Retail Strategy and Transformation Director

Purpose of the role

To manage change projects that help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives, while ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, in control and in compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies and procedures. 

Accountabilities

• Management of change projects within the organisation, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within scope, budget, and to the required quality standards.
• Development and management of project plans that outline the scope, objectives, timelines, and resource requirements for change projects.
• Communication with stakeholders, including senior management, project teams, and external partners, to ensure that they are informed about project progress and that their needs and expectations are being met.
• Management of project teams, ensuring that they are properly resourced and that they have the necessary skills and expertise to deliver on project objectives.
• Management of project budgets, ensuring that projects are delivered within the agreed budget.
• Creation of reports on project progress to ensure that proposed solutions are delivered on time and within budget.
• Management of project risks, ensuring that risk, assumptions, issues and dependencies are identified, assessed, and mitigated as necessary.
• Facilitation of change management activities, including training and communication, to ensure that change projects are successfully implemented and embedded in the organisation.

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.

Key Accountabilities 

Lead the design and execution of initiatives that improve Retail Banking performance, productivity and long-term efficiency. Bringing the outside in and future of banking in the digital and AI world. 

Accountable for operating model design, workforce strategy including skills and locations, organisational change and transformation delivery and cost optimisation, ensuring the business has a clear route to sustainable growth, improved customer outcomes and stronger financial performance.

The role acts as the bridge between strategy and execution, translating business priorities into practical operating model, organisational and process changes that deliver measurable commercial, customer and efficiency benefits.

Operating Model Design

• Define and implement Retail Banking wide target operating models across customer-facing, operational and head office functions.
• Design future-state processes, governance, accountabilities and operating rhythms.
• Improve efficiency, control and service outcomes through structural and process redesign.
• Ensure operating model decisions are grounded in customer, colleague, risk and commercial considerations.

Workforce Strategy & Organisational Design

• Design future workforce models aligned to business strategy and financial objectives.
• Lead organisational redesign, workforce change programmes and location strategy initiatives.
• Partner with HR, Learning and business leaders to identify the skills needed for the future Retail Banking strategy and monitor capability maturity and workforce readiness to support long-term business performance.
• Define capability roadmaps and workforce transition plans, including data, AI, digital and transformation capabilities, and lead upskilling and talent development programmes to build a future-ready workforce.
• Assess capability requirements, organisational spans and layers, sourcing models and offshoring opportunities.

• Create implementation plans that balance commercial outcomes, colleague experience and operational resilience.

Transformation Delivery

• Lead complex cross-functional transformation programmes from design through implementation.
• Establish governance, prioritisation and execution frameworks to support delivery at pace.
• Manage interdependencies across business, operations, technology and control functions.
• Ensure benefits realisation, adoption and long-term sustainability of delivered change.

Efficiency, Productivity & Cost Optimisation

• Develop and lead Retail Banking’s efficiency and productivity agenda.
• Identify, prioritise and execute opportunities to improve productivity, simplify operations and reduce cost.
• Establish benefits frameworks, performance tracking and governance to ensure savings are delivered and sustained.
• Drive adoption of automation, AI and process simplification opportunities.
• Partner with Business Management, Finance, HR and business leaders to shape medium and long-term cost strategies.

• Support leadership teams through significant organisational transformation activity.

Success Criteria

• Success in this role would be evidenced by a step change in Retail Banking productivity, efficiency and organisational effectiveness, delivery of a future-fit workforce and operating model; and successful execution of transformation programmes that deliver sustainable commercial, customer and cost benefits.
• The role should be recognised as the key bridge between strategy and execution across Retail Banking.