Global Head of Client Engagement

Cls Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday allowance UK/Asia

Volunteer days

Parental leave

Hybrid working

Discover learning platform

Job summary

CLS in London is seeking a seasoned professional to become the Global Head of Client Engagement. You will lead the Regional Heads, shape the external strategy, and drive the delivery of the annual global plan to strengthen client relationships and growth across markets.

You will lead cross-functional teams, manage budgets and KPI targets, and represent CLS at senior levels with settlement members and key clients. Hybrid working and extensive senior leadership exposure are offered.

Qualifications

• Outstanding communication, written and presentation skills.
• Extensive detailed knowledge of the FX market/value chain and payments.
• Ability to navigate diverse markets and cultures with senior-level engagement.
• Experience engaging with at senior level in global financial institutions.
• Strong networking, relationship-building and business development experience.
• Ability to mentor and lead a high-performing team.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Regional Heads of Client Engagement.
• Shape and deliver the global client engagement strategy and annual business plan.
• Drive revenue targets and KPI delivery through client engagement across regions.
• Expand CLS’s product reach globally and deepen client relationships.

Skills

FX market knowledge

Relationship management

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree preferable

Graduate degree preferable

Job description

About CLS:

CLS is the trusted party at the centre of the global FX ecosystem. Utilized by thousands of counterparties, CLS makes FX safer, smoother and more cost effective. Trillions of dollars’ worth of currency flows through our systems each day.

Created by the market for the market, our unrivalled global settlement infrastructure reduces systemic risk and provides standardization for participants in many of the world’s most actively traded currencies. We deliver huge efficiencies and savings for our clients: in fact, our approach to multilateral netting shrinks funding requirements by over 96% on average, so clients can put their capital and resources to better use.

CLS products are designed to enable clients to manage risk most effectively across the full FX lifecycle – whether through more efficient processing tools or market intelligence derived from the largest single source of FX executed data available to the market.

Our ambition to make a positive difference starts with our people. Our values underpin everything that we do at CLS and define our working environment:

• Pivotal purpose
• Trusted guardian
• Targeted innovation
• Facilitate connections
• Delivering excellence
• Inclusive culture

Job Information:

• Functional title – Executive Director, Global Head of Client Engagement

• Department – Client Engagement

• Corporate level – Executive Director

• Report to – Chief Growth Officer

• Location - London

What you will be doing:

The Global Head of Client Engagement will be responsible for leading and day to day management of the three Regional Heads of Client Engagement.

In this role they will help inform and shape the Strategy for the external facing Client Engagement team and are responsible for its delivery. Alongside this, they will deliver an annual global business plan driven by inputs from regional plans (developed by the Regional Heads with support from Client Strategy) aimed at enhancing and deepening relationships, elevating CLS’s focus on supporting growth in settlement risk mitigation in the region and deepening and increasing product penetration and resultant revenues.

They will be expected to provide input into the annual revenue and budget targets (Growth TCPs) on an ongoing basis and responsible for delivery on these. This role will be a recommender of the annual Global and Regional Client Engagement KPI targets to the Chief Growth Officer, driven by input from the Regional Heads of Client Engagement. On the client side, they will focus on connectivity at senior levels within our members and clients, contributing to, and supporting, the wider group by representing CLS at the highest level. Lastly, they will be expected to help coach, nurture and strengthen the skills and delivery of their direct reports, building a strong pipeline for succession.

In line with this, the role will:

• Report to the Chief Growth Officer, supporting global strategy and growth plans and help drive engagement across the regions.

• Lead the Regional Heads of Client Engagement to ensure delivery against revenue targets and execution on KPIs

• Build and strengthen global relationships with key stakeholders at Settlement Members and other key clients

• Broadening the reach of CLS’s product suite globally and increasing revenue growth.

What we’re looking for:

Strategic

• Help inform and shape the Client Engagement strategy and responsible for delivery of the strategy

• Lead delivery of the global business plan, with regular reviews to ensure client engagement and output is optimized

• Ensure broad and deep connectivity across Settlement members and other key clients pertinent to CLS’s agenda to support settlement risk mitigation and deeper product penetration.

Operational

• Manage the Regional Head of Client Engagement to ensure delivery and execution on revenue targets and KPIs.

• Work with Commercial Operations to help set Global and Regional T&E and other client facing related budget requests.

• Provide support and direction to the Legal Department when setting budgets and focus for necessary regional market, regulatory, internal requests and product approvals.

• Lead by example, working with Risk and Compliance to ensure the highest standards are upheld and support provided, when working with colleagues in both departments on member and client related outreach.

• Represent Client Engagement, as required, at internal meetings, committees or with key external stakeholders.

