Policy Specialist

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Position Title: Policy Specialist

Job Summary:

The Policy Specialist plays a key role in strengthening the Bank's operational excellence by ensuring that its policies, procedures and underlying business processes are clear, efficient, consistent, risk-appropriate and aligned with business objectives and regulatory requirements.

Beyond policy review and documentation, the role is expected to critically evaluate existing practices, identify opportunities for simplification, challenge unnecessary complexity and contribute to continuous improvement across the Bank.

The position requires an analytical and improvement-oriented mindset, with the ability to work collaboratively across business units, challenge established practices constructively and translate complex operational requirements into practical, effective and well-governed policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Policy and Procedure Review and Development

• Review and enhance policies, procedures, workflows, circulars, guidelines and related documentation to ensure clarity, consistency, accuracy and operational practicality.
• Evaluate the underlying business processes rather than limiting reviews to documentation quality and compliance.
• Identify redundant, outdated, overlapping or contradictory policies and recommend opportunities for consolidation, simplification or elimination.
• Ensure alignment with the Bank's strategic objectives, regulatory requirements, risk management standards and internal governance framework.
• Apply consistent standards for policy structure, language, ownership, approvals and lifecycle management.

2. Business Process Simplification and Improvement

• Critically examine existing workflows to identify unnecessary activities, duplicate controls, excessive approvals, manual interventions and operational bottlenecks.
• Work with business units to understand the purpose, risks and expected outcomes of existing processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Recommend practical improvements that reduce complexity, turnaround time, operational effort and customer or employee friction.
• Support the redesign of business processes, including opportunities for standardization, automation and better use of technology.
• Apply process improvement principles to ensure that revised policies support simpler, more effective ways of working.

3. Risk Management and Control Alignment

• Evaluate whether policies and procedures adequately address relevant operational, compliance and regulatory risks.
• Work closely with Risk, Compliance, Audit and other control functions to ensure that controls are effective, proportionate and appropriately embedded in business processes.
• Identify overlapping, redundant or unnecessarily burdensome controls and recommend rationalization without compromising the Bank's risk management objectives.
• Promote a risk-based approach that balances sound governance with operational efficiency and business practicality.

4. Stakeholder Engagement and Policy Governance

• Facilitate effective collaboration among business units, control functions and approving authorities throughout the policy development and review lifecycle.
• Constructively challenge policy proposals, clarify conflicting requirements and help stakeholders reach practical, well-reasoned resolutions.
• Coordinate reviews, consolidate feedback, resolve outstanding issues and facilitate timely approvals.
• Maintain accurate documentation, version control, approval records and audit trails to ensure policy traceability and accessibility.
• Monitor policy review timelines, identify delays and proactively recommend improvements to the review and approval process.

5. Continuous Improvement and Business Excellence

• Contribute to the development of a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging business units to question established practices and adopt more effective ways of working.
• Identify recurring operational issues, policy inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement across business units.
• Support initiatives to standardize common processes and promote reusable solutions across the Bank.
• Participate in cross-functional transformation initiatives aimed at improving productivity, customer experience and operational effectiveness.
• Monitor and communicate improvements in process efficiency, turnaround time, quality and other relevant performance measures.

Qualifications:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Banking and Finance, Industrial Engineering, Management, Economics or a related discipline.
• At least 3 to 10 years of relevant experience in banking operations, policy development, business process improvement, operational risk, business analysis or related functions.
• Good understanding of banking operations, products, processes and applicable BSP regulations.
• Experience in policy and procedure development, process mapping, process improvement or business analysis is preferred.
• Exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, TQM,business process management or other continuous improvement methodologies is an advantage.

Technical and Professional Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and challenge inefficient practices.
• Ability to understand, document and evaluate end-to-end business processes and their associated risks and controls.
• Strong written communication skills, particularly in developing clear, concise and practical policies and procedures.
• Ability to facilitate discussions, reconcile differing stakeholder perspectives and influence outcomes constructively.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to manage multiple assignments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications; familiarity with process mapping, workflow or collaboration tools is an advantage.

Mindset and Behavioral Attributes

• Critical thinking: Willingness to question established practices and evaluate whether existing requirements remain necessary and effective.
• Continuous improvement orientation: Genuine interest in finding simpler, better and more efficient ways of working.
• Intellectual curiosity: Eagerness to understand how the Bank operates beyond the immediate scope of assigned responsibilities.
• Ownership and accountability: Takes responsibility for achieving meaningful outcomes rather than merely completing assigned activities.
• Collaboration and influence: Ability to engage stakeholders respectfully while confidently challenging ideas and assumptions.
• Adaptability and learning agility: Openness to new methods, technologies and evolving business requirements.

Expected Outcomes:

The Policy Specialist is expected to contribute to:

• Improved quality, clarity, consistency and governance of the Bank's policies and procedures.
• Reduction in redundant, outdated and unnecessarily complex policies and processes.
• Faster and more efficient policy review and approval cycles.
• Improved alignment between operational efficiency, customer experience and risk management.
• Measurable improvements in business process effectiveness and productivity.
• Greater adoption of standardized, simplified and continuously improving business practices across the Bank.