Analyst/AVP/VP - Investigator & Whistleblower - BFSI

The purpose of Compliance is to strengthen the culture by providing oversight of the management of Conduct and Reputation Risk. Compliance participates in the prevention, detection and management of breaches of applicable laws, rules, regulations and procedures and has a key role in helping achieve the right conduct outcomes and evolve a conduct focused culture.

About WI : The WI Team is a global team which sits within the Compliance function. The purpose of the team is to ensure that colleagues are able to raise whistleblowing concerns and that these are appropriately recorded and investigated. The key responsibilities of the WI team are to (1) define and deliver a global Whistleblowing programme, in line with regulation, which supports employees who report concerns, protects them from retaliation and ensures that action is taken to address any identified risks or issues; and (2) conduct investigations into confidential concerns, including but not limited to whistleblowing concerns.

Overall Purpose of Role : Investigator is responsible for conducting confidential investigations, primarily relating to the entity, including but not limited to whistleblowing concerns. The Investigator will also be responsible for supporting the Head of APAC Investigations with the management of the APAC WI Portfolio. This includes proactively identifying, assessing and escalating potential risks, themes and trends both within the APAC portfolio and more broadly across the portfolios. As a member of the WI team, the Investigator will also be responsible for participating in the continuous improvement of WI processes and the delivery of key priorities and deliverables.

Key Accountabilities:

The primary duties of the Investigator are to:

- Own and be accountable for the end to end delivery of investigations into whistleblowing matters and ad-hoc matters allocated to them. These will primarily be entity concerns raised in APAC; however, the Investigator may also be required to support on concerns regarding other entities and regions.

- Conduct between 6 to 8 investigations at any given time, largely in line with internal milestones.

- Proactively identifying where support is required and work with the WI Centre of Excellence to request and obtain Investigations Support as needed.

- Be accountable for the completion of all necessary investigative steps to ensure the prompt and effective identification of key facts and evidence. Such steps including but not limited to identifying data for review, reviewing large volumes of complex data, planning and conducting interviews and assessing multiple pieces of evidence to come to an impartial outcome.

- Draft high quality investigation reports as a standalone record of the investigation, including clear and concise analysis of the facts and conclusions which are supported by the facts.

- Ensure that all investigative steps, including those delegated to other colleagues, are delivered in line with bank-wide and WI governance, processes, controls and requirements.

- Provide regular briefings to WI Management on the progress of investigations including any potential delays or issues; and any potential findings or risks identified during the course of an investigation. The Investigator will also be expected to support the Head of APAC Investigations and WI Management with the production of high quality talking points suitable for senior stakeholders.

- Participate in the management of risks across APAC, and the Group, including ensuring that recommendations are appropriately defined, tracked and implemented; and working with the business to ensure that any potential risks have been appropriately considered across all processes.

- Leverage data and insights from investigations to identify and assess potential themes and trends and work with stakeholders to ensure these are appropriately escalated and addressed by the business.

- Participate in the continuous improvement of the WI team, including identifying potential control enhancements and leading and/or supporting WI Management with the delivery of WI priorities and commitments.

Stakeholder Management and Leadership:

- The Investigator will regularly be required to engage with internal stakeholders of varying seniority, this includes but is not limited to APAC Business Oversight Compliance and the Business representatives in the APAC region. The Investigator will also work closely alongside other members of the WI Team including the Head of Investigations, Investigators, Investigations Support and the Whistleblowing Team. On occasion, the Investigator may also engage with senior internal and external stakeholders including members of the Compliance Management Team, the Whistleblowers Champions and regulators.

- The role holder should be able to engage in sensitive and complex matters with empathy and impartiality. The investigator will be expected to relay messages clearly and concisely, with awareness of the remit of the stakeholder. The role is expected to work collaboratively with colleagues to obtain relevant information and feel comfortable constructively challenging stakeholders of varying seniority, including in a formal interview setting. Additionally, the role holder will be expected to competently provide clear instructions and feedback to colleagues.

- As a member of the WI team, the Investigator will also participate in developing a positive culture within the WI team, with a focus on execution, excellence and continuous improvement.

- Decision-making and Problem Solving

- The Investigator will be required to deliver a number of complex and sensitive matters. They are expected to deal with all matters impartially, with empathy and in line with internal processes and controls. The role holder should be capable of checking and challenging information and data; and drawing a fact based conclusion from a broad range of evidence. They will also be expected to leverage data analysis and MI to inform decisions and identify potential risks and themes within the portfolio. They will be comfortable receiving check, challenge and feedback on their work product and able to explain the bases for their investigative decisions.

Person Specification:

- Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the work conducted by the WI team, the Investigator is expected to act with integrity, have a strong moral compass and display a high appreciation of risk indicators. The role holder will be expected to be a positive culture carrier for the team and to display the Mindset.

- The role holder is expected to be a proactive individual who displays high levels of curiosity and independent thinking and is comfortable constructively challenging stakeholders of varying seniority. The Investigator should be an independent self-starter who has a proven record driving forward a portfolio of work, working in a high pressure environment to progress deliverables simultaneously. They will be expected to have excellent attention to detail and communication skills.

Essential Skills/Basic Qualifications:

- Significant experience conducting sensitive and complex investigations, or a similar activity, in a corporate environment.

- Excellent attention to detail with high levels of curiosity and a proven record of effectively challenging evidence to form an impartial conclusion based on multiple sources of evidence.

- Significant experience independently owning and delivering a portfolio of work at pace, including delegating activities, effectively responding to changes in demand and identifying and escalating potential issues or delays.

- Strong stakeholder management skills, including engaging with empathy and impartially.

- A proven record of effectively, succinctly and clearly communicating with stakeholders, both verbally and in writing and including to respond to challenge on their work product and investigative decisions.

Desirable skills/Preferred Qualifications:

- A strong understanding of the organisation in APAC including the governance structure, strategy and regional product/ services.

- Experience effectively and efficiently reviewing and challenging evidence, including electronic communications data, to form an impartial conclusion; and able to competently explain decisions and outcomes.

- Demonstrable risk excellence mindset, including an understanding of s Risk Framework and proven record of proactively identifying, assessing and escalating potential risks or themes.

- Experience identifying and participating in continuous improvement and control enhancement initiatives.