Head Of Customer Protection

What is the opportunity?

This role is pivotal in providing 2LOD independent oversight, challenge, support and guidance to the group on all aspects of conduct risk matters, helping to shape a culture of integrity and accountability and ensuring that regulatory obligations and conduct expectations are effectively managed.

Reporting to the Group Chief Compliance Officer this is a critical senior leadership role within Group Compliance that leads the development and execution of the Group's conduct risk strategy, ensuring that customer outcomes, ethical behaviour, and regulatory expectations are embedded across the group.

In this role, you will:

Setting Rules and Standards:

• Development and maintenance of Group wide Customer Protection Risk Policy. Note all Policies must align with regulatory requirements.

Overseeing Rules and Standards:

• Technical standards: Assess implementation of the Customer Protection Risk Policy by competing cyclical review and approval of 1LOD Technical standards.
• Committees: As required by the Business/Function Oversight Team, attendance at 1LOD Risk Committees/Steering/forums to challenge Customer Protection risk matters as they arise.
• Advisory: Provide advice on an ad hoc basis to 1LOD on queries related to Customer Protection.
• Targeted Reviews: Conduct targeted reviews of the management of Customer Protection Risk.

Challenge of 1LOD:

• Challenge Papers: Production of 2LOD challenge papers for all 1LOD Customer Protection Risk papers presented to Executive Risk Committee and Board Risk Committee.
• Risk Issues/Risk Events: Review and approve action plans and closure requests for Consumer Protection Issues rated P0/P1/P2. Review material Customer Protection Events and review and challenge proposed response.
• Products: Review and challenge Customer Protection risks associated with New and amended Products and Services.
• RMPs: Review and approval of responses to Customer Protection risk mitigation programmes (RMPs).

Monitoring and Reporting Risk Profile

• Design and oversee Key Risk Indicators (KRIs)/Metrics; monitor Customer protection risk profiles, Metrics and industry/regulatory developments.
• Reporting of Customer protection risk Appetite, adequacy of Control Environment and Risk profiles, including outlook for how the risk is managed.

Promoting strong Risk Culture

• Training staff on Customer Protection risk management practices.
• Emphasise the importance of Customer Protection risk event/near miss reporting through reminders/guidance notes etc.

Leading a specialist team to delivery fast paced agenda

• Lead and develop a high-performing conduct risk oversight team, fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Align team capabilities with evolving regulatory expectations and business needs
• Act as a role model for ethical leadership and champion the Group's values and Code of Conduct

If applicable, additional responsibilities specific to this position and not covered above

Customer Protection Policy

• Lead the periodic review and enhancement of the Group Customer Protection Policy to ensure it remains aligned with evolving regulatory expectations, including the Central Bank of Ireland's Consumer Protection Code, SEAR, DORA, and EBA/ESMA guidelines.
• Develop and maintain the Customer Protection Risk Taxonomy and Risk Library, ensuring consistency with the broader Risk Management Framework.
• Support the embedding of Customer Protection considerations into Risk Appetite Statements, ensuring thresholds and metrics reflect customer fairness outcomes.
• Drive consistency in Customer Protection oversight across legal entities and jurisdictions, ensuring local teams adhere to group-wide standards and governance principles.

Regulatory Engagement and Horizon Scanning

• Act as the central liaison for all Customer Protection regulatory interactions, including CBI thematic reviews and Supervisory Risk Assessments.
• Conduct regulatory horizon scanning to identify emerging Customer Protection risks and translate upcoming regulatory changes into actionable impact assessments and implementation plans.
• Prepare briefing notes and regulatory updates for senior management, the Executive Risk Committee, and the Board Risk Committee.

Thematic and Deep-Dive Reviews

• Lead thematic reviews into areas of heightened Customer Protection risk such as product suitability, value for money, vulnerable customers, and complaints handling.
• Identify root causes of systemic issues and make recommendations for control enhancement and process improvement.
• Conduct post-implementation reviews following major product launches or regulatory changes to assess ongoing compliance and customer outcomes.

What will make you stand out?

• Extensive experience and knowledge in conduct oversight within banking or financial services, ideally in a 2LOD role.
• Deep understanding of conduct risk principles, regulatory expectations (e.g. CBI, PRA, FCA) and cultural drivers
• Evident knowledge of the risk, regulatory and legal environment in which the Group operates.
• Deep understanding of regulatory frameworks, and conduct risk.
• Can think strategically with excellent judgment and discernment with breadth of understanding and insight and will possess the ability to focus on the relevant detail.
• Able to combine effective critical thinking with efficient and practical management as well as the ability to promote new ways of working.
• Sound commercial judgement and critical thinking skills with the ability to simplify, analyse, explain complex issues
• Confidence and the ability to build positive relationships with senior business stakeholders where robust constructive challenge is encouraged while maintaining independence and objectivity.
• Pro-active with shown ability to handle diverse and conflicting priorities while delivering at pace in an agile way.
• Experience contributing to senior governance forums and risk committees.
• Strong leadership skills, personal credibility, and the ability to lead, coach and empower the team to perform at the highest standard.

Essential qualifications

Professional Industry recognised Compliance, Risk Management, Legal and /or Internal Audit qualification supported by significant shown experience

More about the team

Group Risk guides the Group in its definition and articulation of risk appetite and provides strong independent oversight and management of the Group's risk profile, as the Group:

• Fulfils its Purpose to enable our customers, colleagues, and communities to
• Pursues its Ambition to be the National Champion Bank in Ireland and selective international diversification
• Progresses its Strategic

Group Risk adopts the philosophy that great customer outcomes and great risk management are intrinsically linked through culture.

The function maintains a robust risk culture, in support of the Group's strategic goals, by ensuring that the appropriate structures, systems, policies and controls are in place to provide effective management of risk. Group Risk strives to support the Group in optimising returns over the longer term through robust and value adding risk management. The function's ambition is to ensure that Group Risk is an enduring source of strategic advantage to the Group.

This is a hybrid role, based primarily at Baggot Plaza, Dublin 4. We typically ask colleagues to spend a minimum of 8 days per month working in-person to support collaboration and connection. Specific arrangements will be confirmed by your recruiter to ensure they meet the needs of the role and team.

Why work with us?

The Bank of Ireland company culture prioritises work-life balance with a commitment to hybrid working, along with 25 days annual leave and excellent pension contributions. Family can mean different things to different people; we offer 6 months paid maternity leave, an innovative fertility and surrogacy policy along with working parent and carer supports.

Your health and wellbeing is important to us; we offer a substantial health insurance contribution, employee assistance program, WebDoctor and financial wellbeing coaches available. We also encourage and support staff to pursue educational and professional qualifications to grow and enhance your career!

Flexible working matching promise

We know how important flexible working arrangements are to our colleagues and we promise to try to match your current flexible working arrangement in this new role (all existing working arrangements considered!)

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