Purpose

• The role holder is responsible for operational efficiency and ensuring processes conform to standard banking practice, rules and regulations with a view of avoiding reputational and financial risk to the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management: Ensure all centralized operations comply with internal and external regulations. Maintain up-to-date procedures for key processes, including Customer Onboarding, SWIFT payments, Clearing, Deposits, Treasury Operations and Trade Operations.
• Operational Controls & Transaction Management: Implement strong controls to ensure efficient, accurate, and secure transaction handling, minimizing operational risks.
• Leadership of Central Operations: Oversee the Central Operations team responsible for Customer Onboarding, Treasury Operations, SWIFT payments, Central Clearing, Central Deposits, Trade Operations, and Customer Data Management/KYC Remediation.
• Performance Monitoring & KPI Management: Track and manage unit performance against budgets, resource allocations, and KPIs, ensuring operational targets are met.
• Service Delivery & SLA Management: Establish, monitor, and renegotiate SLAs with supported units to ensure consistent service delivery.
• Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) & Projects: Oversee BPR initiatives, ensuring processes are optimized and procedure manuals remain aligned with evolving business needs. Develop scalable, efficient central operations processes and coordinate system testing and rollouts.
• System Approvals & Service Reviews: Approve SWIFT users and critical Internet Banking service profiles for CBK and correspondent bank operations. Initiate or support service reviews with vendors and banking partners to enhance service quality.
• Strategic Initiatives & Project Support: Provide operational input into key strategic initiatives, new projects, and product rollouts.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work with external partners such as KBA, CBK, KRA, and vendors to ensure regulatory alignment, industry best practices, and operational efficiency.
• Escalation & Decision-Making: Escalation point, providing guidance and direction on central operations matters.
• Change Management & Process Improvement: Lead change management initiatives to drive process efficiency, cost reduction, and service quality improvement.

Financial Responsibility:

• Review of relevant policies and procedures
• Engagements with various 3rd parties; SWIFT & vendors
• Various system improvements
• Process changes
• Central Operations staff resourcing and other expenses

Person Specifications

• Professional Qualifications / Membership to professional bodies/ Publication
• AKIB or other relevant professional training.

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Banking or related field.

Work Experience.

• Over ten (10) years’ relevant experience with over four (4) years in a senior management role in a similar sized organization.

Competencies

• Planning & Organizational skills
• Analytical skills and attention to detail
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Interpersonal skills to manage stakeholders at all levels
• Ethics and integrity
• Excellent judgment and analytical abilities and impeccable integrity.
• Strong commercial awareness and an ability to connect to business goals