Business Change Lead

Business Change Lead About the job As part of the Office of the COO, the Business Change team is a highly adaptable and specialised function with expertise in delivering and supporting a wide range of Change the Bank initiatives. The Business Change team consists of a bespoke and flexible group of resources with skill sets covering project mobilisation and management, change delivery, business and functional analysis, process mapping and optimisation, test management, and more.

The team possesses broad cross-bank business knowledge, enabling it to support change initiatives both within the OCOO (Operations, CMU) and across the wider bank (Global Markets, Compliance, Legal, Technology, Risk, QAD, Finance, HR, etc.) The Business Change team's portfolio is prioritised directly by the COO and focused on the bank's most critical strategic and regulatory change initiatives.

As such, the team supports a diverse range of programmes and projects, including Global Markets new business enterprises, regulatory change driven by Compliance, and broader Change the Bank initiatives approved and funded by the CEO. Depending on the nature of the initiative, the team may lead end-to-end delivery or provide specialist advisory support throughout project mobilisation, design, implementation, and execution.

The Change Lead is responsible for supporting the successful delivery of change initiatives assigned to the Business Change function in London. This includes: Collaborating with stakeholders to define change objectives and associated business benefits. Assessing and scoping the required work, including the most appropriate delivery approach.

Leading, coordinating, and/or documenting business analysis activities, including process and data requirements. Managing and driving the delivery of change initiatives to achieve successful outcomes. Ensuring that initiatives deliver the expected business benefits while remaining within approved budget and timeline constraints.

What you’ll be doing Leadership and Management Ensuring that Business Change staff and processes operate effectively and efficiently. As a senior member of the Business Change team, demonstrating commitment to delivering an excellent service and maintaining high standards within the function. Leading change initiatives from inception through to implementation, ensuring delivery objectives, timelines, budgets, and business outcomes are achieved.

Providing direction, guidance, and oversight to project team members, business analysts, and subject matter experts throughout the delivery lifecycle. Acting as a proficient requirements workshop facilitator, with demonstrated experience in facilitating sessions and applying appropriate techniques to define scope and requirements.

Stakeholder Management Building and maintaining effective relationships with business sponsors, technology teams, vendors, and other stakeholders to support successful change delivery. Guiding stakeholders through ambiguity, organisational change, and evolving business requirements, providing structure and direction where required.

Acting as the primary liaison between business and technical teams to ensure requirements, priorities, risks, and delivery expectations remain aligned. Supporting stakeholder engagement, communications, and decision-making processes throughout the project lifecycle. Ensuring that Business Change works collaboratively with other departments across the Bank, particularly when contributing to cross-functional initiatives and strategic programmes.

Change Delivery, Processes and Procedures Leading the planning, mobilisation, execution, and implementation of change initiatives in accordance with approved governance standards and methodologies. Developing and maintaining project plans, delivery milestones, dependencies, resource requirements, and implementation activities.

Managing requirements throughout the project lifecycle by establishing and maintaining agreement between stakeholders and project teams. Ensuring that requirements are documented in a manner appropriate for the intended audience and are clear, unambiguous, testable, and capable of implementation. Writing and reviewing business, user, functional, and non-functional requirements using structured analysis techniques, including Use Cases and UML where appropriate.

Developing business, user, and software requirements and establishing traceability to business objectives and strategic outcomes. Understanding the software development methodology being used and defining how requirements activities will be conducted, including elicitation, analysis, specification, and validation. Establishing the foundation for delivery by documenting the business context, including the current state, target state, business objectives, scope, business needs, and impacted user groups.

Coordinating testing, implementation, and business readiness activities to support successful adoption of change. Monitoring and tracking the delivery of agreed business benefits and ensuring that intended outcomes are achieved. Risk Management Identifying, assessing, and managing risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies across change initiatives.

Working collaboratively with the Project Management Office (PMO) to support effective governance, risk management, and continuous improvement. Promptly escalating material risks, issues, and delivery concerns to the Head of Business Change and relevant governance forums. Ensuring that business analysis and change delivery activities are performed in accordance with approved Bank standards, methodologies, and controls.

Staff Management Providing line management support and functional oversight to direct reports. Monitoring the performance of Business Change staff and taking corrective action where required. Ensuring adherence to all relevant Bank policies, standards, and procedures. Promoting diversity, constructive challenge, and teamwork within Business Change.

Identifying, developing, and retaining high-performing talent within the function. What you’ll need to be successful We’re looking for the following skills and experience. If you don’t have all of these but think you could be a good fit for the role, get in touch. Project Management qualification, such as Prince2, Lean Six Sigma & Risk Based Project Management.

Extensive experience working within an investment banking environment, ideally across multiple business functions and departments. Proven experience leading medium to large-scale change initiatives through to successful delivery and adoption by BAU teams. Experience engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, from executive management to front-line staff, to understand requirements, propose and discuss improvements, and deliver change.

Experience eliciting, documenting, and managing business requirements, including consolidating feedback from multiple stakeholders and achieving consensus on the proposed solution. Experience supporting the development of test cases, coordinating business testing activities, and validating issues identified during testing in conjunction with business stakeholders.

Experience managing projects or workstreams through the full project lifecycle, including planning, requirements gathering, testing, implementation, and post-implementation support Solid understanding of change management and project delivery practices within a banking environment. Strong business analysis and requirements management skills.

Strong stakeholder management and communication skills. Strong people management and leadership skills. Good understanding of project governance, risk management, and change control processes. Why should you join us? ICBC Standard Bank Plc (ICBCS) is a leading financial markets and commodities bank, driven to deliver the right outcomes for our stakeholders, clients, counterparties and markets.

We benefit from a unique Chinese and African parentage and an unrivalled global network and expertise. We’re headquartered in London, with operations in Shanghai, Singapore and New York. We’re a diverse and close-knit global team. We put people first, giving talented, self-driven professionals the flexibility, rewards and freedom to grow their expertise and realise their potential.

Our vison statement, “Be Yourself, Succeed Together” underpins our drive for an open and transparent culture which values difference, enabling everyone to thrive whilst being themselves. We have an active E, D&I forum and we’re growing other employee network groups, including for women and neurodiversity. We’re committed to the principle of equal opportunities.

All applicants will be treated equally and will be considered on their merits and skills without discrimination. What’s in it for you? Financial – market-based pay based on skills and experience, discretionary annual bonus, pension contribution 10% (employee contribution 5%), travel insurance, life assurance and income replacement insurance.

Hybrid working – the option to work remotely up to two days per week, depending on the role. Family - 6 months maternity leave at full pay, 4 weeks paternity leave at full pay and enhanced shared parental leave pay. Coaching for family leave returners and access to emergency care via My Family Care. Paid fertility and miscarriage leave.

Wellbeing - private medical insurance, Bike2Work scheme, health and fitness subsidy, holiday exchange, Employee Assistance Programme and menopause policy. Community – paid volunteering leave and Give As You Earn scheme. Vibrant CSR and engagement forums and fundraising for our charity partners. Development – a suite of opportunities to build the skills you need to excel in your role If you’re excited about becoming part of our team, get in touch.

We’d love to hear from you! ICBCS has appointed Robert Walters Outsourcing (RWO) to manage its recruitment process and Preferred Supplier List (PSL). Unsolicited CVs sent directly to ICBCS or its staff from non-PSL agencies will not be accepted and no fees will be paid for such submissions.