VP, Project Management

SMBC Group; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

SMBC Group is seeking a senior leader to drive Strategy & Financial Stewardship in Kuala Lumpur, aligning strategic and operational plans with organizational priorities. You will own KPI-driven outputs, oversee budgeting, and guide PMS teams while championing process excellence and governance across the SSC.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, risk management, and technology-enabled change delivery to enhance performance and service delivery.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Banking and Finance or 5+ years in banking IT/projects.
• Knowledge of Banking Operations products (Trade Finance, Loans, Treasury, Deposit, or Remittance).
• Professional qualifications in Banking or Project Management.

Responsibilities

• Define and oversee Strategy & Financial Stewardship aligned to priorities.
• Ensure ownership and accountability for outputs against KPIs.
• Oversee budget planning and financial management with alignment to MTMP.
• Monitor financial performance and drive timely corrective actions.
• Provide leadership support to one level down and guidance to PMS team members.
• Drive continuous process optimization and efficiency across OPS; implement workflows and SOPs.
• Lead insourcing, standardization, and scalability initiatives; transform SSC to value-added service delivery.
• Maintain risk & controls frameworks; support audits and audit closure; ensure governance.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Financial management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Job description

• Strategy & Financial Stewardship - Accountable for defining & executing strategic and operational plans aligned to organizational priorities.
• Ensure delivery of ownership and accountability for all team outputs against defined KPIs.
• Oversee budget planning & financial management, ensuring alignment with SSC/BCAPD direction and MTMP.
• Monitor financial performance & variance management, ensuring timely corrective actions.
• Provide leadership support to one level down
• Actively provide support in problem solving & guidance to PMS team members.

Job Responsibilities:

Strategy & Financial Stewardship

• Strategy & Financial Stewardship - Accountable for defining & executing strategic and operational plans aligned to organizational priorities.
• Ensure delivery of ownership and accountability for all team outputs against defined KPIs.
• Oversee budget planning & financial management, ensuring alignment with SSC/BCAPD direction and MTMP.
• Monitor financial performance & variance management, ensuring timely corrective actions.
• Provide leadership support to one level down
• Actively provide support in problem solving & guidance to PMS team members.

Process Excellence & Transformation (COE)

• Drive continuous process optimization & efficiency enhancement initiatives across OPS.
• Implement structured workflow and queue mgt disciplines to optimize throughput rate.
• Lead insourcing & process standardization, ensuring scalability & consistency.
• Help transform SSC to a value-added service delivery model.
• Oversee txn’s accuracy & timeliness within expected SLA’s TAT.
• To propose & implement - Automation & Process redesign & engage with tech / transformation teams
• Define & execute various process improvement, projects, initiatives, adhoc task from time to time..

Governance, Risk & Compliance

Maintain effective risk & ctrl frameworks; monitor KRIs & risk indicators with data insights. Support timely escalation, containment & recovery, promoting transparent reporting. Conduct RCA and drive sustainable remediation. Adhere to policies, regulatory & compliance standards. Execute RCSA/MSII to address ctrl gaps and validate ctrl effectiveness. Support audits & ensure timely closure of findings. Escalate ctrl breaches, reinforce governance standards. Support new processes/SLA. Monitor vendors & contractual obligation (TPRM)

Stakeholder Governance & Execution Control

• Act as central accountability point for stakeholder coordination
• Establish structured governance forums and execution tracking discipline
• Resolve cross-functional dependencies and execution bottlenecks
• Enforce accountability across stakeholders for timelines and deliverables
• Drive escalation and decision-making to ensure delivery adherence

Technology Enablement & Change Delivery

• Drive adoption of technology, automation, and innovative solutions to enhance operational outcomes.
• Represent the Voice of Operations/SSC in transformation and system design forums.
• Ensure operational requirements are embedded in solution design and implementation.
• Contribute to SDLC / Agile delivery cycles, including requirement definition and acceptance validation.
• Oversee UAT planning, execution readiness, and validation of solutions prior to deployment.

Performance, Capacity & People Development

• Establish and maintain KPI and operational performance frameworks.
• Ensure accuracy, integrity, and consistency of performance data and reporting outputs.
• Conduct structured performance analysis to identify trends, risks, and improvement areas.
• Provide timely and insightful reporting to senior management and governance forums.
• Translate performance outcomes into targeted improvement and action plans.

Job Requirements:

• More than 7 years experiences in Banking and Finance. Or more than 5 years of Banking related project experience in IT or Consulting company.
• Preferably to have at least intermediate knowledge in one of the Banking Operations products (Trade Finance, Loans, Treasury, Deposit or Remittance).
• Preferably to have professional qualifications in Banking or Project Management.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Good initiative and ability to manage own time.
• Ability to effectively prioritize workload to meet tight deadlines and work objectives.