Purpose of the Role
To provide independent and balanced advice, counsel and challenge to strategic initiatives through strategic alignment, structured problem‑solving and efficiency planning, with a strong focus on governance, executive reporting and enterprise‑wide strategic delivery.
Accountabilities
* Provide strategic advice to Initiative Leads and senior stakeholders, supporting planning, mobilisation and decision‑making on complex business transformation and efficiency opportunities through clear governance, structured analysis and actionable recommendations.
* Partner with enterprise‑wide strategic initiatives and work across business functions to drive alignment, establish delivery discipline and embed a high‑performance culture. Provide thought leadership, coach less experienced colleagues and apply a consulting‑led approach to solving complex problems.
* Design and lead governance frameworks, decision forums and reporting rhythms that strengthen oversight, accountability and execution across strategic priorities.
* Partner with senior stakeholders across business and functions to shape strategic direction, ensure effective governance and align priorities to enterprise objectives.
* Develop high‑quality executive reporting, briefing materials and board‑ or committee‑ready content that summarises complex analysis into clear insights, risks, decisions and actions.
* Support strategic workstreams from diagnostic through implementation, including issue definition, hypothesis development, analysis, recommendation development and execution tracking.
* Build trusted relationships with executives and key stakeholders to support prioritisation, decision governance and the delivery of high‑impact strategic outcomes.
* Bring external perspective through market insight, peer benchmarking and best practice, with prior strategy or transformation experience in a leading consultancy, preferably a Big Four firm, considered advantageous.
Director Expectations
* Provide expert advice and support to senior functional management, governance forums and executive committees, influencing decisions beyond own function and shaping function‑wide strategic priorities.
* Lead governance across strategic programmes, including resourcing, prioritisation, budgeting, operating cadence and oversight of strategic delivery.
* Ensure governance issues, policy breaches and control concerns are identified, escalated appropriately and addressed through clear ownership and timely remediation.
* Strengthen compliance and governance by ensuring appropriate policies, processes, controls and reporting mechanisms are in place to support adherence and transparency.
* Maintain a strong external perspective across regulatory, market and industry developments, translating emerging themes into implications for senior leadership and governance bodies.
* Demonstrate extensive understanding of how the function integrates with the wider business and Group, ensuring governance, reporting and strategic priorities support overall business objectives.
* Maintain broad and current knowledge of industry practices, strategic planning, governance frameworks and executive reporting standards, combined with strong awareness of external market developments.
* Use interpretative thinking, advanced analytics and a consulting‑style approach to solve complex and sensitive problems, turning ambiguity into practical recommendations for executive audiences.
* Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and provide strategic recommendations, supported by robust governance, concise reporting and clear articulation of risks and trade‑offs.
* Influence and challenge senior stakeholders with credibility, using high‑quality written materials and executive‑level reporting to drive alignment and decision‑making.
* Act as a trusted senior contact for key stakeholders across functions and business divisions, ensuring strategic initiatives are effectively governed, communicated and delivered.
* Represent the function with authority in executive, committee and cross‑functional forums, presenting complex information with clarity, confidence and strong judgement.
Leadership Behaviours and Values
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.
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