Strategy and Transformation Graduate Programme – 2026 

About the Strategy and Transformation team

Strategy & Transformation is responsible for the development, execution and communication of the Bank’s strategy. We partner closely with our business lines such as Corporate and Investment Banking and Wealth and Retail Banking, alongside wider support functions, to deliver our corporate strategy. We are seeking to develop the next generation of cross-functional leaders. This programme will enable you to develop your technical, business and interpersonal skills – with a primary focus on enabling and delivering bank-wide transformation, communicating elements of our strategy, and consulting across our major projects.

About the Graduate Programme – how you’ll learn and grow

Join a skills-first organisation where your potential matters more than your background. From day one, you’ll build the skills that matter – through real-world projects, mentoring, and tailored learning journeys.  Our graduate programme is designed to accelerate your development and set you up for long-term success. You’ll benefit from:

• Structured learning: Classroom training combined with hands-on experience
• Global collaboration: Work with diverse teams and experienced leaders
• Skill development: Build technical expertise and professional capabilities
  
  

In addition to continuous learning opportunities, you’ll be given early responsibilities and be able to make extensive connections across different teams and will work across three of the following areas.

• Group Transformation: Driving opportunities to better serve our clients and colleagues through enhanced experiences. This includes leveraging technology and Artificial Intelligence, improving our processes and tools, and ensuring we have the right culture and skills to ensure the Bank is future-ready.  
• Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing: This team is responsible for developing internal, external and business-centric communications to protect the Group’s reputation, brand and services.
• Chief Operating Office: Working at the intersection of the function that sets the annual operating plan, implements new technologies, manages critical risks and delivers our core operations.
• Group Strategy: Collaborating with bank-wide teams to ensure we’re consistently executing against our agreed strategic direction.

Bring the skills and we’ll help you to grow

We believe that diverse skills drive innovation, which is why we welcome students from all degree disciplines and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. You’ll have:

• A strong analytical mindset, comfortable with data analysis and presentation.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.
• A naturally curious mindset, and a willingness to develop new skills and embrace new experiences.
• The ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt to evolving priorities.
• Have a permanent legal right to work in the country you’re applying to
• You must be a final year student or recent graduate able to start full-time employment in July 2026.
  
  

Key Dates

• Assessment Centres: October - December 2025.
• Start Date: July 2026.

Our Global Functions 

Our client-facing businesses are supported by a network of Global Functions that work seamlessly to ensure the Group’s operations run efficiently and effectively. These functions include the Group Chief Financial Office, Group Internal Audit, Strategy & Talent, Technology & Operations, Compliance, Financial Crime & Conduct Risk, Legal, and Risk. Together, they provide the critical infrastructure, governance, and expertise that enable the Bank to deliver on its commitments to clients and stakeholders worldwide.

We’re an inclusive organisation where everyone is empowered to be themselves, contribute their unique perspectives, and thrive in a culture of belonging and respect.

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.