Head of CCAR & Stress Testing

Job description

Leads all US activities related to stress testing, including domestic and all global stress testing activities requiring US participation.
Leads an immediate team of dedicated Stress Testing resources, the CCAR Central Team with responsibility for the day-to-day planning, management, co-ordination and execution of all stress testing activities.  Works to influence and leverage the broader US organization, across the Finance and Risk functions  to deliver complex enterprise wide work activities to tight timelines.
Demonstrates advanced leadership and communication skills, operating effectively at executive level, influencing and mobilizing the broad support and prioritization of work effort required to achieve stress testing objectives.
Provides strategic direction for stress testing activities to ensure HSBC continues to meet regulatory obligations, and derives business value from stress testing activities, by building, and continuously improving, the resources and infrastructure necessary to deliver industry leading capability.
Provides intellectual curiosity, remaining abreast of industry best practice and regulatory advances and expectations, working to foster an enterprise wide acceptance of continuous improvement by constantly raising the bar in relation to delivery expectations.
Champions and drives efforts to implement, enterprise wide, step-change improvements ensuring that HSBC remains abreast of continually evolving regulatory standards and industry/peer capabilities, lifting HSBC capability and performance to be recognized as a leading practice stress testing bank
Engages, influences and manages executive sponsors, ensuring alignment and support for stress testing objectives, strategic agenda and activities.
Actively engages with external regulators (FRB, OCC and FDIC) to ensure a strong relationship exists between HSBC and the respective regulators.
 
Impact on the Business
 
Accountable for the successful completion of all stress testing activities, meeting the, constantly growing, high expectations of both regulators and the business users of outputs.  This includes all PRA stress testing activities and outcomes.
Establishes and drives the strategic direction of stress testing capabilities working with the country CFO, CRO and CEO to ensure broad alignment and the necessary levels of support are in place.
Key player for the overall success of stress test outcomes, influencing media and public perceptions and reputation of HSBC
Influences and aligns all contributing lines of  business and functions to ensure timelines and deliverables are achieved to the required level of quality.
Must be able to understand and translate complex regulatory, technical and business needs in order to effectively scope and direct priorities for self and the broader team.  Re-directing resources and work effort as required to in-need areas. 
 
Customers / Stakeholders
 
Influence and collaborate with stakeholders and business partners, building strong relationships to ensure consensus and support for stress testing outcomes.
Pro-actively fosters open and honest communication which anticipates stakeholder expectations.
Engages widely across the enterprise to promote stress testing objectives, and strategic initiatives ensuring high levels of awareness and the required levels of support, and prioritization, are in place as needed to execute agenda and remove constraints.
Lead preparation and delivery of broad customer and stakeholder communication activities to support awareness and engagement levels.
Drive direction and delivery of messaging to governance forums (steering committees, working groups etc.) including provision of timely status updates, accurate position of risks and issues and evaluation of team performance and required improvements.
Responsible for ensuring that a strong relationship exists between HSBC and regulators, in relation to Stress Testing, interpretation of requirements, expectations, assessment of stress testing activities, and the receipt, analysis and closure of regulatory feedback.
 
Leadership & Teamwork
 
Role models collaboration and team work across all contributing work areas, demonstrating the need for open communications and effective teamwork that is critical to team success.
Role models Group values and strategic direction.
Builds a high performance CCAR Central Team, ensuring the team is sized right and has appropriate mix of skills and talent to effectively achieve deliverables.
Drives a team culture of performance management by providing open and honest feedback and effective management of poor performance, using available recognition programs to further encourage high performance.
Provides coaching and support for team members, encouraging ongoing development and learning activities and participation in industry forums and groups to continually lift capabilities and skills across the team.
Effective management of resources including performance, talent and retention management and development of succession plans for key roles/functions.
Remains actively involved and engaged in team activities, challenging and questioning deliverables and work status to create an environment of constant improvement and outperformance.
Leads the timely completion of all Group Performance Management activities, including calibration and feedback sessions across immediate team.
Ensures alignment with group stress testing objectives by working effectively with Global Head of Stress Testing.
 
Operational Effectiveness & Control
 
Ensures that stress testing activities strive to comply with all applicable internal policies and procedures and external regulation and are delivered to the highest possible standard of quality within required time lines.
Ensures appropriate and effective plans are in place that demonstrate the ability to deliver stress testing activities to the required timeframes, budgets, and quality levels.
Ensures effective resolution of all identified regulatory remediation, internal audit and self-identified issues through deployment and prioritization of necessary resources.
Maintains appropriate levels of engagement and communication with external regulators and other compliance professionals.
Fosters a culture of awareness of, and compliance with, controls, policies and procedures and applicable regulations and encourages co-operative and constructive interactions with compliance people.
Works effectively with Internal Audit and other internal and control bodies to ensure effective management of control issues.
Seeks to identify, and encourages, opportunities to standardize and optimize processes, tools and technology and where possible to leverage standard global solutions that are fit for purpose.
 
