Operations Head – Management Board of Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA (BHW) Management Board – Managing Director

Bank Handlowy is the oldest commercial bank operating in Poland since 1870 and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 1997. In 2000 Citigroup acquired 75% of its shares and since than the Bank Handlowy started operating under the Citi Handlowy brand. As a publicly listed bank in Poland, it is supervised by Bank Handlowy’s Supervisory Board, comprised of Citi representatives as well as independent directors.

The Bank’s stable financial position is confirmed by the highest rating among the banks in Poland with Fitch Viability rating at bbb+. For 2024, the Bank reported Net Income of PLN 1,8 billion and total assets increased to PLN 72 billion. The Bank’s business model is at present a Universal Bank with Institutional and Consumer Business.  However, in line with the global strategy, Citi Handlowy is in the process of divesting its consumer business.  This divestiture will constitute one of the biggest challenges of this position.  

The Operations Head for Cit Handlowy is a key strategic role within the bank and includes being Management Board Member of BHW. The person holding the Operations Head role will have responsibilities of franchise management together with other 6 members of the Management Board and in addition to representing Operations, will also represent Technology at the BHW Management Board level. The role holds significant importance in terms of corporate governance for Citi Handlowy in Poland and is overseen by the Polish regulators. The Citi Handlowy Management Board Member role is designated as a Key Function under the Citi Handlowy Suitability Assessment Policy. The role is also designated as a Material Risk Taker (MRT) and Identified Staff of Citi Handlowy. Citi Handlowy Operations and Technology Head holds responsibilities for all the areas of O&T for Governance purposes.

The operations team is located in various sites in Warsaw, Olsztyn and Lodz. This position requires leadership of teams that are not in the same location and controls over various sites.

The job holder has a high level of strategic business impact and influence.  It is the role that supervises the largest population in Citi Handlowy hence strong leadership skills are of essence.

This position also has oversight over Operations in Citi Ukraine. The country given it is in a war scenario, requires particular attention in the area of operations and crisis management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership and insights to the BHW CEO, Management Board and Supervisory Board on all operations and technology matters within Citi Handlowy

• Ensure the entity operates in compliance with applicable regulatory and statutory requirements

• Support and inform CEO, Management Board and Supervisory Board in delivering the company’s O&T strategy and commitments by supplying high quality information on financial and resource goals, actively delivering on financials.  Ensure the BHW operates appropriately on a standalone and consolidated basis

• Oversight of Operations in Citi Ukraine and ensure it effectively operates in a war scenario with adequate operational resilience and resource management

• Maintain strong control and compliance processes including for own risks, monitor and challenge business performance and ensure resource capacity in the department is at the level that Citi Handlowy present and future operations require. Look for opportunities to further streamline and standardize processes on the basis of robust control frameworks

• Act as a key player in the governance of the entity as it relates to operations, including overseeing technology matters on the Management and Supervisory Board and actively contributing to the delivery of the strategy and regulatory asks

• Drive actions to achieve efficiency and returns in line with BHW strategy and targets

• Support implementation of strategic initiatives and lead roll out of regulatory change programs where Citi Handlowy operations and technology function is the lead major contributor

• As a management board member, Operations and Technology Head needs to fulfill all board responsibilities and represent the company with external and internal stakeholders (such as Polish FSA, BFG, Rating Agencies and regional stakeholders), as well as representing operations in relevant country committees. Participate in Legal Vehicle Governance process and proactively escalate any potential franchise issues

• Execute the divestiture of the Consumer Business by overseeing and taking responsibility for the migration process.  Lead the largest team (consumer operations) throughout major change

• Optimize and automate operational processes where possible to enhance controls and optimize costs

• Go to common: Execute an ambitious strategy of adopting Citi platforms and global processes where legally possible on a multi-year journey to bring Poland in better alignment with Citi’s international network

• As Management Board representative responsible for strong and close oversight of all operation and overseeing technology areas & activities, including but not limited to:

  • monitoring of transaction processing,

  • capacity monitoring and management,

  • resolutions and escalation of issues, monitoring of internal accounts,

  • resolution of nostro cash breaks; ongoing performance monitoring of the service providers (TPM), oversight of MCA process,

  • identification and execution of process improvements,

  • active dialogue with the business and product partners on customer needs and enhancements required to be made to the existing process,

  • managing outsourcing oversight and governance, inclusive of monitoring controls, quality, costs and the provision of data and information in respect to outsourcing.
    

