Job Description

Purpose of the role

To provide operating and administrative support to senior leaders, simultaneously shaping and executing long-term strategic change, whilst helping to navigate complex challenges in the performance of their roles

Accountabilities

• Implementation of Target Operating Model, business development, and financial and non-financial resource allocation, providing strategic insight and thought leadership.
• Strategic support to and oversight of demand pipeline and the book of work, including assistance in the development and execution of strategic initiatives, projects, research, and analysis to support decision-making.
• Support to and guidance for operational efficiency and colleague/customer/client experience within the organisation, including the identification of areas for improvement, streamlining of processes, and implementation of best practices to enhance productivity, effectiveness and experience.
• Management of of people plan, talent development and succession planning including the identification of high-potential employees, provision of mentorship and guidance, and support to leadership development and diversity initiatives.
• Communication with internal and external stakeholders, management of communication channels and ensuring effective coordination across different departments and teams.
• Participation in compliance activities such as SMR and other regulatory registrations/certifications, as well as support for crisis management and risk mitigation, including the development of contingency plans, coordination of responses to emergencies, and business continuity.
• Management of all organisational/team requirements relating to technology, real estate, people and communications in conjunction with relevant partners across the firm.
• Enablement of oversight of risk management and compliance with internal and external requirements, including internal Governance on critical control activities in partnership with the CCO team, such as Records Inventory and RCSAs.
• Cost control and workforce management of the Business/Function, including involvement in financial analysis and planning, forecasting, and monitoring of financial performance against targets.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.

We have an excellent opportunity for a Director, Business Manager, HR Partnering to join our Barclays UK HR Team. This is a permanent role based in London.

Barclays Bank UK PLC (BUK) is part of Barclays Group. It is the UK ring-fenced bank and one of the UK’s best-known banking brands. BUK supports over 20 million customers through two main areas: Retail Banking for personal customers and Business Banking for business customers. 

This is a high-impact Director Business Manager role within HR Business Partnering team for Barclays UK, supporting the BUK HR Director and leadership team to deliver the people agenda across a full scale, regulated retail banking environment. The role sits at the centre of HR strategy, governance, executive engagement, colleague communications and people reporting, acting as a key link between the HR leadership team, BUK CEO Office, Business Management community, Board governance forums and wider HR Centres of Excellence.

The role is responsible for coordinating a broad portfolio of strategic and operational HR activity, ensuring senior leaders have clear insight, governance and materials to support effective people decisions. This includes preparing CEO and ExCo-ready people updates, coordinating HR content for senior forums and offsites, supporting Board-related people matters, managing HR leadership meeting rhythms, maintaining the People Plan and responding to regular and ad hoc requests from senior stakeholders.

A key part of the role is providing trusted HR business management support across governance, risk and controls, colleague engagement, talent, performance and workforce insight. This includes supporting SMR/SMF18 activity, Ring-Fenced Bank controls, employee conduct updates, service management, people controls, talent forums, and colleague voice activity.

The role also contributes to strategic HR and transformation activity, including HR operating model work, People Leader initiatives, colleague communications, Time in Office, ER data and wider colleague experience priorities. It requires the ability to connect people strategy with practical execution, manage multiple stakeholders at pace, and translate complex people, data and governance topics into clear, actionable and executive-ready outputs.

Key skills required include

• Strong stakeholder management
• Executive communication
• HR business management
• Governance and control discipline
• People data and insight, planning and prioritisation, commercial awareness
• Influencing skills, and the ability to work confidently with senior leaders across HR, the CEO Office, ExCo, Board governance forums and wider business stakeholders.