Assistant Vice President - IT (Project Management, Implementation, IT Business Consulting, IT advisory)

About QNBEstablished in 1964 as the country’s first Qatari-owned commercial bank, QNB Group has steadily grown to become the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies extends to more than 31 countries across three continents providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of employees is more than 28,000 serving up to 20 million customers operating through 1,000 locations, with an ATM network of 4,300 machines.

QNB has maintained its position as one of the highest rated regional banks from leading credit rating agencies including Standard & Poor’s (A), Moody’s (Aa3) and Fitch (A+). The Bank has also been the recipient of many awards from leading international specialized financial publications. Based on the Group’s consistent strong financial performance and its expanding international presence, QNB currently ranks as the most valuable bank brand in the Middle East and Africa, according to Brand Finance Magazine. QNB Group has an active community support program and sponsors various social, educational and sporting events.

Job SummaryThe incumbent will be mainly responsible for IT Infrastructure and Security, and have expanded scope coverage to cover other areas such as General Services, Administration, Procurement and Project Management.

The job holder will play a key role to identify and improve business system needs and objectives, re-align and update current operational procedures, taking the lead on problem solving matters from project management perspective, provide necessary support on input/ output requirements to related projects, maintain data scope and successfully deliver services to support the enterprise’s strategy systems and networks installed in the International branch with full compliance with the Group IT, security, operations and BCP policies. Essential Duties & Responsibilities by Dimensions: Shareholder & Financial:

Lead and manage the day-to-day activities within the IT Infrastructure and operations to QNB Hong Kong. Act as a PMO responsible for and not limited to smooth operations of the systems, networks and reporting cycles. Process, Procedure and Policy alignment within bank operation: Observes and promotes cost consciousness and efficiency, and enhance productivity, to minimize costs, avoid wastes, and optimize benefits for the bankDemonstrate clear understanding of the important factors behind the bank's financial & non-financial performance from infrastructure and operations perspective. Management of the bank’s general services, procurement and operations administrationCustomer (Internal & External):

Manage and supervise third party vendors, responsible for maintaining and supporting IT systems and networks and Bank’s infrastructure. Collaborate with architects, analysts and designers in the development and initiation of new software programs and applications at Group Level. Gather statistics and prepare written reports on the status of the programming process for discussion with management and/or team members. Interact regularly with managers and business partners to field queries and questions. Train, manage and provide guidance to users.

Work independently within own unit and will be required to supervise a team and maintain the systems of responsibility in case of international projects. To assist customers in all their queries on Bank’s product and seek solution to their requestsMaintain activities in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal departments/ units to achieve improvements in turn-around time. Build and maintain strong and effective relationship with all other related departments and units to achieve the Group’s goals/objectives.

Provide timely and accurate information to the external and internal Auditors, Compliance, Financial Control and Risk Functions as and when required. Develop yearly budget for I. T. and Operations project management plan. Internal (Processes, Products, Regulatory): Responsible for ensuring service levels and quality metrics are achieved. Accountable for ensuring effective utilization of available resources and a cooperative team atmosphere. Ensure that architectural issues and core competency directions are considered and resolved across all Information Systems Projects, including those involving internal development, package acquisition and outsourcing. Ensure projects are completed within time, cost and quality requirements.

Apply and extend standardized methodology and analysis techniques to problem solving. Research, document, and implement program requirements and specifications. Write business analysis and business requirement specifications for all projects undertaken by the branch. Consistently write, translate, and code software programs and applications according to specifications. Oversee the quality assurance of program logic, data processing, and error resolution. Administer diagnostic analysis of test results and deliver solutions to critical areas. Determine, develop, and maintain user manuals and guidelines. Take an active role in cross-departmental projects when needed. Cultivate and disseminate knowledge of application development and testing best practices.

Establish third party vendor schedule to ensure proper coverage and support for bank’s operations and infrastructureEnsure backup Disaster Recovery (DR) readiness at the country level and head office level and conduct rehearsals. Update DR plan. Responsible at DR site for bringing up applications, connecting all branches, monitoring, running EOD, starting normal replication and activate VPN concentrator. Monitor the SLA level performance and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. Dispatch all incoming messages to all the concerned departments and maintain archives of all messages. Configure all IT hardware following H. O. specifications. Maintain all external storage and media inventory.

Train Back-up on IT related tasks. Produce all requested Equation Extracts. Produce U. A. T. plan, U. A. T. issue documentation, and U. A. T. acceptance documents. Produce test scripts for each and every department in the Branch. Perform, supervise, and validate test scripts during projects. Act as project manager for the branch; produce reports with updated status of the deliverables, issues and completion of tasks. Escalate all issues to H. O. management. Continuous Improvement: Set examples by leading improvement initiatives through cross-functional teams ensuring successes. Identify and encourage people to adopt practices better than the industry standard.

Continuously encourage and recognise the importance of thinking out-of-the-box within the team. Encourage, solicit and reward innovative ideas even in day-to-day issues. Learning & Knowledge: Develop the ability to perform and prioritize various support services. Take decisive action to ensure speedy resolution of unresolved grievances or conflicts within Group Corporate Banking staff in coordination with the incumbent’s direct reports.

Proactively identify areas for professional development of self and undertake development activitiesSeek out opportunities to remain current with all developments in professional fieldHold meetings with staff and assess their performance and the function’s overall performance on a regular basisIdentify development opportunities and activities for staff and facilitate/coach them to improve their effectives and prepare them to assume greater responsibilities. Other: Ensure high standards of data protection and confidentiality to safeguard commercially sensitive information.

Maintaining utmost confidentiality concerning customer and internal bank information obtained during the course of business and provide such information on a need to know basis only to Senior Management of QNB, Audit and Compliance functions, and relevant Regulators. Maintain high professional standards to uphold QNB's reputation and to strengthen its market leadership position. All other ad hoc duties/activities related to QNB that management might request from time to time. Education/Experience Requirements: University graduate majoring in Computer Science, MIS, Engineering, Information Technology or a related field.

Master’s degree preferredMinimum of 15 years’ plus experience in IT Infrastructure and Operations Project Management, preferable in the Corporate banking industry, with banking infrastructure application knowledge,Third party Vendor Management and Procurement Management experienceOperations and Instructure policies alignment and improvementsExcellent oral and written communication skills (including report writing) in English; Cantonese and Mandarin language highly desirableRequired Special Skills: Possess strong banking application implementation experienceExcellent time management skills and ability to work in a deadline-oriented environment. Customer service oriented. Ability to effectively interact at all levels in the bank and outside contacts. Communications and Working Relationships:

Divisional and departmental heads of International Banking, units providing support operations and all other related divisional/ departmental heads. *** We will only consider candidates currently working and based in Hong Kong*** The Job Holder would need to manage internal and external vendors and clients, hence excellent communication in English, Cantonese and Mandarin is required for this position. If you have any referrals, please have them send their CV, by sharing this job linkNO AGENCY SUPPORT IS REQUIRED OR REQUESTED FOR THIS OPENING. THANK YOU