HOW LEADERS IT BUILT RISK AND COMPIANCE CAPABILITY
MAJOR AUSTRALIAN BANK
Leaders IT partnered with a major Australian Bank to fill 25 critical risk, compliance and audit roles in eight weeks, mobilising three specialist hiring streams across the bank’s three lines of defence and leveraging deep specialisation and a 100,000+ candidate database.
25
ROLES FILLED
8
WEEK TIMEFRAME
1,500
CANDIDATES CONTACTED
700
PHONE SCREENS
BACKGROUND
A major Australian Bank was recruiting a significant number of risk professionals as part of its ongoing risk transformation and regulatory remediation program. Following concerns raised by APRA regarding weaknesses in risk management, governance and compliance frameworks, the bank was investing in strengthening its risk capability across operational risk, compliance, model risk and risk governance functions.
This recruitment drive reflected the Bank's commitment to improving risk maturity, strengthening regulatory compliance and building a more robust control environment across all three lines of defence.
The Bank faced a series of talent acquisition challenges in filling these roles. The market for experienced risk, compliance and governance professionals is highly competitive, with major banks and financial institutions across Australian drawing from the same limited talent pool.
Specialist skills, including operational risk, model risk validation, APRA compliance and risk governance, are scarce, making it difficult to source suitable candidates with the niche skills required.
SOLUTION
Leaders IT drew on a database of 100,000+ professionals and a specialist Risk & Compliance recruitment hub, contacting 1,500 candidates and conducting 700 phone screens to build a robust shortlist. Combined with an extensive industry network and a proactive talent mapping approach, this enabled us to efficiently source, engage and secure high-calibre candidates across three specialist hiring streams, one per line of defence.
01: 1st Line of Defence: Operational Risk
The business and operational teams that own and manage risk day-to-day, embedded directly in frontline processes.
- Operational Risk roles filled
02: 2nd Line of Defence: Risk & Compliance
The oversight function that sets risk and compliance frameworks, monitors obligations and challenges the 1st line.
- Obligations Management & Reg & Compliance role
03: 3rd Line of Defence: Internal Audit
The independent assurance function that tests and reports on the effectiveness of risk management and controls across the business.
- Head of Internal Audit and Senior Assurance roles
Working closely with each Bank hiring manager, Leaders IT ran three specialist search streams rather than a single generic risk campaign, reflecting the distinct skill sets, seniority and regulatory focus of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd line functions.
WHY IT WORKED
- A single recruitment partner managing three specialist hiring streams across three lines of defence
- Specialist risk & compliance talent pool reduced time to source scarce, in-demand skill sets
- Proactive talent mapping surfaced experienced candidates not reachable through job ads alone
- Central coordination reduced hiring manager burden while preserving each line's own hiring relationship
- Directly supported the Bank's regulatory remediation commitments to APRA
OUTCOME
Leaders IT successfully placed 25 risk, compliance and audit professionals across a major Australian Bank's three lines of defence (Operational Risk, Risk & Compliance Obligations Management, and Internal Audit) in 8 weeks, supporting the bank's response to APRA's findings and its broader risk transformation programme.
WHAT WE DELIVERED:
WHO WE ARE:
Leaders IT, is a practice-led IT and digital consultancy committed to delivering program, project and change management services to clients.
Our consultants specialise in agile and other project delivery and governance methods, using best practices to manage and deliver a program or project. With a strong commitment to driving improvement, we focus on design, and putting in place governance processes for large digital transformation and ICT programs; finding drivers and barriers for organisational change, design and delivery of change programs. This includes assessing business readiness, design and putting in place target operating models, where our team delivers exceptional results.
