MD Strategic Execution

Barclays; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Barclays is seeking a senior leader to drive strategic execution across the Risk transformation agenda in a global context. You will align priorities with business strategy, investment objectives and regulatory requirements, while delivering governance, oversight and impactful decision-making.

This role requires shaping Board-level narratives, driving transformation initiatives, and mentoring high-performing teams to accelerate delivery and value realisation across Risk.

Qualifications

• Provide independent, balanced advice to senior stakeholders.
• Develop and implement strategic advisory incentives to optimise operations.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define strategic direction for Barclays.
• Develop financial models to support strategic recommendations and transactions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Strategic Execution agenda for Risk and align initiatives with business strategy.
• Establish governance frameworks and decision-making disciplines for value realisation.
• Shape Board and Executive Committee narratives with clear insight and direction.
• Mentor teams, drive risk transformation, and manage cross-functional programs.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder management

Governance

Portfolio prioritisation

Financial modelling

Transformation governance

Problem solving

Job description

• Leads the Strategic Execution agenda for Risk, ensuring transformation priorities are aligned to business strategy, investment objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Provides enterprise-wide challenge and oversight on whether initiatives should proceed, be prioritised, reshaped or stopped to maximise value and delivery success.
• Drives strategic portfolio prioritisation, demand management, operating model effectiveness and investment discipline across the Risk transformation landscape.
• Influences and aligns senior stakeholders across Risk, Risk Technology, Finance and the wider business through a matrix operating model and executive-level engagement.
• Diagnoses complex strategic and delivery challenges, simplifying ambiguity into clear options, trade-offs and actionable interventions.
• Establishes governance frameworks and decision-making disciplines that improve organisational focus, accountability, execution confidence and value realisation.
• Leads high-impact strategic projects, executive interventions and problem-solving activities to remove blockers and accelerate critical transformation outcomes.
• Shapes Board and Executive Committee narratives, providing clear insight, strategic direction and organisational alignment across the global Risk change portfolio.

Purpose of the role

To provide independent and balanced advice and counsel to senior stakeholders through problem identification, solving and decision making practices.

Accountabilities

• Provision of strategic advice to Group Executives to support the decision-making process of business challenges and opportunities.
• Development and implementation of strategic advisory incentives to grow and optimise the bank’s operations, through market research and analysis.
• Collaboration with various stakeholder groups to identify the appropriate strategic direction type to meet the needs of Barclays clients and investors.
• Development of financial models to support strategic recommendations and transactions through financial data analysis, financial projects and considering the financial impact of transactions.
• Management of transactions, negotiations, transaction structure development and post-transaction integration.
• Collaboration with internal stakeholders to maintain client relationships, and develop new relationships to identify opportunities.
• Identification of industry trends, maintain peer benchmarking and developments related to strategic advisory services by attendings conferences, participating in training and conducting market research.

Managing Director Expectations

• To manage a large, complex or diverse function and take accountability for the strategic direction of the function to significantly strengthen successful and efficient businesses and contribute to the strategic initiatives of the Barclays Group
• Lead and mentor high performing teams and embed a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects, act as a profound technical expert and thought leader, Identifying new and innovative/ground breaking ways of working. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.
• Drive and achieve overall success and / or competitiveness of a business division by influencing senior leaders and committees.
• Strategically assess and manage risks to protect the business division / function and growth.
• Influence company policy and develop functional procedures in conjunction with senior leaders / strategic positions across the business.
• Demonstrate interpretative thinking for innovative solutions in complex situations and conceptual thinking in completely new situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant / complex business and strategic decisions that impact the Barclays Group, business division or function.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally and foster growth for Barclays business.
• Mandated as the business division/ functional spokesperson or representative to external bodies and shapes the public image of Barclays.
• Demonstrate exceptional knowledge of how business divisions and functions integrate with the Group to achieve the overall business objectives alongside industry theories and practices within own discipline.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive functional expertise and significant product knowledge.
• Accountable for the control and governance agenda of the business division / function.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L - Listen and be authentic, E - Energise and inspire, A - Align across the enterprise, D - Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship - our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset - to Empower, Challenge and Drive - the operating manual for how we behave.