Leadership

• Act as a leader of CLS, driving client engagement and relationship development and supporting the broader CLS structure in their client activities, and motivate staff to build an enduring competitive position and contribution to CLS strategy.

• Build out, coach and optimize the skillset and effectiveness of direct reports, leading by example both externally and internally within CLS.

• Be a champion of CLS in external market engagement to ensure CLS’s profile and market support is optimized

Professional qualifications / certifications

• Minimum of 10 years of financial sales business experience, 5 years in a management role. with a proven track record of building, leading and delivery in a client facing function.

• Significant experience managing in a fast-paced, change oriented Financial Services environment.

• Demonstratable strong experience in networking, relationship management and business building.

• Experience of engaging at a senior level in global financial institutions

• University Degree preferable (B.A./B.S)

• Graduate Degree preferable (M.S./M.B.A/J.D./PhD);

• Industry experience in one or more of the following areas: with particular focus on a strong FX background: payments, operations, front office trading or sales, funds and custody.

Knowledge skills and experience

• Outstanding communication, written and presentation skills.

• Extensive detailed working knowledge and experience of the FX market/value chain, financial markets generally, and the payments industry, including understanding of asset management, custody and nostro services.

• Ability to navigate diverse and nuanced market, management levels and institutions in the public and private sectors with knowledge and adeptness in dealing across global cultures.

• Ability to plan, coordinate and implement effective initiatives and client engagement strategies with a successful track record of deepening client relationships, supporting as an intermediary where required.

• Strong, relationship management and negotiation skills are essential, with experience of supporting others in educating on the use cases and benefits of complex products/solutions to sophisticated institutions.

• Proven experience leading, motivating and retaining a dynamic, highly skilled team.

• Ability to develop and mentor not only within team but throughout the organization, helping to drive higher levels of knowledge and performance.

• Understanding of risk from a market and client perspective and more specifically awareness of CLS’s position in the FX ecosystem and the relevant regulatory and risk considerations pertinent to an FMI.

Success Factors:

Communication

• Excellent presentational and interpersonal communication skills, both written and verbal, and ability to operate in multiple cultures.

• Ability to build consensus and to influence both internal and external stakeholders.

Leadership

• Possess gravitas and the ability to operate effectively at the highest levels of an organization and be perceived as a partner to the business leaders.

• Adaptable and inclusive leadership approach appropriate to diverse culture and region, balancing collaboration with the need for independent decision making required in remote regional role.

• Ability to champion and drive execution of initiatives at a distance from HQ to garner support across time zones and jurisdictions independently.

• A talented professional manager who is rigorous in follow-through, with good attention to detail. A capable, effective, and fair delegator.

Acumen

• Adept at assessing emerging developments and markets and at deciphering ambiguity in emerging policy development. Strong ability to interpret and articulate impact of these developments in context of CLS strategy.

• Strong analytical, thinking and reasoning skills, demonstrated through decision-making and influencing skills at macro- and micro-level, paired with excellent judgment.

Motivation:

• Focused and results-oriented; strong ability to support others in their business building efforts.

• High ethical standards and a profound sense of integrity and confidentiality.

Our commitment to employees:

At CLS, we celebrate inclusion and consider this to be one of our strongest assets. We are committed to fostering an environment in which everyone feels comfortable to be who they are, and inclusion is valued. All employees have access to our inclusive benefits, including:

• Holiday - UK/Asia: 25 holiday days and 3 ‘life days’ (in addition to bank holidays). US: 23 holiday days.
• 2 paid volunteer days so that you can actively support causes within your community that are important to you.
• Generous parental leave policies to ensure you can enjoy valuable time with your family.
• Parental transition coaching programmes and support services.
• Wellbeing and mental health support resources to ensure you are looking after yourself, and able to support others.
• Employee Networks (including our Women’s Forum, Black Employee Network and Pride Network) in support of our organisational commitment to embrace and always be learning more about inclusivity.
• Hybrid working to promote a healthy work/life balance, enabling employees to work collaboratively in the office when needed and work from home when they don’t.
• Active support of flexible working for all employees where possible.
• Monthly ‘Heads Down Days’ with no meetings across the whole company.
• Generous non-contributory pension provision for UK/Asia employees, and 401K match from CLS for US employees.
• Private medical insurance and dental coverage.
• Social events that give you opportunities to meet new people and broaden your network across the organisation.
• Annual flu vaccinations.
• Discounts and savings and cashback across a wide range of categories including health and retail for UK employees.
• Discounted Gym membership – Complete Body Gym Discount/Sweat equity program for US employees.
• All employees have access to Discover – our comprehensive learning platform with 1000+ courses from LinkedIn Learning.
• Access to frequent development sessions on a number of topics to help you be successful and develop your career at CLS.