Head, Business & Commercial Banking

Role Overview

This is the senior leadership role accountable for the growth, transformation and digital agenda of Business and Commercial Banking in-country. Day to day, the job holder turns group strategy into a local plan of action: choosing where investment and resources go, agreeing which client value propositions to build and scale, and pushing those propositions into the priority sectors where the bank intends to win. It matters because commercial banking strategy only creates value when it is executed in the market — this position is where that translation happens, and where client acquisition, portfolio depth, profitability and long-term competitive position are either delivered or lost.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and shape the in-country Business and Commercial Banking strategy across growth, transformation and digital, ensuring it aligns with the wider business objectives and the performance metrics against which the franchise is measured.
• Translate group-level strategic priorities into locally relevant plans, working alongside both country and group stakeholders so that global intent and local market reality reinforce each other rather than pull apart.
• Design, scale, commercialise and embed client value propositions for the strategic sectors the business has chosen to target, making sure each proposition is differentiated enough to shift client behaviour.
• Champion digital innovation and transformation programmes, identifying where emerging technology can materially improve client experience, operational efficiency or commercial outcomes — and then driving adoption rather than leaving it at pilot stage.
• Accelerate customer acquisition and grow the existing portfolio, converting that growth into profitability and sustainable business performance rather than volume alone.
• Direct investment decisions and resource allocation across the portfolio, weighing competing opportunities and reallocating as market conditions and performance data change.
• Establish the metrics, reporting and review rhythm that show whether the strategy is working, and use those measures to course-correct at pace.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team, set clear accountability, and embed the new ways of working that large-scale transformation demands so that the change holds after the programme ends.
• Build and sustain relationships with senior stakeholders across a matrixed, geographically dispersed organisation, influencing decisions and keeping country priorities connected to broader group objectives.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A postgraduate degree in Business Commerce, Finance, Economics, Technology or a closely related field.
• More than 10 years in Business and Commercial Banking, including direct leadership of a business unit, client segment or P&L of significant scale and complexity.
• A proven record of building and executing growth strategies that produced market expansion, revenue growth, profitability and durable business performance — not just short-term wins.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale business transformation and digital innovation, with the ability to apply emerging technologies to client experience, operational efficiency and commercial results.
• Strong commercial and strategic judgement: the ability to spot market opportunities, make sound calls with incomplete information, and show measurable outcomes from those decisions.
• Recognised change leadership — experience steering organisations through transformation, embedding new ways of working, and operating effectively in complex, ambiguous business environments.
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of the local Business and Commercial Banking market, including client needs, industry dynamics and the economic drivers that shape demand, gained through substantial financial services experience in that market.
• Prior success at senior leadership level within organisations of comparable size, scale and complexity.
• A working grasp of digital disruption and the Fourth Industrial Revolution as they affect financial services, and the ability to convert those trends into competitive strategy.
• Experience in matrixed, geographically diverse organisations, with a track record of influencing stakeholders and reconciling country priorities with group-level strategy.
• Behavioural competencies: developing strategies, embracing change, empowering individuals, making decisions and producing output.
• Technical competencies: business acumen, economic capital management, risk response strategy, risk/reward thinking, and strategic planning and reporting.

What This Role Offers

• Ownership of a full in-country growth, transformation and digital mandate rather than a single function within it.
• Direct exposure to group-level strategy-setting, with genuine influence over how broader priorities are localised for this market.
• The scope to lead large-scale change at senior level inside a complex, matrixed and geographically diverse organisation.
• A mandate for long-term impact: the decisions taken in this seat shape client relationships, portfolio performance and market position beyond the current planning cycle.