COO – Investment Suitability & Wealth Investment Sales Process

As part of the Chief Operating Office (COO) Team, the Suitability Framework Specialist will focus on the suitability framework and order taking on wealth investments, including providing advisory support to front office teams and leading relevant change initiatives within the Private Banking business. The role is designed to maintain a strong client focus while achieving efficient and effective processes that align with business objectives. This position will work closely with different stakeholders to support suitability and selling process.

Process Optimization:

• Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for designated wealth product and the suitability process, providing advisory support to front office on suitability assessments and selling processes and driving continuous improvement and optimization
• Ensures systematic problem solving where options are evaluated and decisions align with the values.

Change Delivery:

• Lead or support projects and initiatives to improve the client suitability assessment framework and to streamline the product selling process, making it more efficient and compliant with regulatory standards and customer needs
• Drive the launch and integration of change projects, ensuring they are embedded effectively and are in line with the business’s strategic objectives.
• Develop and implement comprehensive change implementation plans to ensure smooth transition and minimal disruption
• Engage stakeholder throughout the process to communicate changes effectively and gather feedback, ensuring all initiatives are executed on time and within scope
• Ensure compliance with external regulatory requirements, internal control standards and group compliance policy in the locations

Regulatory Reporting:

• Perform regulatory reporting in accordance with applicable requirements, ensuring accuracy, completeness and timely submission in collaboration with Compliance and relevant stakeholders.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Act as a liaison between various cross-functional teams, facilitate open communication to gather requirements and address concerns.
• Key contact point for Product Owners on new product launches and enhancement of product offerings
• Coordinate with project teams to align efforts and maintain momentum.
• Build strong relationships with business unit to ensure successful collaboration on process improvements.

Documentation & Communication

• Maintain comprehensive and up-to-date documentation of defined processes to support transparency and governance.
• Ensure that documentation is easily accessible to relevant stakeholders and complies with internal and external regulatory standards.
• Change engagement plan is delivered to a high standard, to support business rollout and embed through a clear communication and training programme.

Key stakeholders

• Private Banking Regional Head, COO, Business Planning Management, Banking Operations, Wealth Operations, Wealth Management, Compliance, Legal, Relationship Managers, Client Service Manager, 2nd line and 3rd line support functions (e.g. Ops Risk, Fraud Risk, ICS Risk, Conduct Risk, Group Internal Audit)

Other Responsibilities

• Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and values in Hong Kong Private Banking; Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures.

• 8+ years of experience in the banking industry ideally from Private Banking.
• Sound HKMA/SFC/MAS regulatory knowledge in investment suitability & selling process and understanding of the private banking business.
• Ability to adapt and act quickly to drive change by advocating innovative solutions
• Self-motivated team player, excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to articulate and resolve complex operational issues
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with internal key stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Project Management skills will be a plus
• Need to have proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word .

• Manage Conduct
• Manage Risk
• Manage People
• Products and Processes
• Strategy and Business Model (SIF)

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

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.

Some of our roles use assessments to help us understand how suitable you are for the role you've applied to. If you are invited to take an assessment, this is great news. It means your application has progressed to an important stage of our recruitment process.

Visit our careers website www.sc.com/careers