Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions- South Africa- Director - Johannesburg at Citi

• This is an outstanding opportunity for a key role in or MEA cluster to be responsible for developing and executing the Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) South Africa business unit strategy, reporting to the MEA TTS Head with matrix reporting into the South Africa CCO. The position is critical to enlivening and executing the Global TTS strategy, which seeks to build relevant new payments, collections and trade propositions with a digital-first approach, by harnessing the use of various technologies and trends (big data, cloud, mobile, AI, etc) to materially transform client experience .
• The role requires a good understanding of the Financial Market infrastructures of South Africa. The position will drive innovation through Partnerships that expedite time to market and increases revenue trajectory from clients. Furthermore, you will take the lead in identifying investment requirements, building business cases and prioritizing investment spend and strategy for incremental and strategic innovation. ensuring better connectivity with the Cluster and Regional teams by bringing to the Regional team's table important and emerging clients, competitive & market developments which present new opportunities for Citi.

Position Objective:

This role will work actively with the SSA Cluster program teams and partners to provide subject matter expertise support in the country.  It is  a critical partner to the Corporate & FI sales organization in providing content and expertise in deal structuring / commercialization.  Its functions also include:

• Managing (end-to-end) the bank’s trade and payment products with a view to significantly growing  share of wallet of our customers’ cash management business and the corresponding revenues.
• Identifying opportunities in the South African market and develop products and processes with a view to significantly encourage the customers to adopt electronic payment methods and digitization initiatives. This will enable straight through processing thereby increasing the capacity of the bank to offer payment services to its customers, reduce operational costs to the bank and increase margins on payment products.
• Develop partnerships with payment service providers to enable Citi indirectly access mass payment flows and opportunities in non-target market segments of the system.
• Identify and aggressively drive growth and penetration of new payment channel opportunities in South Africa.  Introduce, deploy and drive penetration of file services to improve Citi’s payment proposition.

Key Responsibilities:

This is a senior role which is part of the Global Product Team, with ownership of product strategy, product positioning, business management, sales enablement, and partnership/alliance development and management

• This position will have significant senior-level exposure and play a leading role in managing the current portfolio and product set, and determining long-term strategy as well as the allocation of investment dollars to execute the strategy globally
• As a Global Product Manager this role will oversee product strategy for a portfolio of solutions and services
• The role will also be responsible for Customer Experience, defining our strategy and overseeing the execution of the underlying initiatives
• This role will be required to drive action across the organization (esp other functions: Operations, Technology, Sales, Control Functions etc) in order to achieve goals and ensure that a BAU operational model is in place
• The Global Product Manager will also lead development and expansion of partnerships and alliances within the product ecosystem to create innovative and turn-key solutions between Citi products and other players in the ecosystem
• P&L Management (reporting and analyzing financials to ensure goals are being met)
• Management will look to this person to be an evangelist for the product both internally and to the marketplace
• The successful candidate must be both a leader and a team player, working with regional Product teams, Product Sales and Account Management, and functional teams globally
• The Global Product Manager will also work with internal partners to drive the visibility and positioning of the product
• The product manager will also manage product-level relationships
• Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct and business practices, and escalating, managing and reporting control issues with transparency, as well as effectively supervise the activity of others and create accountability with those who fail to maintain these standards.

Development Value:

• Manage and coordinate the complexities of multiple geographies and diverse cultures, while leading seasoned leaders. Strong pathway to Regional Product or TTS Cluster leadership opportunity. Exposures to senior stakeholders, influencing strategic thinking and direction. Grow interpersonal skills through multi-geography exposure to partners, build an expansive network within the TTS organization and expand product knowledge and breadth across all the activity spaces and products within TTS and its key partners

Knowledge/ Experience:

• 15+ years of experience, including 12+ years' in leadership or managerial roles
• Demonstrated experience in Product Management and/or Product Development discipline
• Exceptional understanding of Trade and Cash products
• Experience in and understanding of new technology  developments, their applications  and how those  enable product delivery
• Deep understanding of banking products, banking infrastructure and processes
• Deep understanding of financial markets infrastructure , regulatory landscape and important emerging developments.
• Experience or understanding of e-commerce solution capabilities advantageous
• Proven track record of success in positions requiring financial acumen
• Experience with and confidence in delivering presentations to clients and senior managers
• Prior ownership and management of a budgetary process, as well as  P&L with a proven track record as an action oriented individual, with an  ability to synthesize, prioritize, and drive financial results with urgency, and strategic analytical & critical thinking skills.
• Proven ability to spot and develop opportunities to build alliances and partnerships so as to drive   innovative solutions , Deep, broad and diverse functional experience (e.g., marketing, credit, acquisitions, product development and analytics) with a strong track record of driving business innovation and leveraging management information and data analytics to drive results
• Proven track record as an action-oriented individual who has led cross-functional teams to define and achieve high value business objectives and ability to work independently, with follow through and capable of owning and managing projects from end-to-end;
• Significant experience in serving a range of clients and in dealing with senior levels of client management
• Proven analytical, presentation and communication skills with an ability to explain complex concepts in a compelling way
• Product development skills and a commercial acumen with a proven track record of successfully bringing products to market
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with ability to influence and build consensus.

Skills:

• Exceptional business and team leadership
• Exceptional speaking and written communication skills.
• Strong ability to influence key stakeholders.
• Exhibits credibility, flexibility and authenticity when communicating with clients, internal partners, regulators, media, and other key stakeholders.
• Proven track record of developing and executing product growth strategies

Technical Competencies

• Demonstrates a sound knowledge of Trade and Payments product range, including alternative payment methods
• Demonstrates a full appreciation for product launch best practices, product risk management, Payment System Risk Management etc
• Strong Product management and analytical skills
• Familiar with innovation strategies   
• Strategic Communication and Influencing
• Builds strong and lasting relationships with clients and partners.
• Navigates internal and external networks to drive value for clients and the Firm.
• Identifies cross-sell / multi-product solutions that optimize client experience and meet returns
• Inspires, Catalyzes and informs  through all communications, written, verbal or virtual
• Leverages social media and digital solutions as appropriate
• Demonstrates high curiosity & creativity when seeking new customer value propositions to meet unmet customer needs

Demonstrates the ability to communicate  & motivate upwards, across and into  teams in motivating attention and action

Risk, Finance and Controls

• Familiar with Citi’s risk culture, risk and finance frameworks and their application at a legal entity, cluster and country level.
• Sound understanding of credit, interest rate, liquidity, operational, reputation, strategic and compliance risks
• Demonstrates expertise, balance and pragmatism to ensure solution delivery is done with the highest respect for safety and soundness Promotes and embodies a culture of a strong controls
• Demonstrates ability to generate, evaluate and execute optimisation strategies

Governance and Culture

• Familiar with Citi’s franchise governance frameworks and ensures timely issue escalation
• Creates alignment between the global strategy and local execution.
• Strengthens relationships with external stakeholders, including regulators.
• Is able to articulate the organisational culture and adapt it to the local context
• Holds self and others accountable to working in a manner that is team oriented, collaborative, and responsible

Qualifications:

• Master Degree in Sciences.  MBA and Professional Accounting qualification is an added advantage
• Candidates should also have a minimum of 15 years post- graduation experience, out of which at least 12 will have been in business leadership position in the banking industry
• Exceptional speaking and written communication skills.
• Strong listening skills and ability to influence key stakeholders.
• Exhibits credibility, flexibility and authenticity when communicating with clients, employees, internal partners, regulators, media, and other key stakeholders.