Executive Director Program Manager Lead - Payments, Group Wholesale Banking & Markets T&O

Company: 1011 United Overseas Bank Ltd

About UOB

United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) is a leading bank in Asia with a global network of more than 500 branches and offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. In Asia, we operate through our head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as branches and offices. Our history spans more than 80 years. Over this time, we have been guided by our values – Honorable, Enterprising, United and Committed. This means we always strive to do what is right, build for the future, work as one team and pursue long-term success. It is how we work, consistently, be it towards the company, our colleagues or our customers.

Job Description

As a seasoned leader in payments transformation, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our transaction banking landscape by driving strategic initiatives across the payment’s ecosystem.  This role would suit a visionary subject matter specialist and leader with deep domain expertise in wholesale and cross-border payments. You will lead cross-functional teams to deliver innovative, scalable solutions that respond to evolving customer expectations, regulatory landscapes, and emerging technologies. This role offers the opportunity to influence enterprise-wide change, optimize operational efficiency, and position the organization at the forefront of digital payments innovation.

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the trusted advisor and single point of contact for senior stakeholders and key influencers within the designated business segment, ensuring alignment of the project portfolio with strategic business objectives.
• Foster strong partnerships across business leadership, support functions, technology, and operations to drive impactful and sustainable change.
• Lead prioritization of business initiatives and oversee the strategic management of the project pipeline to optimize delivery and value realization.
• Collaborate closely with Business CIOs and FBA to shape and refine solution design and operating models that support business transformation.

End-to-End Change Leadership

• Drive the full lifecycle delivery of complex, cross-functional payment programmes.
• Lead the development of investment and business cases in partnership with technology teams, ensuring robust financial and strategic justification.
• Establish and maintain a forward-looking resource plan aligned to the project pipeline, ensuring optimal allocation of capabilities.
• Anticipate business challenges and define success criteria for initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and budgetary constraints.
• Conduct comprehensive scoping and evaluation of new initiatives, factoring in scalability, maintainability, cost efficiency, operational impact, and technology risk.
• Ensure business readiness by articulating how new operational and technical capabilities will be embedded and leveraged across the organization.
• Lead implementation group planning initiatives, encompassing business process redesign, technology enablement, and change adoption.
• Proactively identify risks and issues, assess impact, and implement mitigation strategies to safeguard delivery outcomes.

Governance & Portfolio Oversight

• Establish and maintain governance frameworks for supported projects and programs, including PSC meetings and tracking of key actions and decisions.
• Implement portfolio-wide governance standards to ensure consistent tracking, monitoring, and reporting of program deliverables.
• Provide transparent reporting of risks and issues, enabling PSCs to make informed decisions and resolve emerging challenges effectively.

Sustainable Delivery & Continuous Improvement

• Champion delivery excellence by enhancing quality and timeliness of outcomes aligned to business priorities and return on investment.
• Optimize investment efficiency across the portfolio through effective management of interdependencies and resource utilization.
• Drive operational efficiency by embedding automation and digital enablement into change initiatives.
• Establish a sustainable framework for benefits realization, ensuring projects are delivered within contingency and commercialized effectively.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor/master’s degree in engineering, business, finance, or a related field.
• 18 + years of banking experience, including extensive expertise in payments (wholesale/commercial & cross-border) and leading large-scale transformational programmes.
• Deep understanding of the full project lifecycle, technology development models, and cross-functional operational processes. Proven ability to scope and evaluate initiatives with considerations for scalability, maintainability, cost, operations, and technology risk.
• Strong quantitative and analytical capabilities, with a track record of translating complex data and insights into actionable strategies that meet business objectives.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to manage divergent agendas, navigate ambiguity, and influence across all levels of the organization to drive win-win outcomes.
• Strategic thinker with a passion for driving sustainable change. Demonstrated ability to mobilize networks, build bench strength, and lead teams through transformation while aligning with the broader business strategy and vision.
• Demonstrated success in working across diverse cultures and geographies, with the ability to operate effectively in both local and global settings.
• Visionary and thought leader with a strong grasp of future payment trends and market evolution.

Additional Requirements

Be a Part of the UOB Family

UOB is an equal opportunity employer. UOB does not discriminate on the basis of a candidate's age, race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or other non-merit factors. All employment decisions at UOB are based on business needs, job requirements and qualifications. If you require any assistance or accommodations to be made for the recruitment process, please inform us when you submit your online application.

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