Head of Customer Lifecycle

Job Introduction

Main Responsibilities 

• Define and lead the Bank’s customer lifecycle strategy, aligning lifecycle management and customer experience with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Ownership of the Bank’s end-to-end customer lifecycle journey, with accountability for associated processes and performance metrics, collaborating with stakeholders to continually evaluate and optimise. 
• Shape the customer channel strategy, working with respective channel owners to ensure the in-person, digital, and assisted service channels work seamlessly together.
• Establish clear success metrics, e.g. NPS, retention, adoption, value delivery, etc., and embed them into the Bank’s performance framework.
• Act as the voice of the customer across central functions championing a “customer first” mindset and embedding this into products, processes and systems through effective change management.
• Lead the Bank’s Customer Forum, aligning key stakeholders and activities around customer needs and outcomes across the lifecycle, promoting the continual improvement of customer experience and supporting adherence to Consumer Duty and other key regulatory requirements.
• Working with Customer and Product Governance, provide assurance to ExCo that customer outcomes across the lifecycle meet Consumer Duty obligations and align with Handelsbanken’s values.
• Lead and directly manage the design and execution of the customer onboarding process, ensuring it is efficient, compliant and customer-centric. 
• Shape initiatives to actively grow loyalty, ensuring that customers not only join Handelsbanken seamlessly but also remain highly satisfied and engaged throughout their journey.
• Collaborate across the business to understand and map the needs and expectations of Private (inc. Wealth Management) and Corporate customers, ensuring these insights inform the design and continuous improvement of customer journeys and experiences.
• Detail business priorities for technology and tactical delivery teams, aligned to business strategy, to drive customer satisfaction and growth.
• Use data and analytics to track customer behaviours and outcomes, and take ownership of implementing any identified improvements.
• Work with the Vulnerable Customer team to ensure the needs of the Bank’s customers are captured, considered and met at each stage of the lifecycle.
• Own, maintain, and enhance the customer journey framework, ensuring consistency and transparency across the business, and establishing clear standards and tools for mapping, measuring, and improving customer journeys and outcomes.
• Integrate insight from complaints, vulnerable customer data, and customer feedback into a continuous improvement loop, ensuring learnings are embedded in processes, products, and services.
• Champion customer experience best practice across Handelsbanken with a focus on customer-facing journeys and outcomes, facilitating knowledge sharing, and raising awareness. 
• Provide SME input to product fair value assessments, customer outcomes testing, and other related assurance activities to support the continued delivery of good customer outcomes.
• Monitor and advocate for data quality and completeness across all customer lifecycle touchpoints, escalating issues as required.
• Operates in line with the Bank's Risk Management framework (including sub-frameworks) and relevant risk and compliance policies and procedures, ensuring appropriate and timely escalation of any concerns to their line manager. 

Ideal Candidate

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…

• Customer centric mindset and approach.
• Experience of creating and effectively executing customer lifecycle/experience strategies.
• A strong knowledge of channel strategy and experience of optimising customer touchpoints and interactions.
• A good understanding of Consumer Duty and other customer focussed UK regulations.
• Experience operating in a Financial Services environment (highly desirable, but not essential).
• A proactive, hands-on approach and the ability to operate with high levels of autonomy.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience of working in a transformation environment within regulated or service-based industries such as banking, utilities, or telecommunications.
• Knowledge of generative AI technologies and how they can be used to enhance customer experience journeys (desirable).

Company Information

Handelsbanken is a relationship bank with a decentralised way of working, a strong local presence thanks to a nationwide network of branches, and a long-term approach to customer relations. Each Handelsbanken branch operates as a local business enabling it to make decisions at a local level and provide a bespoke service. The focus is always on the need of the individual customer and not on the sale of specific products. 

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. 

Check our Handelsbanken website for further information

At Handelsbanken, we deeply value our unique culture and values including trust in and respect for each individual. We take pride in nurturing a work environment where people flourish, and where they are empowered to take decisions in their areas of expertise. We take a long term perspective in everything we do and want each employee who joins us to build a long terms successful career with the Bank.  

What is in it for you?

• We have a wide range of learning and development available, empowering and enabling our colleagues to take ownership of their own development. 
• Competitive Salary and an extensive range of benefits is provided, including private medical insurance, income protection and life assurance
• A market-leading pension contribution of 15% paid by the bank, which can be invested in a wide range of funds (including ESG and Shariah funds)

Application next steps

Your journey with us begins once you have submitted your application. One of our Handelsbanken recruiters will be reviewing your details and will later organise a phone conversation if you match the role requirements. If there is a mutual fit, we will extend an invitation for you to participate in an interview.   

How can we support you to be your best self? Our Talent Acquisition team will be happy to provide support e.g. if you need additional time to prepare for an interview or you have any requirements for any part of the interview/hiring process – just let us know by email uk_talent@careers.handelsbanken.co.uk. 

This advert will be live for a minimum of two weeks. However, please note that after the two weeks, the closing date could change at any time depending on the number of responses received.

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