Job Summary

•    The purpose of this role is to lead the LCS (Legal & Company Secretariat) portfolio of projects and change end-to-end, setting the delivery strategy and standards aligning the work to the LCS objectives. Ensuring initiatives are governed and delivered to agreed scope, time, budget and quality. 

•    The role holder will operate the portfolio governance cadence (including Quarterly Performance Reviews / written monthly updates / refinement forums as applicable), provide clear executive reporting and decision support, maintain strong controls and transparency, RAID logs, financials and benefits, and proactively manage delivery, third‑party and technology risks. 

•    Ensuring adherence to the enterprise Change Delivery Standards (CDS). As a People Leader, the role will lead, motivate and develop a high-performing team of project and change professionals, ensuring the right capability and resourcing to deliver consistently, and will drive adoption and transition of delivered change into BAU with clear product/service ownership, ongoing performance management and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy
•    Define and execute the end-to-end LCS portfolio plan aligned to technology/architecture roadmap; translating strategy into a prioritised, sequenced portfolio of work.
•    Establish and continuously improve delivery standards within the LCS project and change team (delivery methodology, artefacts, governance, quality gates, control requirements and reporting).
•    Shape the operating model for LCS projects and change, and work to clarify responsibilities between Product Owners, Process Owners, Technology partners, delivery teams and accountable executives.
•    Drive a culture of simplification and digital adoption by ensuring change initiatives deliver measurable outcomes and sustained behaviour change.

Business
•    Accountable for portfolio outcomes; delivery to plan, realisation of benefits/value, and proactive management of dependencies, constraints and trade-offs.
•    Provide senior stakeholder management across LCS leadership and functional partners; ensure decisions are timely, escalations are clear, and delivery expectations are aligned.
•    Oversee portfolio financial management (investment budget) including forecasting, re-baselining, vendor spend oversight and transparency of actuals vs budget.
•    Own the executive narrative for the portfolio (progress, risks, controls, decisions and value delivered) and deliver clear, consistent reporting.
•    Support the accountable executives in programme management, execution and delivery commitments as per GTOC investment proposal and approved change requests.

Processes
•    Lead programme and project delivery across technology and non-technology initiatives.
•    Own portfolio planning and prioritisation cycles (e.g., quarterly/90‑day planning), including capacity planning, dependency management and roadmap maintenance.
•    Set minimum artefact and quality standards (scope, plans, RAID, stakeholder/comms, testing, cutover, adoption, closure) and ensure teams maintain them consistently.
•    Operate the portfolio governance cadence (QPR / written monthly updates / refinement forums as applicable), including pack production, data integrity, minutes/actions tracking and follow-through.

•    Ensure strong controls and transparency in delivery tooling (e.g., Clarity/JIRA/Confluence and equivalents where used), including accurate status, financials, milestones, risks and benefits tracking.
•    Ensure a managed transition to BAU with clear product/service ownership, KPIs, backlog triage, release planning, aftercare and continuous improvement.
•    Track interdependencies and cross-programme impacts, ensuring sequencing, handoffs and integrated delivery governance. 

People & Talent
•    Lead, motivate and develop a high-performing team of project managers and business analysts; set clear objectives, coaching, feedback and performance management.
•    Ensure resourcing plans align to portfolio demand; manage allocation/capacity transparently and escalate constraints early.
•    Create an inclusive, psychologically safe culture that encourages continuous improvement, learning and collaborative delivery across locations.

Risk Management
•    Ensure portfolio delivery risks are identified, assessed, monitored and mitigated in line with the Enterprise Risk Management Framework and change governance requirements.
•    Maintain a robust portfolio RAID and control environment (including delivery risk assessments, change risk assessments where required, and evidence of key controls for go‑live and closure).
•    Proactively manage third-party and technology delivery risks (vendor performance, data/privacy, etc.) and ensure timely escalation where tolerances are breached.
•    Apply all relevant Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures to manage risks.
•    Conduct risk assessments and other risk management activities were relevant and required as part of the role and as per the banks standards and policies. 

Governance
•    Own the LCS portfolio governance framework, ensuring clarity of decision makers, accountability and escalation paths.
•    Maintain portfolio reporting and transparency (delivery, financials, benefits, controls) to enable effective oversight and informed decisions by LCS management team.
•    Ensure effective governance over adoption and post‑implementation outcomes, including lessons learned and continuous improvement across the portfolio.
•    Ensure that the programme is delivered in line with the CDS as set out by the group. 

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.
•    Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters. 

Key stakeholders
•    Global Head, LCS Operations
•    LCS MT / QPR members and initiative sponsors / Product Owners / Process Owners
•    Technology & Transformation partners
•    Key vendor partners supporting LCS technology and change delivery

Other Responsibilities
•    Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and values in LCS; perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures.
•    Maintain an auditable record of portfolio decisions, approvals, actions and artefacts to support governance and assurance requirements.

Qualifications

•    10+ years’ experience leading complex programmes and portfolios, preferably within financial services and/or Legal Operations environments.
•    Proven people leadership experience managing and developing project/change professionals.
•    Strong track record of delivering change from discovery through adoption and BAU transition.
•    Demonstrable experience running portfolio governance, producing executive-level packs, and managing delivery financials, benefits and controls with high data integrity.
•    Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Business, Technology, Change/Operations or related discipline. 
•    MBA or Master’s desirable.
•    Project / Programme Management qualified.
•    Change management training desirable.
•    Membership of APM/PMI (or equivalent) desirable.
•    PMP/PRINCE2 Practitioner/MSP. 
•    Scrum Master.
•    ITIL Foundation (desirable).
•    Fluent English (written and verbal).

Skills and Experience

•    Portfolio & Programme Management
•    Change Management (incl. adoption and communications)
•    Product / Service Management (BAU ownership, backlog and release)
•    Financial & Benefits Management (forecasting, value tracking)
•    Governance, Risk & Controls (change governance, assurance)
•    Stakeholder Management & Executive Communication

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.