• Planning for the short and long term needs of the operations organization related to human resources, working environment (including technology & premises), processes, risk and controls, client expectations

• Developing a senior team of direct staff that is best-in-class in their respective key roles; and managing a diverse pool of respective human resources including strict localization requirements

• Creating a conducive working environment marked by high morale, team spirit, diversity and meritocracy throughout the operations and technology organization that can be measured through the VOE process and related indicators; establishing procedures to measure, monitor and reduce employee turnover

• Ensure operational resilience in Poland and Ukraine as a priority

• Embed AI as per global standards and initiatives in line with local regulations and needs.  Help the countries embed AI in their activity as a key emerging trend

• Ensure high standards in data quality and all the right systems and platforms for sound and resilient operation of the bank

• Incorporate Citi’s transformation in O&T to the extent permitted by Polish law in order to drive commonality and ensure a sound control environment.

Development Value:

• Opportunity to help the organization navigate complex multi-dimensional problems and develop ‘integrative-thinking capabilities’

• Opportunity to manage operations and oversee technology of a publicly listed company

• Ability to learn from and contribute to the strategy of BHW

• Growth in regulatory and prudential competencies, including the ability to advocate

• Gain Experience in Senior Governance by being a Management Board Member at Citi Handlowy.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in areas like management, banking or technology

• 15+ years of banking experience, with minimum of 8-10 years in Operations, preferably within Citigroup

• Min 10 years of leadership experience

• In-depth knowledge of Operations, Technology, Information Security as well as related banking practices, processes

• Experience in budgeting and expense management

• Fluency in Polish and English (verbally and in writing).

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong Leadership demonstrated by ability to inspire and guide teams towards achieving strategic goals while fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability

• Self-Motivated and committed to continuous learning, actively exploring emerging technologies and industry trends to drive innovation and improvement Demonstrated ability to drive a change agenda

• Knowledge of emerging trends in AI to drive data-driven decision making and enhance business processes

• Strategic thinking, Resilience and Problem Solving

• Skilled in optimizing IT systems and infrastructure to ensure efficient operations

• Strong interpersonal, influencing, negotiation and

• Strong Project management skills

• Excellent teamwork spirit, planning and execution skills

• Ability to act on a short notice, work under pressure and in crisis conditions

• Excellent organizational skills.

Knowledge and Experience:

• Experience in managing large Operations team with complex and interconnected processes

• Knowledge of Banking Sector regulations and outsourcing limitations

• Strong technology acumen

• Knowledge of Continuity of Business process

• Excellent operations acumen, experience in preparing plans and strategy for O&T

• Proven ability to balance across the resources and meeting of differing stakeholder needs, often facing incomplete, complex, uncertain or ambiguous information

• Familiar with Bank’s franchise governance framework and managing a legal entity; and experienced on operating in a highly regulated environment is essential

• Commercial awareness and a solid understanding of how operations and technology adds value to the business

• Knowledge on how a bank - part of a global group operates is essential

• Understanding of risk culture, risk and finance frameworks and their application at a legal entity and country level

• Ability to align global strategy and local execution, while balancing resources among front, middle and back offices

• Promote and foster a culture of a strong control environment

• Thorough understanding of the three lines of defense risk and control model.

Your personal data will be administered by Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. with its registered office in Warsaw, ul. Senatorska 16. The Bank carries out the processing of your personal data first of all to conduct the recruitment process in which you participate, i.e. in the scope specified in Article 22(1) of the Labour Code (Article 6(1)(c)  of the GDPR). You are entitled to: access your personal data, rectify them, erase them, restrict their processing, transfer your data and object to their processing. More detailed information is available at the website: BankHandlowyPolandPrivacyNotice

Please read the information about internal reports procedure – Whistleblowers Protection Act: BankHandlowyPolandWhistleblowersProtectionAct

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