Director, Product Manager, Investments,Middle East

Job Summary

The Manager, Managed Investments role is a critical role that ensures the right MI products are made available on the platform as part of a robust Wealth Solutions Proposition and facilitates and enables frontline to understand right product fitment while allocating clients assets in a portfolio, all the while ensuring that the regulatory requirements are met.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

• Shape and grow the MI business into a ‘best in class’ business with the best of breed products on the shelf and coverage across all asset classes and geographies pertinent to our client requirements. 
• Assisting the Wealth Management businesses in the Middle East as a unique provider of value-added financial services for all client segments through formulation and implementation of group and country strategies to maximize profitability with compliant sales.
• Execute the product strategy for achievement of AUM growth and revenues from Managed Investments in the Middle East.
• Support delivery of Managed Investments Advisory for Private Bank
• Provide Managed Investments support to countries in the Middle East by ensuring regular flow of competitive investment products & support to sales teams

Business

• To drive the MI business to ensure revenue targets are met with a focus on attracting Net New Money to the Bank
• Develop & introduce new Managed Investment products on an ongoing basis after assessing market potential, customer needs and competitive product range, in compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements.
• Manage product development activities for the Bank’s Managed Investments proposition (Mutua Funds, DPM, Alternatives) including, but not limited to, a) enhancements and innovations in the product suite b) marketing and promotion c) design and management of sales campaigns.

• Ensure that all the wealth management sales teams (Frontline RMs & Specialists) receive adequate sales support, training, marketing collateral and other sales tools.
• Keep abreast of latest trends on Investment products, financial markets, consumer behaviors and use of technology in providing investment solutions.
• Identify and develop new product providers for Investment products.
• Work with the Proposition & Marketing teams on marketing campaigns, communication and branding for specific products.

Processes

• To build and enhance processes suitable for the MI business and support with the relevant expertise.
• Engage with risk control owners and / or group policy owners for the implementation of policies and control standards set by them.
• Ensure Back-End Processes for Investments Products are operating at the highest standards to deliver excellent customer experience and minimize number of complaints.
• Work with various stakeholders to focus on quality in delivery and turnaround time for end-to-end BAU and new processes to achieve efficiency and customer experience objectives

People & Talent

• Develop a people culture which encourages, and champions change among colleagues in the daily workplace. This will facilitate product innovation and process improvement with the objective of delivering superior Customer & Frontline experience.

Risk Management

• Collaboratively partner with risk teams to ensure risk management procedures and processes are effectively implemented to operate within operational and credit risk appetite.
• Develop and implement appropriate rules and guidelines to ensure that all internal and external – legal, compliance and risk management requirements – are met
• Work collaboratively with countries and functions to ensure any audit findings are suitably rectified.

Governance

• Responsible for understanding the Group’s arrangements to deliver effective governance, oversight and controls in the business and, if necessary, oversee changes in these areas; Awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework, in which the Group/Country operates, and the regulatory requirements and expectations relevant to the role, from a country perspective.
• Maintain an adequate control environment and operational procedures to prevent loss arising from non-adherence to controls.
• Monitor regulatory and market development and provide feedback on the market and the business to the sales and management team.
• Ensure compliance with all regulations and controls as set by the Bank and external regulatory authorities associated with Investment products.
• Provide policy guidance and product support to Wealth Management units across the region for local sales & distribution of Investment products. 

Key stakeholders

Internal

• Group WM including Group CMPS & Group MI
• Affluent Banking Relationship Managers
• Investment Advisors
• Country CMPS dealing desk
• Country Legal and Compliance
• Group Legal and Compliance
• Financial Markets Team
• WM and FM Operations

External

• Third Party Product Providers – Fund managers, Investment banks, Insurance providers
• Regulatory Authorities
• Law firms
• Advertising & Market research agencies

Other Responsibilities

• Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and values in UAE/BH / Wealth Solutions / Managed Investments [country / business unit / team]; Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures; 

Skills and Experience

• Product Management 
• Regulatory overview 
• Investment knowledge

Qualifications

• Post Graduation / MBA / Masters in Finance. Professional Qualifications like CFA, FRM, are preferred.
• experience in managing investment products in a financial institution with responsibilities for revenue, product development, investment process, investment systems and investment risk
• Strong analytical skills and knowledge of equities, bonds, mutual funds, foreign exchange & currency products, currency options, derivatives, structured investment and latest product trends.
• Strong leadership qualities, excellent interpersonal skills and multicultural awareness and sensitivity

About Standard Chartered

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

What we offer

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.