Head of Business Operations and Controls in London

Job Description

About the Role:

Grade Level (for internal use):14 The Team
The Head of Business Operations & Controls reports directly to the Chief Product & Operations Officer and is a senior leadership role accountable for first line risk and operational governance framework across the Product & Operations organization.
The team plays a critical role in protecting market trust and enabling scale, ensuring that strong governance, risk management, and internal controls are embedded into day-to-day operations-while also driving targeted automation and disciplined delivery of strategic and regulatory initiatives. Operating with an enterprise mindset, the function is responsible for S&P DJI's first line of defense partnering closely with Product, Operations, Technology, Risk, Compliance, and Audit to balance innovation and speed within the bounds of S&P DJI robust control framework.
Responsibilities and Impact
Operational Risk, Governance & Controls (First Line of Defense)

• Own and continuously evolve the first line operational risk and control framework across Product & Operations, ensuring alignment with enterprise risk management standards.
• Accountable for the design, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of key controls, including process controls, preventative and detective controls.
• Act as the primary first line partner to Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Internal Audit, supporting audits, regulatory reviews, and issue management (MAPs).
• Responsible for engagement with external auditors involved in assessing S&P DJI's first line of defense, e.g., S&P DJI's engagements for IOSCO assurance reviews, and timely action plans to address observations and findings.
• Ensure governance frameworks enable scalability and innovation while safeguarding regulatory compliance and the integrity of S&P DJI's index production process.
• Advance our technology-forward approach to risk, governance and controls, including autonomous monitoring and surveillance, software-based, repeatable solutions and process automation. Upskill first line team members' application of technology to their work.

Business Operations & Execution Excellence

• Lead cross-functional initiatives to streamline operational processes, reduce friction, and improve end-to-end execution across Product & Operations.
• Establish and track operational KPIs and risk indicators (KRIs) to enable data-driven decision-making and proactive risk management.
• Drive consistency in operational standards, documentation, and ways of working across global teams.
• Own business continuity, risk tabletop and all protocols to prepare and pressure test the business' response to catastrophic events.

Automation & Project Delivery Enablement

• Lead a team tasked with identifying and prioritizing automation opportunities that enhance control effectiveness, promote efficiency, reduce risk, and deliver customer outcomes.
• Oversee structured delivery of operational initiatives using agile project and change management disciplines, ensuring timely execution, transparent documentation and measurable outcomes.
• Partner with Technology to ensure automation solutions are fit-for-purpose, production-ready, and sustainable.

Leadership & Influence

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, providing clear insight on operational risk, control health, execution trade-offs and automation/AI potential.
• Build and lead high-performing teams with strong accountability, continuous improvement mindsets, and enterprise perspective.
• Grow an organization rooted in business partnership, accountability, transparency, and outcome orientation.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, Finance, or a related discipline.
• 8-10+ years of experience in business operations, operational risk, controls, governance, or transformation roles within regulated or complex environments.
• Data information services and technology industry experience, particularly operating under regulatory oversight.
• Demonstrated expertise operating as or alongside a First Line of Defense function, with hands-on ownership of controls, issue management, and audit engagement.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional initiatives that balance risk, cost, upside, efficiency, and speed.
• Strong analytical capability with experience defining and applying KPIs, KRIs, and control metrics to inform decisions and keep stakeholders abreast of progress.
• Executive-level communication and influencing skills, with the ability to challenge and partner effectively with senior stakeholders.
• Practical experience with process improvement and automation approaches (e.g., Lean, Agile, continuous improvement, workflow automation).

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Business, Operations, Risk Management, or a related field.
• Professional certifications such as Lean Six Sigma, PMP, Agile, or risk-related credentials (e.g., ORM, CRISC) are advantageous.
• Experience partnering with Product and Technology teams to embed controls into automated and digital workflows.
• Demonstrated success scaling governance and controls in periods of organizational growth or transformation.

