Job Description
Equiniti is a leading international provider of shareholder, pension, remediation, and credit technology. With over 6000 employees, it supports 37 million people in 120 countries.
EQ's vision is to be the leading global share registrar, offering complementary services to its client base and our values set the core foundations to our success. We are TRUSTED to deliver on our commitments, COMMERCIAL in building long term value, COLLABORATIVE in our approach and we IMPROVE by continually enhancing our skills and services. There has never been a better time to join EQ.
Role Summary
The Head of Product Governance will be accountable for driving effective performance of first line product governance practices across the division, leading a team of Product Business Partners, with ultimate accountability to the Chief Risk Officer within the UKSS division. The role is product-agnostic, reflecting the senior nature of the role and broad line management accountabilities across several product-aligned Product Business Partners.
The role holder will be accountable for developing plans and allocating resources to ensure the performance of all product governance related tasks across the function, as well as providing a senior point of escalation for product governance related issues. The nature of this role requires a candidate with strong expertise in UKSS's products and services, as well as being able to demonstrate a deep understanding of product-related regulatory frameworks. The role holder will be expected to lead their team to identify, understand and assess key product-related risks, and be accountable for delivering demonstrable value to the business through delivery of product governance practices.
Core Duties/Responsibilities
- Develop strategic plans to embed and deliver product governance tasks across UKSS, aligning to the division's commercial priorities and objectives
- Lead a Product Governance function, responsible for the performance of effective product governance practices across the UKSS division.
- Foster strong stakeholder engagement with commercial owners regarding product governance.
- Represent the Product Governance function at other governance forums, such as risk and compliance committees
- Advise senior stakeholders to ensure they identify and manage product-related risks and ensuring strong engagement and collaboration with other risk and compliance functions
- Lead a team of technical product experts to ensure queries from the business and/or external clients, are completed on time and to a high-standard
- Lead a team of trusted and collaborative product experts to generate trusted product-related reporting, either for internal governance purposes or external clients
- Lead a team of trusted and collaborative product experts, capable of collaborating across multi-discipline risk and compliance specialist functions in the second line of defence, such as UKSS Risk and Group Risk, Compliance, Financial Crime, Information Security and Data Protection, guiding the delivery of product governance standards within UKSS, in line with the EQ's multi-discipline risk policy and framework requirements
- Engage with and supporting internal and external assurance activities performed across the three lines of defence, providing a point of product expertise to guide and inform these assurance activities, ensuring product governance issues are identified, challenged, agreed and remediation efforts delivered in line with control standards
- Foster a strong product governance structure and culture
- Comply with, and promote, the Conduct Rules set out in the regulatory Code of Conduct Sourcebook
- Lead, motivate, develop and appraise team members, identifying and closing performance gaps whilst providing development opportunities
- Take responsibility for setting the standards of performance and quality to achieve a first-class service for product governance activities
Skills, Capabilities and Attributes
- Experience in product governance or related disciplines, with a proven track record of managing senior stakeholders
- Strong expertise in product-related regulatory frameworks and practices within the context of FCA-regulated financial services businesses
- Proven experience in leading product governance meetings, ensuring internal policy requirements and control standards are adhered to
- Proven experience in a people management role, with an ability to develop and lead several other product professionals
- Excellent stakeholder management, with an ability to empathise and consider various points of view to drive desirable outcomes for the business
- Able to communicate and challenge in a succinct and clear manner with senior stakeholders and present advice and viable solutions
What We Offer
Save For Your Future - Equiniti Pension Plan; matched pension contributions up to 10%
All Employee Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) - Gives all EQ Colleagues the opportunity to benefit if the current owners successfully sell the company for a profit
Health and Wellbeing - Employee Assistance Programme: counselling, legal & wellbeing support for colleagues and their households. Life assurance cover at 4x salary with the ability to purchase enhanced cover
Employee discounts - Discounts and cashback at your favourite high street stores through our EQ Wins Platform
Flexible Benefits - Ability to purchase a wide variety of benefits through our flex plan
Time Off - 28 days holiday + bank holidays. 2 volunteer days to get involved with a charity of choice
Winning together - Equiniti ICON award vouchers; recognising the individuals going above and beyond to help the business succeed
Learning & Development - Investment in LinkedIn Learning for all colleagues
We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.
Please note any offer of employment is subject to satisfactory pre-employment screening checks. These consist of 5 year activity & GAP verification, DBS or Access NI, Credit, Sanctions & CIFAS checks
