Job Description

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Job Title: CDD Lab Director - Ops, Product & Journey DigitisationLocation: London (Hybrid)Business Area: Tier 1 Financial Services - Financial Crime / CDD TransformationLevel: Director

A leading Tier 1 financial services organisation is seeking a CDD Lab Director to lead the transformation of Customer Due Diligence (CDD) operations through product-led delivery, journey digitisation, automation, and AI enablement.

This is a true ownership role, not delivery within an existing construct. The successful candidate will define, shape, and lead a cross-functional lab, translating strategy into measurable OKRs and driving these through to execution and value realisation.

A core requirement is the ability to bridge strategy and delivery, combining strong SAFe experience with the pragmatism required to deliver at pace in a complex, regulated environment.

• Define, stand up, and own the CDD transformation lab, including operating model and governance
• Lead a cross-functional ecosystem (product, engineering, operations, data) with full accountability
• Own direction, priorities, and execution rather than delivering into pre-defined programmes
• Build and scale a high-performing, outcome-driven delivery organisation

• Translate strategy into clear, measurable OKRs aligned to business outcomes
• Break down OKRs into roadmaps, epics, and deliverables
• Ensure traceability from strategic intent through to execution and outcomes
• Embed a culture of accountability, measurement, and value tracking

• Apply deep experience of SAFe (ARTs, PI planning, value streams)
• Establish scalable delivery aligned to enterprise agile best practice
• Balance framework discipline with real-world pragmatism
• Maintain focus on outcomes over process

• Lead a product-led operating model alongside Product Managers
• Drive delivery at pace with a focus on measurable impact
• Scale multiple squads while maintaining alignment to objectives
• Foster a growth culture, building capability and leadership

• Digitise end-to-end CDD journeys (onboarding, KYC, periodic review)
• Remove manual touchpoints and increase STP
• Improve customer and operational experience

• Embed AI and automation into workflows (e.g. document processing, risk scoring)
• Partner with tech and data teams to deliver scalable solutions
• Ensure benefits are measurable and tied to OKRs

• Deliver improvements in cycle times, cost, productivity, and quality
• Track value realisation against OKRs and investment
• Standardise processes for scale and efficiency

• Partner with strategy, policy, and risk teams
• Challenge complexity to enable faster execution
• Bridge regulatory requirements with delivery outcomes

• Proven track record of translating strategy into measurable OKRs and delivering outcomes
• Experience owning and leading delivery environments (labs, value streams), not just contributing
• Deep experience with SAFe or scaled agile frameworks
• Strong background in product-led environments working with Product Managers
• Demonstrated ability to scale teams and foster growth
• Experience delivering transformation in regulated environments
• Track record of driving measurable business impact

• Financial Crime, KYC, CDD or onboarding experience
• AI, automation, or workflow transformation exposure
• Experience in complex enterprise change

• Outcome-driven, execution-focused leader
• Strong ability to bridge strategy and delivery
• Product mindset with experience in product-led organisations
• Pragmatic application of SAFe principles
• Proven ability to build and scale high-performing teams
• Strong stakeholder management and constructive challenge
• Data-driven with focus on value realisation

This role suits a hands-on transformation leader who can:

• Own and build a delivery environment
• Translate strategy into clear, measurable outcomes (OKRs)
• Apply SAFe with pragmatism and flexibility
• Drive high-quality delivery at pace
• Build and scale high-performing, growth-oriented teams