Job Title: Business Optimisation Manager
Reports to: Chief Business Optimization Officer & Head, Strategic Projects
Location: Flexible
Direct Reports: Project/program Managers (at Group or Affiliates)
Job Purpose
The Business Optimisation Manager will play a key role in evaluating and qualifying initiatives aimed at transforming business processes and operations across the group. Reporting to the Chief Business Optimization Officer & Head of Strategic Projects, the incumbent will lead the assessment of key initiatives, identify performance gaps, and implement problem-solving strategies to ensure alignment with the bank’s strategic objectives.
The incumbent will drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness, focusing on identifying opportunities for optimization, overseeing the implementation of improvement strategies, and ensuring the successful delivery of projects aligned with the expectations. He/she will drive value-realisation from approved and executed initiatives.
JOB CONTEXT
- To serve as the bridge between business units and the Project Management Office (PMO) by analysing business needs, identifying opportunities for process improvements, and documenting comprehensive business cases to support decision-making and project prioritization.
- The role will ensure that all proposed initiatives align with strategic objectives of the bank and deliver measurable value.
- Support workstreams and PMO in ensuring quality assurance of initiatives in the transformation pipeline, adequate documentation for execution readiness, sound and validated business cases and ultimately ensure transparency on value realized from initiatives
Key Responsibilities
Business Optimisation, Initiative Support & Documentation
- Work closely with workstream leads to ensure consistent documentation of optimisation/transformation initiatives, including value sizing and implementation planning.
- Support workstreams in assessing feasibility, dependencies, and sequencing of transformation initiatives.
- Collaborate with business heads at Group, affiliate, and business unit levels to develop business cases and feasibility studies for proposed initiatives.
- Assist PMO in segregating the financial impact of the optimisation/transformation from baseline performance.
- Map current-state and future-state processes to identify changes required for proposed solutions.
- Document workflows, process improvements, and system requirements in collaboration with project managers and technical teams.
Impact Valuation, Tracking & Reporting
- Lead analysis of business needs and opportunities for improvement to identify, evaluate, and qualify potential initiatives for transformation or optimisation.
- Collaborate with workstream leads to ensure a consistent approach to the valuation of initiative impact.
- Ensure financial tracking of progress against commitments (both value delivery and timing) using WAVE (or similar tool).
- Analyze business processes to identify inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
- Conduct feasibility studies, including cost-benefit analysis, to evaluate the viability of proposed initiatives.
- Develop comprehensive business cases, including project rationale, objectives, scope, financial analysis, and risk assessments.
- Identify and propose opportunities for continuous improvement within the organization.
- Perform cost-benefit and return on investment (ROI) analyses for proposed changes to aid management in making implementation decisions.
- Coordinate and perform in-depth tests, including end-user reviews, for modified and new processes, and provide post-implementation support.
Business Case Reviews & Financial Validation
- Collaborate with stakeholders across affiliates and departments to understand their business needs, challenges, and objectives, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy.
- Work with Finance to establish performance metrics and KPIs to track the progress and effectiveness of optimisation/transformation initiatives.
- Conduct regular reviews of project timelines, budgets, and deliverables to assess compliance with business objectives.
- Confirm accurate assumptions and impact for business cases.
- Ensure workstream finance leads validate and approve the impact associated with each initiative.
- Ensure PMO finance leads validate and approve the impact associated with each initiative.
- Identify initiatives that are lagging expectations, assess root causes, and develop actionable plans to address issues.
- Facilitate problem-solving sessions with stakeholders to collaboratively devise solutions and adjust strategies as necessary.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Maintain effective communication with all stakeholders, including leadership, project teams, and external partners, to ensure alignment and transparency.
- Prepare and present progress reports and recommendations to senior management, highlighting successes and areas for improvement.
Operational Excellence & Team Leadership
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement by assessing existing processes, identifying inefficiencies, and recommending enhancements.
- Support the implementation of best practices in project management, change management, and organizational transformation.
- Lead and mentor project teams in the execution of initiatives, providing guidance on optimization techniques and problem-solving methodologies such as Lead, Six Sigma, and Agile practices.
- Facilitate training sessions and workshops to enhance the skills and knowledge of team members and stakeholders.
PMO Support & Team Coordination
- Support weekly PMO meetings, including action tracking, driving discussion, and coordinating logistics.
- Provide coaching and capability-building support to business optimisation/transformation analysts as necessary.
- Act as a liaison between business units and the PMO to ensure clear communication of project goals and deliverables.
- Prepare and deliver reports, recommendations, or alternatives for improving processes in operating systems across the Group.
- Conduct market research and competitor analysis to inform strategic decision-making.
- Benchmark internal processes and practices against industry standards to identify gaps and opportunities for innovation.
- Recommend best practices to optimize operational efficiency and effectiveness
JOB PROFILE
- Experience and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Business Administration or any other related courses.
- Relevant certifications such as CBAP, PMI-PBA and an MBA will be an added advantage .
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience in business analysis, strategy and transformation, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
- Experience in working with cross-functional teams in complex organizational environments
- Industry experience in consulting, banking, technology, or large-scale transformation projects is preferred.
- Skills and Capabilities
- Proficiency in financial modeling and cost-benefit analysis.
- Competency in strategy formulation and implementation
- Strong understanding of Banking Business
- Strong understanding of business analysis frameworks, methodologies, and best practices
- Strong leadership skills.
- Excellent interpersonal relationship
- Stakeholder management
- Analytical & strategic thinking
- Research and data analysis
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Key Performance Indicators
- Measured value (financial or non-financial) delivered by projects initiated based on business analysis.
- Percentage of approved business cases delivering expected ROI within the defined timeframe.
- Increase efficiency gains or cost savings resulting from proposed process improvements.
- Percentage of requirements accurately linked to business objectives and project deliverables.
- Stakeholder feedback/satisfaction
- Percentage of proposed process improvement initiatives implemented successfully.
- Reduction in the average time taken to complete key business processes after implementing improvements.
- Decrease in the number of non-strategic or low-value projects approved due to robust business case analysis.
