Future-State Operating Model Lead - Operational Risk

HighSpring India LLP; United States; Remote; USD 221,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

HighSpring India LLP seeks a senior Target Operating Model Lead for Operational Risk on a short-term engagement (about 1.5 months). You will assess the current Operational Risk organization, design the future-state operating model, and develop a driver-based staffing estimate to support rapid decision-making.

The consultant will independently lead stakeholder discussions, perform detailed analysis, and deliver practical, defensible deliverables within a tight timeline.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in management consulting, business transformation, organization design, and Operational Risk.
• At least 5 years of hands-on experience designing Target Operating Models.
• 5+ years of organization-design experience covering structures, roles, layers, and governance.
• 5+ years of workforce and capacity modelling, including workload drivers and FTE estimation.
• Strong understanding of Operational Risk and first/second-line responsibilities.
• Experience defining accountability models, governance, escalation paths, and handoffs.
• Proven stakeholder-interviewing and workshop facilitation with senior leaders.
• Ability to work independently and deliver within a compressed engagement timeline.

Responsibilities

• Analyze existing roles, skills, staffing levels, and spans of control across Operations risk functions.
• Inventory high-level responsibilities and risk activities across the first and second lines of defense within operations.
• Interview leaders and teams to understand priorities, workload and effort.
• Assess staffing capacity across ad hoc and recurring responsibilities, including overlaps.
• Establish top-down business and risk outcomes for Operations.
• Define activities required to deliver each outcome.
• Define ownership and accountability across Operations and Operational Risk.
• Map decision rights, escalation paths and handoffs across the lines of defense.
• Define required skills, capabilities, and experience for each outcome.
• Translate targets into future-state org design and workload-driven activities.
• Develop a driver-based estimation model linking capacity to outcomes.
• Allocate target capacity across priority risk activities and defense lines.
• Provide a clear view of current structure, and opportunities to rebalance capacity.
• Define organizational and capability requirements to inform the target structure.
• Create a transparent estimation model for capacity vs risk outcomes.
• Ensure capacity aligns with coverage gaps and priority risk areas.

Skills

Management consulting

Business transformation

Organization design

Operational Risk

Stakeholder facilitation

Workload modelling

Staffing capacity modelling

Job description

Job Title: Target Operating Model Lead - Operational Risk

Contract Duration: 1.5 months

Shift Coverage: 2 to 11 pm IST

Start Date: Sep 14

Summary: We are seeking a senior, hands-on Target Operating Model professional to assess the current Operational Risk organization, design the future-state operating model, and develop a driver-based

organization and staffing estimate. The consultant should be able to independently lead stakeholder discussions, perform detailed analysis, and develop practical and defensible deliverables within a short-

term engagement.

Responsibilities:

• Analyze existing roles, skills, staffing levels, organizational layers and spans of control across Operations risk functions

• Inventory high-level responsibilities and risk activities performed across the first and second lines of defense within operations

• Interview select operations risk leaders and team members to understand priorities, workload and effort of existing functions and select activities to inform current operating patterns

• Assess how staffing capacity is allocated across ad hoc and recurring responsibilities (incl.overlap / duplicative efforts)

• Establish top-down business and risk outcomes for Operations

• Define the critical activities required to deliver each targeted outcome

• Establish first-line and second-line ownership and accountability across Operations and Operational Risk

• Map decision rights, responsibilities, escalation paths and handoffs across the lines of defense

• Define the skills, capabilities and experience required to deliver each outcome effectively

• Translate targeted outcomes, responsibilities and capabilities into future-state organizational design requirements

• Translate target risk outcomes and responsibilities into role-based activities and workload drivers

• Define measurable sizing drivers based on processes, teams, risks, controls, issues and oversight requirements

• Develop an estimation model that converts workload drivers into capacity requirements by role and function

•

Allocate target capacity across priority risk activities and expected outcomes for the first and second lines of defense.

•

Expected Outcomes:

• Clear view of current organizational structure, staffing deployment, workload and capability mix

• Identified opportunities to eliminate duplication, clarify ownership and rebalance capacity toward priority outcomes

• Clearly defined business and risk outcomes that anchor the future-state operating model

• Clear first- and second-line accountability, decision rights and handoffs for delivering each outcome

• Defined organizational and capability requirements to inform the target structure, roles and staffing model

• Transparent, driver-based estimation model linking capacity requirements to target risk outcomes

•

Outcome-aligned capacity allocation that addresses coverage gaps, duplication and priority risk areas

Must Have Skills:

• 10+ years of experience in management consulting, business transformation, organization

design, Operational Risk, or related areas.

• At least 5 years of hands-on experience designing Target Operating Models.

• Demonstrated experience conducting current state assessments and developing future state

operating models.

• 5+ years of strong organization-design experience, covering organizational structures, roles,

layers, spans of control, governance, and capability requirements.

• 5+ years of proven workforce and capacity modelling experience, including workload drivers,

activity volumes, effort assumptions, utilization, role-based demand, and FTE estimation.

• Strong understanding of Operational Risk and first-line and second-line responsibilities.

• Experience defining accountability models, decision rights, governance structures, escalation

paths, responsibilities, and organizational handoffs.

• Strong stakeholder-interviewing and workshop facilitation skills, including experience working

with senior risk and operations leaders.

•

Ability to work independently and deliver within a compressed engagement timeline.

Preferred:

• Previous experience with a Big 4 firm, management consulting firm, specialist risk advisory firm,

or financial services organization.

• Experience personally developing workload based staffing and capacity models rather