Global Head of Settlements

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Global Head of SettlementsApply locations London, United Kingdom time type Full time posted on Posted 4 Days Ago job requisition id R142404

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

The Global Head of Settlements will play a critical leadership role ensuring the accurate, timely, and efficient settlement of securities transactions across multiple markets, asset classes, and timezones, whilst maintaining compliance with global regulatory standards and policies.

The role will also be responsible for transforming our current operating model and technology to be a industry leader in product and capability.

Key responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership

• Set Global Strategy: Define and lead the global vision and roadmap for settlements operations, aligned with broader enterprise and client servicing strategies.
• Technology & Innovation: Drive modernization through automation, digitization, use of DLT, and platform upgrades (e.g., straight-through processing, AI-based exception handling).
• Industry Engagement: Establish and maintain relationships with global custodians, clearinghouses, and counterparties. Take leading roles in market forums to (e.g. SWIFT, AFME, SIFMA) to drive Norther Trust influence across the industry and position the firm as a thought leadership in the industry.

Operational Excellence

• Daily Settlement Execution: Oversee global settlement operations covering equities, fixed income, and ultimately an expanded set of asset classes, ensuring timely and fail-free settlements. Harmonize processes across regions and legal entities while accounting for local market practices.
• Drive Efficiency-Driven Operating Model
• Lean Process Design: Champion lean principles—eliminate redundant manual steps, consolidate duplicative regional processes, and pursue global shared services where feasible.
• Location Strategy: Rationalize onshore vs. offshore vs. nearshore operations to align with talent availability, cost, and control requirements.
• Straight-Through Processing (STP): Increase STP rates through enhanced matching tools, enriched data capture at trade entry, and pre-settlement exception resolution.
• Advanced Analytics: Use predictive analytics to reduce fails (e.g., counterparty behavior, market events) and to target root causes of inefficiency.
• Custody Integration: Drive seamless coordination with global custody, asset servicing, securities lending, and collateral functions, creating centers of excellence for settlement for all asset classes by unifying platforms and systems where supported by strong business cases.
• Market Connectivity: Maintain operational relationships with sub-custodians, CSDs, ICSDs, CCPs, and clearing brokers.

Risk Management & Controls

• Operational Risk & Resilience: Ensure robust control frameworks, exception management protocols, and business continuity/disaster recovery plans.
• Regulatory Compliance: Oversee adherence to settlement regulations across jurisdictions (e.g., CSDR, SEC Rule 15c6-2, CASS, T+1 mandates).
• Fail Management & Penalty Avoidance: Drive root cause analysis for settlement fails and ensure penalty reduction (especially under CSDR regimes).
• Oversee compliance to Application Business Ownership and Vendor Management policies that the settlements team own
• Assume role of Certified Personal in London

Client & Stakeholder Management

• Client Delivery & SLAs: Ensure client settlements meet or exceed SLA expectations; provide transparency into fail rates, processing times, and issue resolution.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Collaborate with product, tech, legal, compliance, middle office, and client service teams globally.
• Issue Escalation & Crisis Management: Lead responses to major settlement incidents or systemic market issues.
• Client-Centric Efficiencies: Work with business partners toward process improvements that also improve client outcomes—such as reduced penalties, fewer inquiries, faster settlement confirmations.
• Efficiency KPIs with Risk Overlay: Track and manage cost-per-trade, STP%, fail rates, exception volumes alongside risk indicators like near misses, control breaches, or audit findings.

Talent

• Build a high-performing global: Lead diverse regional teams; ensure talent development, career mobility, training, and succession planning.
• Culture of Excellence: Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and service excellence. Foster a risk-aware empowered culture
• Manage through change: Adopt methods and practices to prevent change fatigue and ensure teams are part of the change and are able to contribute to the change environment.
• Workforce planning: oversee capacity forecasting to intelligently staff across time zones and peak periods. Adjust Hybrid and Shift models to balance the market move to 24×7 coverage, work-life needs and risk controls.
• Recognize wins and retain top talent.

The ideal candidate should have a fair amount of the following skills and qualities:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field (MBA preferred).
• Prior experience in transaction processing operations within a global financial institution or similar organization.
• Proven leadership experience managing large, multi-regional teams and complex operational processes.
• Strong understanding of global financial markets, instruments, and settlement mechanisms.
• Deep knowledge of trade lifecycle management, settlement systems, and platforms (e.g., SWIFT, DTCC, Euroclear, Clearstream).
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Familiarity with regulatory, risk and resiliency frameworks and reporting requirements across major jurisdictions.

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com .

We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.

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A global financial leader with more than 22,000 employees in 23 locations worldwide, Northern Trust empowers our employees to achieve more than just business goals. Our focus on work-life balance, career mobility and unique opportunities are just a few of the reasons we’ve been named one of the world’s most admired companies.

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center or call 1-800-807-0302 (North America), +630-276-5353 (Asia Pacific), 1800-425-0333 (India), +44(0)207 982 4357 (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statements

APAC/INDIA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy and practice of Northern Trust to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Northern Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion or belief, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. All employment decisions will be made in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with our obligations under the law and codes of practice. This includes human resources’ decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

Northern Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Hiring and other employment decisions at Northern Trust are made without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, ethnic origin, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, sexual orientation, record of offences, marital status, family status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, or local law, regulation, or ordinance.

EMEA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy and practice of Northern Trust to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Northern Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion or belief, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. All employment decisions will be made in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with our obligations under the law and codes of practice. This includes human resources’ decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

USA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy of The Northern Trust Company to afford equal opportunity in all phases of employment without regard to an individual's age, race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic tests and information, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status or any other legally protected status.

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