Head of Professional Standards & Quality (Wealth Management) - London, Manchester or Tunbridge Wells in Royal Tunbridge Wells

Job Introduction

Handelsbanken is a relationship bank built on trust, long-term thinking and local decision-making.

We provide bespoke banking and wealth management services to personal and corporate customers,

Job Introduction

Handelsbanken is a relationship bank built on trust, long-term thinking and local decision-making.

We provide bespoke banking and wealth management services to personal and corporate customers,

Our decentralised model means decisions are made close to the customer, in our branches.

Our central Functions teams play a vital role in supporting the branch network, providing the expertise, governance and infrastructure that enable branches to serve customers effectively and sustainably.

This approach had underpinned our success for decades.

Handelsbanken is independently recognised as one of Europe’s safest commercial banks, holds the strongest credit rating among its peers and is consistently ranked highly for customer satisfaction and relationship banking.

Our culture is values-led, shaped by trust, respect, and long-term thinking.

We empower our people to use their expertise, make confident decisions and build long-term careers.

We look for people who share our long- term vision, want to grow and want to make a meaningful impact in their local community and with the Bank

We also recognise that flexibility can support people to perform at their best, and that it looks different for everyone.

While arrangements will depend on the requirements of the role and the needs of the business, we are open to having a conversation around what flexibility could look like for you.

The opportunity

Reporting to the Head of Wealth and forming part of the Wealth Management Leadership team, the Head of Professional Standards & Quality leads the development, implementation and oversight of professional standards, accreditation, quality assurance, business governance and MI across the Wealth business, so that our advice is consistently high-quality, compliant and delivered in the client’s best interest.

This is a senior, strategic leadership role, accountable for the quality of advice and the professional standards that sit behind it across the business.

It sets direction, shapes standards and holds the functions within its remit to account.

The role leads the Standards & Quality function and owns the Training & Competency (T&C) scheme as it applies to advice, covering both Area Managers and Client Directors.

A central function that underpins the advice process sits within its oversight remit.

The Wealth Assurance Team provides independent file review and quality assurance of advice, evidencing good client outcomes under Consumer Duty evidenced through provision of relevant MI.

Its focus is the quality of advice, the professional standards behind it, and the effective oversight of these functions.

This role can be based in either London, Tunbridge Wells or Manchester offices with the requirement for the successful candidate to travel to the other offices on occasion.

• Leadership & strategic oversight
• Provide strategic leadership on professional standards, accreditation and the quality of advice as a member of the Wealth Leadership Team, setting the direction and standards for the advice process.
• Lead and develop a high-performing Standards & Quality function, setting clear objectives and standards and holding the functions within its remit to account for delivery.
• Draw on management information and outcomes data to assure the quality of advice, evidence good client outcomes and drive continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic advice to the Wealth Leadership Team and key stakeholders and contribute to organisational strategy and long-term growth objectives.
• Professional standards, accreditation & quality of advice
• Lead the development and maintenance of professional competency frameworks, standards and codes of conduct.
• Oversee accreditation, assessment and quality assurance processes to ensure consistency, integrity and confidence.
• Develop policies and procedures supporting professional registration and recognition.
• Provide strategic leadership on professionalisation, accreditation and qualification recognition.
• Oversee change and improvement measures for the quality of advice, improving the end-to-end client experience from onboarding throughout the client journey.
• Training & Competency
• Own and oversee the T&C scheme covering Area Managers & Client Directors, ensuring it is effectively designed, distributed and embedded across the advice population and aligned to UK regulatory requirements.
• Ensure skills and professional capabilities are implemented across Wealth distribution, providing a professional T&C scheme that delivers a highly skilled, risk-aware frontline and a superior client experience.
• Embed a culture of knowledge and skills development through coaching, mentorship, technical expertise and structured supervision, delivered through managers and the teams within remit.
• Support the development of career pathways from the UK Bank into Wealth, ensuring compliance with minimum training and competence standards for client advice, financial planning and other regulated activities.
• Wealth Assurance Team
• Provide oversight of the Wealth Assurance team and its file-review and quality-assurance programme, ensuring it evidences good client outcomes and feeds continuous improvement back into standards and T&C.
• Surface competency, regulatory or work-practice concerns arising from assurance activity to the Head of Wealth and agree and support appropriate action plans.
• Governance, regulatory & stakeholder
• Ensure effective governance, compliance and enforcement of professional standards, with sound record keeping and clear management information.
• Lead and embed a culture of integrity and compliance, building a client-first culture and acting in the client’s best interest, with oversight of regular training on regulatory change and good practice.
• Lead on implementing regulatory change relating to advice standards, ensuring processes and procedures remain aligned to the latest requirements.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with regulators, professional bodies and stakeholders across the Handelsbanken Group, working with Compliance and Risk to secure positive, compliant outcomes.
• What we’re looking for

Research (by Harvard University) shows that women are particularly likely to second guess themselves and not apply - so if you are worried you don't meet all the criteria, get in touch anyhow and let us do the worrying…

• Level 6 qualified: Chartered Diploma in Financial Planning / Regulated Financial Planning or equivalent.
• Significant experience within wealth management financial services.
• Experience developing competency frameworks, professional pathways and governance frameworks.
• Strong understanding of Training & Competency scheme implementation across advice and paraplanning populations.
• A senior leader who sets direction and assures delivery across teams, operating at a strategic, oversight level.
• Experience engaging with senior stakeholders, regulators, boards and committees.
• Excellent leadership, communication and influencing skills, with strong strategic thinking and policy-development capability, and the ability to balance operational delivery with long-term organisational objectives.
• Why join Handelsbanken

We want everyone at Handelsbanken to feel supported, motivated, and able to do great work.

That’s why, alongside brilliant colleagues, meaningful work and training and development opportunities, we provide a variety of benefits designed with your wellbeing in mind.

In addition, there is a flexible benefits package with the key highlights detailed below.

The Bank is deeply committed to embedding good equality and diversity practice into all of our activities.

This is so that we are an inclusive, welcoming and inspiring place to work that encourages everyone to apply, regardless of socio-economic background, age, disability, pregnancy and/or parental status, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), veteran status, marital and civil partnership status, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment or sexual orientation.

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