Head of Smart Middle Office- VP

Employer:              DWS Group Title:                        Head of Smart Middle Office- VP Location:                Madrid Job Code:              placeholder for LinkedIn job wrapping About DWS: Today, markets face a whole new set of pressures – but also a whole lot of opportunity too. Opportunity to innovate differently. Opportunity to invest responsibly. And opportunity to make change. Join us at DWS, and you can be part of an industry-leading firm with a global presence. You can lead ambitious opportunities and shape the future of investing. You can support our clients, local communities, and the environment. We’re looking for creative thinkers and innovators to join us as the world continues to transform. As whole markets change, one thing remains clear; our people always work together to capture the opportunities of tomorrow. As investors on behalf of our clients, it is our role to find investment solutions. Ensuring the best possible foundation for our clients’ financial future. And in return, we’ll give you the support and platform to develop new skills, make an impact and work alongside some of the industry’s greatest thought leaders. This is your chance to achieve your goals and lead an extraordinary career. This is your chance to invest in your future. Read more about DWS and who we are here. Team / division overview The COO Division is a key enabler for DWS and is integral to the future success of the company by delivering world-class services across a set of key functions. It covers essential Technology and Operations capabilities to deliver a platform which is efficient, scalable, resilient and agile. The Smart Middle Office team is positioned at the intersection of Front Office, Operations, Risk, Technology and other key functions. The team focuses on improving, managing and future-proofing Operations processes through data, technology, controls and operational excellence, ensuring efficient, scalable and high-quality support across the investment and operational value chain. The role requires a forward-looking Smart Middle Office leader who can own and evolve the middle-office operating model, drive process simplification and digitalisation, strengthen controls, and embed data-driven ways of working. The successful candidate will combine strong operational expertise with a practical understanding of automation, AI-enabled process optimisation, workflow management and stakeholder partnership across both Run-the-Bank and Change-the-Bank activities. Your responsibilities – As our Head of Smart Middle Office- VP you will: Lead the Smart Middle Office team and act as the senior owner of the middle-office operating model across relevant Operations processes. Provide strong people leadership aligned to DWS values, conduct standards and regulatory expectations, building a high-performing, collaborative and future-ready team. Own, manage and continuously enhance middle-office processes, ensuring efficient support between Front Office, Operations, Risk, Technology and other functions. Drive operational excellence by identifying process inefficiencies, control gaps, manual workarounds and scalability constraints, and by delivering sustainable improvements. Lead digitalisation and automation initiatives across middle-office workflows, including intelligent workflow management, data-driven prioritisation, AI-enabled reconciliation and exception handling. Strengthen the operational control environment by ensuring clear ownership, robust process documentation, effective risk identification, KPI/KRI monitoring, control execution and audit readiness. Act as a senior escalation point for complex middle-office issues, leading root-cause analysis and driving timely, sustainable remediation in partnership with internal teams, Technology and external service providers where relevant. Partner closely with Front Office, Operations, Risk,