Senior Change Lead - WM First Line of Defense

Union Bancaire Privée; Genf; Hybrid; CHF 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Union Bancaire Privée in Switzerland seeks a seasoned business risk and compliance professional to coordinate cross‑functional change initiatives at the 1.5LOD level within Wealth Management. Lead delivery across 1.5LOD and collaborate with 2LOD to ensure timely governance reporting and data provisioning.

The role emphasizes incident resolution coordination, process and control changes, and delivering high‑quality artifacts for FINMA and internal governance forums, while engaging stakeholders in

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience in business risk management and/or compliance within Wealth Management.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional projects at the 1.5LOD/2LOD interface with Risk and Compliance.
• Strong understanding of non-financial risk management, incident management, and regulatory expectations.

Responsibilities

• Drive WM projects across the first line of defense with scope, milestones, and stakeholder engagement.
• Coordinate change management activities to implement new processes and controls.
• Represent WM in project committees for AML and controls-related topics and ensure deliverables.
• Provide reporting and data for committees, audits, and governance forums.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Incident management

Data validation

Reporting

Analytical skills

Bilingual: French/English

Job description

Mission

UBP has been working on a program to further enhance its Compliance and Risk framework, which is also leading to significant change in the first line of defense in Wealth Management – Business Risk Management, Periodic Client Reviews, and Business Monitoring.

As part of this effort, the position holder is responsible for coordinating and delivering cross-functional change initiatives at the first line of defense (1.5LOD) within Wealth Management (WM), jointly with the second line of defense (2LOD = Risk & Compliance) and WM stakeholders. It is a unique opportunity to shape change within an agile organization that encourages employee initiative.

The role oversees execution of projects, represents 1.5LOD in programs, manages the operational interface with 2LOD, and ensures timely, high‑quality reporting and data provisioning to management and governance forums.

Main responsibilities

Drive WM projects across the first line of defense:

• Plan and execute initiatives of 1.5LOD (e.g., enhancement of account opening process), defining scope, milestones, and stakeholder engagement.


• Coordinate change management activities (e.g., targeted trainings, communications, procedure updates) to implement new processes and controls.


• Act as the central point of contact for user feedback during implementation; channel insights into backlog/prioritization.


• Coordinate incident resolution end to end with contributing teams, ensuring root cause analysis and action plan tracking.


• Closely work with the Head of Business Risk Management and the Head of Periodic Client Reviews, delivering support as required

Support projects initiated by second line of defense:

• Represent WM in project committees for initiatives for AML and controls-related topics.


• Deliver and/or coordinate all WM deliverables and commitments, ensuring traceability and quality.


• Lead specific project streams on behalf of WM (e.g., rollout of an incident management system), aligning timelines, resources, and acceptance criteria.

Manage coordination between Risk & Compliance and WM control functions:

• Serve as the primary entry point for all 1.5LOD requests; own the intake, triage, and delivery of requests.


• Manage day to day coordination with 2LOD, aligning expectations, timelines, and governance for deliverables.

Provide reporting and answer data requests of stakeholders:

• Coordinate with responsible SMEs to provide accurate, timely data for committees (e.g., Conduct & Culture Committee), regulatory reporting (e.g., FINMA), internal and external audit queries, and WM management requests.


• Perform sanity checks and quality assurance on submissions; ensure proper evidencing and auditability.


• Drive the evolution and optimization of existing reporting requirements and tooling in partnership with teams that provide standardized reporting.

Your Profile

• Minimum 10 years of experience in business risk management and/or Compliance within Wealth Management/Private Banking.


• Proven experience leading cross functional projects at the 1.5LOD/2LOD interface with Risk and Compliance, including process and control changes.


• Strong understanding of non-financial risk management frameworks, incident management, and regulatory expectations relevant to WM.


• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; ability to influence without formal authority.


• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple initiatives concurrently and deliver to governance and regulatory deadlines.


• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail for data validation, reporting, and documentation.


• Fluent in French and English (written and spoken); any additional language is an asset.

Others

• Swiss Residence mandatory

Core Competencies : Adherence to the company’s values: Dedication, Conviction, Agility and Responsibility - Compliance with regulations and internal directives