Senior Manager – Corporate Operations at Sidian Bank

JOB PURPOSE

To provide strategic leadership over Corporate Operations, ensuring accurate, timely and well-controlled execution of treasury operations, trade operations, custody operations and payments operations in line with the Bank’s strategy, customer commitments, risk appetite, regulatory obligations and internal control framework. The role drives operational excellence, service reliability, process discipline, automation, stakeholder collaboration, audit issue closure and continuous improvement across all corporate operations units while providing direct leadership to the Managers responsible for Treasury, Trade, Custody and Payments Operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILTIES 

• Set and drive the Corporate Operations agenda across treasury, trade, custody and payments, ensuring priorities support business growth, customer commitments, resilience and regulatory expectations.
• Oversee end-to-end operational performance, including transaction processing, settlements, reconciliations, documentation, reporting, investigations and exception management within agreed SLAs and cut-off times.
• Maintain a strong first-line control environment by embedding maker-checker discipline, AML/CFT and sanctions controls, audit readiness, issue closure, incident management and timely escalation of material risks.
• Partner with business, treasury, risk, compliance, finance, technology, legal, audit and external counterparties to remove operational bottlenecks and deliver reliable customer and stakeholder service.
• Sponsor process simplification, automation, straight-through processing, reconciliation improvements and capacity planning to reduce manual work, errors, turnaround time and operational cost.
• Provide clear governance reporting on volumes, SLA performance, exceptions, risk events, reconciliations, audit actions, productivity and regulatory matters for management review and decision-making.
• Lead and develop the Treasury, Trade, Custody and Payments Operations managers, strengthening accountability, capability, succession readiness and a culture of ethical, controlled execution.

DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY

• Approve operational decisions within delegated authority and the Bank’s policy framework.
• Escalate material operational, compliance, customer, fraud, audit and regulatory issues to the Head of Operations and relevant governance forums.
• Recommend process, policy, system and control enhancements affecting Treasury, Trade, Custody and Payments Operations.
• Allocate work, resources and priorities across Treasury, Trade, Custody and Payments Operations to support business continuity, service delivery and control effectiveness.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Banking, Economics, Operations Management or a related field.
• Master’s degree in Business, Finance, Strategy, Operations or a related discipline will be an added advantage.
• Professional banking qualifications such as AKIB or an equivalent recognized banking certification will be an added advantage.
• Training or certification in operational risk, AML/CFT, compliance, project management, Lean Six Sigma, business process improvement or digital transformation will be advantageous.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 8–10 years’ progressive experience in banking operations, corporate operations, service delivery, operational risk or related banking functions.
• At least five (5) years’ experience in a senior leadership role managing multi-unit operations teams in a regulated financial institution.
• Demonstrated experience in service delivery management, audit issue closure, operational risk control, regulatory compliance, process improvement and stakeholder management.
• Good experience in supporting treasury, trade finance, custody, payments, digital channels or centralized operations environments will be an added advantage.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Strong knowledge of corporate operations, treasury settlements, trade finance operations, custody operations, payments processing, reconciliations, exception management, operational risk management, audit issue closure and multi-unit performance management.
• Good understanding of applicable Kenyan banking regulations, CBK prudential expectations, POCAMLA, data protection requirements and internal control standards.
• Ability to interpret operational data, define KPIs, prepare management reports and convert insights into corrective action.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and working knowledge of core banking, workflow, service management, reporting and issue-tracking systems.
• Practical understanding of business continuity, incident management, outsourcing/vendor risk and change management within banking operations.