Job Summary

The overall role for the position is to act as a leader to drive cultural change around Lean across QNB Group. The incumbent will be responsible for leading and managing the Group’s Lean and Six Sigma exercise for selected divisions and in charge of its related agenda under the Innovation department. Responsibility includes owning, leading and managing the portfolio of Lean projects under his/ her scope with minimal supervision. Additionally, the incumbent will assist in activities aligned around increasing the Lean culture within his/her scope, such as Lean workshops, Lean conference, etc.

Main Responsibilities

A. Shareholder & Financial:

- Manage and deliver on the initiation, execution and implementation of operational excellence, reengineering and end-to-end process improvement initiatives under his/ her scope and support divisions within QNB Group

- Develop and deploy Lean/ Six Sigma/ Change Management standards and the process improvement methodology within QNB Group

- Develop/ create the metrics/ key performance indicators (KPIs), for performance monitoring and quality measurement purposes related to dedicated operational excellence, reengineering and end-to-end process improvement initiatives on a periodic basis

- Implements KPI’s and best practices for Vice President Lean Transformation role

- Act within the limits of the powers delegated to the incumbent and delegate authority to the respective staff and monitor exercise of the same.

- Demonstrate clear understanding of the important factors behind the bank's financial & non-financial performance.

B. Customer (Internal & External):

- Serve as a catalyst for change and senior level Lean/ Six Sigma Consultant within the organization

- Act as a knowledge hub for Lean/ Six Sigma within QNB Group and ensure relevant training and coaching on the methodology to designated multiplicators within the organization

- Manage operational excellence, reengineering and end-to-end process improvement initiatives under his/ her scope, with a focus on customer orientation, service and service quality

- Act as a partner to the concerned business and support divisions and lead process improvement projects together with representatives from one or more business and support divisions and

- Ensure training and coaching of others in applying Lean/ Six Sigma and process reengineering methodology

- Assist in creating awareness within QNB Group for client orientation, quality and efficiency

- Establish and maintain strong working relationships and support units within QNB Group with regards to operational excellence, reengineering and end-to-end process improvement initiatives as well as with regards to Lean/ Six Sigma tools

- To assist customers in all their queries on Bank’s product and seek solution to their requests.

- Maintain activities in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal departments/units to achieve improvements in turn-around time.

- Build and maintain strong/effective relationships with related departments/units to achieve the Group’s objectives.

- Provide timely/accurate data to external/internal Auditors, Compliance, Financial Control and Risk when required

- Propose new solutions or processes into ongoing operations within QNB Group

C. Internal (Processes, Products, Regulatory):

- Interact with EVP Innovation, EVP Strategy and SVP Lean Transformation to obtain new process improvement mandates and participate in project idea generation, selection and scoping

- Support the business and support divisions in successfully managing and leading the implementation of strategic initiatives under his/ her scope

- Identify benefits, quantify targeted results, establish measurement criteria and assist in the prioritization of process improvement initiatives

- Manage multiple projects or programs and/ or assume the role of leading a larger projects under his/ her scope

- Direct and control all work performed within the project framework of the DMAIC phases

- Ensure projects under his/ her scope remain on time, on budget and deliver expected results

- Ensure industry best practices and standards within the execution of process improvement assignments

- Evaluate data and trends to identify improvement opportunities and associated issues and risks and perform statistical process analyses

- Provide expert advice, input and guidance to process improvement teams regarding change management, process redesign strategies, performance improvement toolsets (especially those of Six Sigma and Lean), and technical expertise, such as statistical process control and data analysis

- Coach internal process improvement teams to further refine and develop Lean/ Six Sigma tools within QNB Group to improve the quality and service

- Participate in the deployment of other performance improvement methodologies

- Responsible for performance reviews and day today activities of Black Belts

- Continuous Improvement: Set examples by leading improvement initiatives through cross-functional teams ensuring successes. Identify and encourage people to adopt practices better than the industry standard. Continuously encourage and recognise the importance of thinking out-of-the-box within the team. Encourage, solicit and reward innovative ideas even in day-to-day issues

D. Learning & Knowledge:

- Identify related areas for professional self-development. Ensure the provision of relevant guidance, direction and training to subordinates to develop and enhance their skills

- Assess performance of direct reports and provide regular feedback on their development

- Defines further training needs required and is responsible for career development of his subordinates

- Proactively identify areas for professional development of self and undertake development activities.

- Seek out opportunities to remain current with all developments in professional field.

- Hold meetings with staff and assess their performance and your teams overall performance on a regular basis.

- Take decisive action to ensure speedy resolution of unresolved grievances or conflicts within the team members.

- Identify development opportunities and activities for staff and facilitate/coach them to improve their effectives and prepare them to assume greater responsibilities

E. Legal, Regulatory, and Risk Framework Responsibilities:

- Comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and internal compliance requirements including, but not limited to, Group Compliance Policies and Procedures (AML & CTF, Sanctions Policy, Data Protection Policy, Fraud Control Policy, Whistle Blowing Policy, Conflict of Interest and Insider Dealing Policy).

- Understand and effectively perform your role under the Three Lines of Defence principle to identify measure, monitor, manage and report risks.

- Ensure systematic good outcomes for clients in accordance with Conduct Risk policy.

- Support the framework of RCSA, KRI, Incident reporting and remediation, as appropriate, in accordance with the Operational Risk Management requirements.

- Maintain appropriate knowledge to ensure full qualification to undertake the role. - Complete all mandatory training provided by the Bank, attain, and maintain the required levels of competence.

- Attend mandatory (internal and external) seminars as instructed by the Bank.

F. Other:

- Ensure high standards of data protection and confidentiality to safeguard commercially sensitive information.

- Maintaining utmost confidentiality concerning customer and internal bank information obtained during the course of business and provide such information on a need to know basis only to Senior Management of QNB, Audit and Compliance functions, and relevant Regulators.

- Maintain high professional standards to uphold QNB's reputation and to strengthen its market leadership position.

- All other ad hoc duties/activities related to QNB that management might request from time to time.

Education and Experience Requirements

- University Graduate Bachelor with a Major in Marketing, Banking, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration. MBA preferred but not required from leading academic institution with focus on business administration

- Minimum of 12 years’ experience in organization and process reengineering, business consulting and project management or equivalent business/ operations experience within the financial services arena (however: no specialization in one area but rather multiskill and transversal across functions)

- Strong operational and project management experience

- Experience in directing and managing large projects as well as managing change

- Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with minimum of 5 years’ experience and technical mastery

- Demonstrated track record using Lean Six Sigma Methodology principles and practices

- Minimum of two years’ experience as lead instructor to train Black Belts and/ or Green Belts

- Experience in coaching a minimum of five Lean Six Sigma projects from initiation to closure

- Demonstrated career development, progress, and excellent team leadership skills and potential

- Strong knowledge of financial services from an operational and support perspective