ED/MD, Head of Operations

Our client, a leading investment banking group, is looking for a high caliber ED/MD, Head of Operations as part of their expansion strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead the bank’s operations function, including operating model, workflow design, and service delivery.
• Drive operational strategy aligned with business objectives, regulatory expectations, and risk appetite.
• Lead operational governance, control frameworks, and audit-ready operating procedures.
• Oversee operational risk management initiatives, incident management, root-cause analysis, and remediation plans.
• Ensure operational resilience: business continuity planning, disaster recovery readiness, and testing cadence.
• Manage key operational systems and platforms (e.g., trade processing support, settlement/clearing interfaces, data operations, workflow tooling—scope to be confirmed).
• Establish KPIs/KRIs and monitor performance, quality, and throughput against service standards.
• Ensure compliance with relevant PRC regulatory requirements and internal policies.
• Lead, develop, and mentor senior operations leaders and teams; set performance expectations and succession plans.
• Partner with Technology, Compliance, Risk, Finance, Legal, and business units to deliver operational enhancements and transformation programs.
• Support strategic initiatives including process digitization, automation, outsourcing governance (if applicable), and cost optimization.

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in financial services operations or a closely related operational leadership role.
• Experience at D level (or equivalent senior executive responsibility) within a comparable banking/financial institution.
• Deep knowledge of bank operations across regulated environments (e.g., trade lifecycle support, settlement/processing operations, reconciliations, operational controls—scope to be confirmed).
• Demonstrated expertise in operational risk, internal controls, and audit/regulatory readiness.
• Proven leadership in operational transformation (process re-engineering, automation, workflow modernization, service optimization).
• Strong stakeholder management across senior executives and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Chinese and/or English (specify language requirements as needed).