Return to Work

Have you taken time out for caring responsibilities and are now looking to return to work? As part of our Return-to-Work initiative, we are encouraging enthusiastic and talented returners to apply and will actively support your return to the workplace.
About S&P Global Dow Jones Indic e s
At S&P Dow Jones Indices, we provide iconic and innovative index solutions backed by unparalleled expertise across the asset-class spectrum. By bringing transparency to the global capital markets, we empower investors everywhere to make decisions with conviction. We're the largest global resource for index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500 ® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ® . More assets are invested in products based upon our indices than any other index provider in the world. With over USD 7.4 trillion in passively managed assets linked to our indices and over USD 11.3 trillion benchmarked to our indices, our solutions are widely considered indispensable in tracking market performance, evaluating portfolios and developing investment strategies.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help many of the world's leading organizations navigate the economic landscape so they can plan for tomorrow, today. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/spdji .
What's In It For You?
Our Mission:
Advancing Essential Intelligence.
Our People:
We're more than 35,000 strong worldwide-so we're able to understand nuances while having a broad perspective. Our team is driven by curiosity and a shared belief that Essential Intelligence can help build a more prosperous future for us all.From finding new ways to measure sustainability to analyzing energy transition across the supply chain to building workflow solutions that make it easy to tap into insight and apply it. We are changing the way people see things and empowering them to make an impact on the world we live in. We're committed to a more equitable future and to helping our customers find new, sustainable ways of doing business. Join us and help create the critical insights that truly make a difference.
Our Values:
Integrity, Discovery, Partnership
Throughout our history, the world's leading organizations have relied on us for the Essential Intelligence they need to make confident decisions about the road ahead. We start with a foundation of integrity in all we do, bring a spirit of discovery to our work, and collaborate in close partnership with each other and our customers to achieve shared goals.
Benefits:
We take care of you, so you can take care of business. We care about our people. That's why we provide everything you-and your career-need to thrive at S&P Global.
Our benefits include:

• Health & Wellness: Health care coverage designed for the mind and body.
• Flexible Downtime: Generous time off helps keep you energized for your time on.
• Continuous Learning: Access a wealth of resources to grow your career and learn valuable new skills.
• Invest in Your Future: Secure your financial future through competitive pay, retirement planning, a continuing education program with a company-matched student loan contribution, and financial wellness programs.
• Family Friendly Perks: It's not just about you. S&P Global has perks for your partners and little ones, too, with some best-in class benefits for families.
• Beyond the Basics: From retail discounts to referral incentive awards-small perks can make a big difference.

For more information on benefits by country visit: https://spgbenefits.com/benefit-summaries

Global Hiring and Opportunity at S&P Global:
At S&P Global, we are committed to fostering a connected and engaged workplace where all individuals have access to opportunities based on their skills, experience, and contributions. Our hiring practices emphasize fairness, transparency, and merit, ensuring that we attract and retain top talent. By valuing different perspectives and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration, we drive innovation and power global markets.
Recruitment Fraud Alert:
If you receive an email from a spglobalind.com domain or any other regionally based domains, it is a scam and should be reported to reportfraud@spglobal.com . S&P Global never requires any candidate to pay money for job applications, interviews, offer letters, pre-employment training or for equipment/delivery of equipment. Stay informed and protect yourself from recruitment fraud by reviewing our guidelines, fraudulent domains, and how to report suspicious activity here . ———————————————————–
Equal Opportunity Employer
S&P Global is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law. Only electronic job submissions will be considered for employment.
If you need an accommodation during the application process due to a disability, please send an email to:" EEO.Compliance@spglobal.com "and your request will be forwarded to the appropriate person."
US Candidates Only: The EEO is the Law Poster http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf " describes discrimination protections under federal law. Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision – https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/pdf/pay-transp_%20English_formattedESQA508c.pdf ———————————————————–
102 – Senior Management (EEO Job Group) (inactive), 10 – Officials or Managers (EEO-2 Job Categories-United States of America), OPRTON102 – Senior Management (EEO Job Group)