Major Challenges
 
Regulatory direction along with industry stress testing execution capability and knowledge is in its infancy and evolving quickly.  This drives unique challenges in terms of sourcing and retaining skilled resources with the capabilities required to successfully execute the large and complex activities.  This also highlights the need to be constantly learning and driving process improvements and automation of processes.   Stress Testing activities are large and complex in their scope and scale providing an ongoing logistical challenge in terms of remaining abreast of current and planned work activities and remaining current in relation to evolving material risks and issues.
The external stakes, in the event of failure, are very high, with the potential to lead to regulator actions/sanctions and reputational damage to HSBC globally, providing an ever present awareness of the important of getting it right.
CCAR at HSBC is in its infancy and must develop and evolve quickly to ensure that a sustainable and effective longer term process is built.  This requires constant consideration of, and attention to, medium and longer term strategic improvement initiatives in addition to the demanding requirements of immediate production activities.
The global nature of HSBC creates a need to participate in multiple global stress testing activities concurrently – driving a need to effectively prioritize and delegate activities and meaning high workload can be unrelenting.
The group wide nature of stress testing activities creates the need to initiate and maintain excellent working relationships with a diverse and large group of stakeholders with competing/conflicting priorities. 
Must be adept at influencing others in order to achieve successful outcomes by communicating effectively on business, technical and strategic topics across all levels of the organization, as needed.
 
Role Context
 
Must be comfortable operating in a complex and evolving regulatory environment with the need to continually identify and implement improvements to ensure HSBC does not lag peer bank capability and/or regulator expectations in relation to overall Stress Testing capability and the quality, and timeliness, of all Stress testing outputs.
Must be able to function independently, and be able to initiate and drive the agenda in relation to stress testing activities, overcoming obstacles and uncertainty in a dynamic and fast paced environment with the added pressure of tight regulatory deadlines, that cannot be moved.
During critical production periods, the work environment is demanding requiring significant time and focus to address risks and issues to the production process in a timely way.
Able to confidently operate in a complex matrix environment with a large number of stakeholders and interested parties, from all levels internally and from multiple regulator groups.
Able to foster and develop excellent working relationships with a large number of senior Business, Finance and Risk people that will be necessary to achieve Stress Testing targets. Must be confident to manage across multiple time dimensions to ensure immediate priorities, as well as medium and longer term strategic initiatives are progressing to ensure the longer term viability and success of HSBC Stress Testing activities.
 
Management of Risk
 
Must be comfortable operating in a complex and evolving regulatory environment with the need to continually identify and implement improvements to ensure HSBC does not lag peer bank capability and/or regulator expectations in relation to overall Stress Testing capability and the quality, and timeliness, of all Stress testing outputs.
Must be able to function independently, and be able to initiate and drive the agenda in relation to stress testing activities, overcoming obstacles and uncertainty in a dynamic and fast paced environment with the added pressure of tight regulatory deadlines, that cannot be moved.
During critical production periods, the work environment is demanding requiring significant time and focus to address risks and issues to the production process in a timely way.
Able to confidently operate in a complex matrix environment with a large number of stakeholders and interested parties, from all levels internally and from multiple regulator groups.
Able to foster and develop excellent working relationships with a large number of senior Business, Finance and Risk people that will be necessary to achieve Stress Testing targets. Must be confident to manage across multiple time dimensions to ensure immediate priorities, as well as medium and longer term strategic initiatives are progressing to ensure the longer term viability and success of HSBC Stress Testing activities.
 
Observation of Internal Controls
 
Maintains HSBC internal control standards, including timely action to address internal and external audit points and any remediation activities raised by external regulators.
The jobholder will adopt the Group Compliance Policy by escalating any identified compliance risk in liaison with, Global Compliance Officer, Area Compliance Officer or Local Compliance Officer, as appropriate.

Desired profile

Advanced degree in a quantitative or accounting discipline
Detailed understanding of the risk and accounting associated with  HSBC products and services
Proven experience of leading evolving frameworks in a challenging and changing risk environment
Proven leadership skills and the ability to exercise leadership, and influence others, without direct authority
Proven experience of discussing complex analytical subjects with mixed audiences (technical and non-technical, internal and external)
Advanced understanding of regulatory developments and supervisory practices, expertise in dealing with regulators on technical as well as strategic business and capital matters.
Strong knowledge of the external environment – regulatory, political, competitors etc.
Evidence of confidently operating at an Executive level
Proven ability to work across regions whilst maintaining a global perspective
Demonstration of strong financial acumen
Proven ability to work with senior stakeholders and business sponsors
Strong people management and leadership experience
Excellent understanding of stress testing activities and end-to-end processes