implementation and execution of the Control Sample Testing (CST) process, sampling and testing the population of controls to ensure compliance with agreed control standards and facilitating the monitoring / collection of any Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and ensuring that proper action plans are in place for recurring breaches
Monitor and ensure timely completion of ORF checks by the finance Teams, ensure escalation of exceptions noted if any, through appropriate forum
Perform reconciliation on a monthly basis on all Phoenix operational losses versus GL entries to ensure that all losses / recoveries are correct and / or accounted for on both sources and the Bank’s books and records
Governance
Serve as the Back up to the Functional Operational Risk Manager and Secretary of Functional Operational Risk Committee (FORC)
Assist in managing the Finance Operational Risk Forum (Country, Cluster, Region) by preparing all relevant reports
Ensure absolute adherence to country BAU FCU / OR reporting deadlines and effective business escalation from FORC to the Country Operational Risk Committee (CORC), Process Governance Committee etc.
Create awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework in which the Bank operates and the regulatory requirements and expectation relevant to the role.
Coordinate with Internal and Statutory Auditors in terms of all Financial Control and Risk related activities / framework and ensure all issues identified are promptly resolved.
Ensure that all DOIs within the Finance are updated regularly to comply with the FCP manual.
Manage peer reviews within the finance function; this may involve travel to other markets to conduct such reviews and share best practice
Develop control enhancements to ensure that any known risks are controlled within acceptable boundaries and consistent standards.
Liaise with finance staff as required to ensure that Risk Acceptance Templates (RATs) are completed for material risks or control failures identified and passed to Senior Operational Risk Officer (SORO) for approval before submission to CORC for acceptance
Regulatory & Business Conduct
Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank.
This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
Lead the teams in West Africa to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles : Fair Outcomes for Clients;
Effective Financial Markets; Financial Crime Compliance; The Right Environment. *
Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
Key Stakeholders
Selected partners, including CEOs
Regional and Country Finance Heads
Function Heads
Partners aligned to product, segment or function in Risk, Legal & Compliance, Finance and Group Technology and Operations
All Staff with FCS responsibilities across West Africa
Country SORO for all countries in West Africa Cluster
BORMs for all countries in West Africa Cluster
Country Audit and Compliance Team
Country CIOs
Our Ideal Candidate
First Degree in BSc. Accounting, Finance, Economics or similar degree
Desirable - Professional certifications in Accounting, Professional Memberships in ICAN, ACCA
Work experience in financial control / operational risk functions of, internal audit of FIs or external audit from Big 4 firms.
Cross team collaboration and leadership experience skills - proactive engagement with various units across different geographies
Languages : English, French
About Standard Chartered We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 160 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
Be better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term
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, parental / maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 weeks maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with 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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