Head of Product Risk & Governance - SME

Hello, we're Starling. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We're a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We're a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,000 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices. 

This is a key leadership role in the SME banking leadership team, primarily responsible for developing the SME banking product risk culture, governance, policy, controls and MI, to help ensure good outcomes for customers. Additionally, this role also involves supporting the SME segment's financial crime and operational risk objectives.

• Enabling SME banking to execute its strategy in line with product risk appetite and demonstrate compliance
• Empowering product teams to build compliant products through early involvement and combination of customer centricity with adherence to regulatory requirements
• Ensuring all new product initiatives are steered through the governance structure and that we move swiftly and safely
• Ensuring existing and back book product reviews are completed by 1st line product owners at the right cadence and to the requisite standard
• Support the SME business in delivering good outcomes and maintaining a strong  control environment - with regular documentation, calibration, review, testing and timely action completion
• Ensure relevant, up to date and accurate MI to measure and monitor risk and report to relevant committees 
• Mature and embed training and development framework for product risk
• Collaborate with Second Line risk across the bank and Group Head of Internal Audit to create a coherent risk view.

• Go-to expert on SME product risk through experience of managing it in 1st LOD environments covering Conduct Risk topics across product governance, marketing and finprom, vulnerable customers, complaints etc.
• Communication skills; a team player able to work across teams with and without direct management responsibility
• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Diplomacy and emotional intelligence to build strong professional relationships at all levels 
• Versatile and flexible 
• Deep experience working in a regulated financial institution
• Strong desire to solve problems - using regulation and data to drive business decisions 
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex regulatory frameworks, including the interaction between multiple regulations/frameworks
• Hands-on, resilient and adaptable to a fast moving environment
• Bias to action, through curiosity and collaboration

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day's holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary & group income protection
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Incentives refer a friend scheme
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can't accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren't sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway. We're on a mission to radically reshape banking - and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we're proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. When you provide us with this information, you are doing so at your own consent, with full knowledge that we will process this personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice. 

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