Head of Operational Risk — Union Bancaire Privée

Full description

Mission As Head of Non-Financial Risk with 2nd line of defence, you will lead non-financial risk across the bank and Group, acting as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders to enable sustainable growth. In cooperation with 1st line of defence, you will ensure non-financial risks are identified, assessed and managed within appetite, deploy oversight and support effective decision-making, and regulatory compliance. You will provide strategic risk counsel, drive robust governance and embed a proactive risk culture across the portfolio. The role also focuses on strengthening the control environment with 1LOD, processes and governance, with a particular attention to operational risk, cyber risk, third-party risk and conduct risk. In addition, you will build and lead a high-performing team, partnering closely with business and risk stakeholders to anticipate emerging risks, provide constructive challenge and continuously uplift the maturity and effectiveness of the non-financial risk framework.

Main responsibilities

• Act as the senior trusted advisor on non-financial risk, supporting strategic decision-making and sustainable growth within appetite
• Provide constructive challenge and oversight on business risk profile, key risk themes, control effectiveness and risk in change
• Build strong partnerships across the business, 2LOD and control functions to ensure aligned and effective risk outcomes at Group level and for Switzerland
• Lead the non-financial risk governance framework, including committees, reporting, escalation and decision-making processes
• With 1LOD, ensure material non-financial risks are identified, assessed, managed, monitored and reported within appetite, with clear ownership and timely escalation
• Grant particular attention to incident management framework in cooperation with all divisions and locations, arbitrage and action plan challenge.
• Act as a senior trusted advisor to uplift non-financial risk control environment through improvements to controls, tools, data and processes to enhance risk management maturity and take in charge action plan in cooperation with process owner.
• Define and deploy thematic reviews driven by key risk monitoring as well as emerging risk reviews. Implement strong non-financial risk management community across the Risk Management Teams across locations / entities.
• Monitor program-related risks, issues and actions, escalating material concerns to senior stakeholders and governance forums
• Build, lead and retain a high-performing non-financial risk team, driving capability uplift through hiring, coaching and development
• Represent the business on non-financial risk matters with senior stakeholders, including risk partners, Internal and External Audit and governance forums
• Maintain regulatory readiness by ensuring strong governance, high-quality documentation, effective issue management and proactive response to emerging risk and regulatory themes

Your Profile

• Extensive experience in private banking, with strong understanding of Operations, IT, Cyber, Third-Parties, and operating environments
• Deep expertise in non-financial risk management, governance frameworks and control environments within large and complex financial services organisations
• Proven track record operating as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders, influencing strategic decisions while balancing commercial outcomes with sound risk management
• Strong experience designing and overseeing risk governance, risk appetite, issues and incidents management, control uplift and risk reporting
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex change or uplift programmes, with disciplined execution and strong stakeholder engagement
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with executive presence and the ability to distil complex risk issues into clear, actionable insights
• Strong people leadership capability, including building high-performing teams, developing talent and fostering a proactive risk culture
• Knowledge of prudential and conduct-related regulatory expectations relevant to banks and non-financial risk management
• Ability to leverage data, management information and visualisation tools to generate risk insights and support decision-making
• Exposure to cross-border or multi-jurisdiction institutional banking environments
• Familiarity with GRC systems, governance tools and control monitoring frameworks

Others

• Swiss Residence

Core Competencies : Adherence to the company’s values: Dedication, Conviction, Agility and Responsibility - Compliance with regulations and internal directives

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