Programme Manager – SME Onboarding

Programme Manager – SME Onboarding

Function: Private Banking / Client Onboarding / Transformation

Location: Canary Wharf, London

Contract: Inside IR35

Role Summary

We are looking for a Senior Programme Manager with recent hands-on experience in SME/Business Client Onboarding and a strong background in Private Banking / Wealth Management / Financial Services.

The role will lead end-to-end onboarding transformation programmes, working across Relationship Management, Operations, KYC/AML, Compliance, Risk, Technology and Product teams. The key objective is to make SME onboarding faster, simpler and more scalable while maintaining regulatory and financial-crime controls.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end SME client onboarding programme, from client acceptance through account opening and activation.
• Define programme strategy, roadmap, milestones, governance and delivery plans.
• Manage multiple cross-functional workstreams across Private Banking, Operations, Compliance, KYC/AML, Risk, Technology and Relationship Management.
• Identify onboarding bottlenecks and drive process improvements.
• Manage KYC, CDD/EDD, AML and regulatory onboarding requirements.
• Establish governance, including steering committees, RAID logs, reporting and escalation processes.
• Define and monitor KPIs such as onboarding TAT, backlog, client drop-off and first-time-right rates.
• Lead process redesign, digitisation and automation initiatives.
• Manage programme risks, issues, dependencies, budgets and resources.
• Partner with Technology teams on onboarding platforms, workflow and client-data changes.
• Provide senior management with programme, risk, benefit and delivery reporting.
• Lead stakeholder communication, change management and implementation.

Must-Have Skills

1. Recent hands-on SME / Business Client Onboarding experience – MUST
2. Private Banking / Wealth Management experience – MUST
3. 10–15 years overall experience
4. Strong Programme Management / Transformation experience
5. Strong KYC / AML / CDD / EDD knowledge
6. Banking / Financial Services background
7. Cross-functional stakeholder and senior-management management
8. Process optimisation / operational transformation
9. Risk, issue and dependency management
10. Experience with onboarding digitisation / automation

Main Skill

Programme Manager – SME Client Onboarding / Private Banking Transformation

Ideal Candidate Profile

Look for a Senior Programme Manager / Transformation Lead who has recently managed SME/business-client onboarding within a Private Banking or Wealth Management environment, rather than a generic banking Programme Manager with only indirect exposure to onboarding.