Chief Operating Officer

Chief Corporate Officer

Corporate Services & Governance
Position Overview
The Chief Corporate Officer is a key member of the executive leadership team, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The role provides enterprise-wide leadership across corporate services, governance, and organisational enablement functions to support strategic priorities, operational excellence, and organisational transformation. This position oversees a broad portfolio spanning corporate planning, strategic programmes, human capital, finance, corporate administration, risk and governance, procurement, legal, cyber governance, and data leadership. The successful candidate will play a critical role in driving organisational effectiveness, strengthening governance frameworks, enabling transformation initiatives, and ensuring alignment across corporate functions. The role requires a seasoned enterprise leader who is able to operate at both strategic and operational levels, balancing governance, stakeholder management, risk oversight, and organisational execution within a large and complex environment.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Corporate Governance Partner closely with the CEO and executive leadership team on enterprise strategy, organisational priorities, and transformation initiatives. Provide leadership across corporate services and governance functions to ensure alignment with organisational objectives. Drive organisation-wide governance frameworks, decision-making processes, and policy alignment. Support board-level governance matters, strategic planning discussions, and enterprise reporting. Corporate Planning & Strategic Programmes Oversee corporate planning, strategic alignment, and organisation-wide performance management initiatives. Lead and guide strategic programmes and enterprise-wide initiatives where relevant. Ensure organisational priorities are translated into executable plans across functions. Human Capital Management Provide leadership across talent strategy, workforce planning, leadership development, organisational capability, and culture transformation. Drive initiatives relating to succession planning, employee engagement, and future workforce readiness. Support organisational transformation and change management efforts. Finance & Corporate Administration Oversee financial governance, budgeting, financial planning, and resource allocation across the organisation. Ensure strong financial stewardship, operational efficiency, and accountability frameworks. Lead corporate administration functions to support organisational operations and governance. Risk & Governance (Cyber) Provide oversight across enterprise risk management, governance frameworks, and cyber governance initiatives. Oversee organisational resilience strategies in partnership with relevant stakeholders. Ensure compliance with regulatory, audit, and governance requirements. Procurement Lead procurement governance, strategic sourcing oversight, contract governance, and vendor management frameworks. Ensure procurement practices align with organisational policies, compliance standards, and operational objectives. Legal Oversee legal governance, corporate legal matters, regulatory compliance, and advisory support to the organisation. Support management and board-level decision-making on legal and governance-related matters. Chief Data Officer Function Provide strategic oversight across enterprise data governance, data management, analytics, and data-driven decision-making initiatives. Support organisation-wide digitalisation and data transformation efforts. Ensure strong governance and stewardship of organisational data assets.

Requirements

Minimum 20 years of leadership experience across corporate services, governance, or enterprise functions within large and complex organisations. Proven track record operating at senior executive leadership level (e.g. Chief Corporate Officer / COO / Deputy CEO / ACE / Corporate Services leadership). Broad exposure across multiple corporate functions such as Finance, HR, Legal, Procurement, Governance, Risk, Data, or Corporate Planning. Strong understanding of governance, regulatory, risk, and compliance frameworks. Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with experience engaging senior leadership, boards, regulators, and external stakeholders. Experience operating within highly regulated and complex environments will be advantageous. Exposure to technology, digitalisation, cyber governance, or data governance initiatives will be an added advantage. Preferred Leadership Profile The ideal candidate is a highly credible and well-rounded enterprise leader with: Strong organisational leadership and governance capabilities Ability to operate across both strategic and operational matters High resilience and stakeholder management maturity Strong judgement in balancing governance, transformation, and operational execution Experience leading through complexity, organisational change, and cross-functional integration