Director, Innovation Enablement GCIO (Based in Hong Kong or London)

Job description

Director, Innovation Enablement - GCIO (Based in Hong Kong or London)

Brand: HSBC

Area of Interest: Technology

Location:
Central, Hong Kong Island, HK

Work style: Hybrid Worker

Date: 21 Oct 2025

**Some careers have more impact than others.**

If you’re looking for a career where you can make a real impression, join HSBC and discover how valued you’ll be.

Whether you want a career that could take you to the top, or simply take you in an exciting new direction, HSBC offers opportunities, support and rewards that will take you further.

Our GCIO organisation plays a critical role for the bank.

This team partners with the businesses to build the platforms, systems, and products that our customers use every day.

We keep people’s money and data safe, and are at the forefront of driving innovation for our businesses, customers, and colleagues.

As a part of the technology organisation, the HSBC Emerging Technology, Innovation and Ventures team is a dedicated group of technologists, scientists, and venture capitalists focused on emerging trends that will help HSBC deliver world-class, digital-first banking across our global network.

We are currently seeking a high calibre professional to join our team as a **Director, Innovation Enablement.**

This role may be based in Hong Kong or London.

**Role purpose**

**Team Overview**

Group Innovation and Digital Partnerships (IDP) is responsible for leading the group-wide approach to innovation, driving customer-centric growth through strategic forms of digital partnerships, emerging technologies, the enablement of innovation, and strategic pursuits, ensuring the bank stays ahead of disruptors.

Key areas of focus include:

+ Leading partnerships with strategic technology providers, top innovation hubs and universities
+ Delivery of common innovation platforms, capabilities, tools, and best practices.
+ Driving a culture of innovation through talent upskilling, innovation challenges, and external FinTech events.
+ Leading a group-wide patent and technology research strategy and commercialization approach.
+ Identifying strategic pursuits, disruptors and putting in place defensive measures to protect the future of the bank.

**Role Purpose**

We are seeking a talented candidate with an entrepreneurship mindset to join a growing team as the global director for Innovation Enablement.

This is a critical role that will be responsible for leading the foundational innovation tools, processes and internal capabilities, a holistic strategy and approach towards talent engagement, ‘culture of innovation’, as well as internal and external innovation events / challenges.

The role will lead a team across several major jurisdictions for HSBC and have a significant engagement responsibility across the bank.

**Principal Accountabilities and Responsibilities**

**Key Responsibilities:**

+ Common technology capabilities and platforms: Create consistent framework, tooling, best practices and platforms for ideation and experimentation.

Develop an effective ideation funnel.
+ Address barriers to innovation: Continuously identify and resolve barriers to innovation.
+ Intrapreneurship and Culture of Innovation: Define and implement a measurable global strategy for talent upskilling, communities, tools, and 'culture of innovation' practices, with clear definition of excellence and firm executive sponsorship across the bank.
+ Internal Innovation: Boost our internal innovation commercial impact by establish a more effective approach to internal innovation initiatives, aligned with the bank’s priorities and funding cycles.
+ External FinTech and Innovation events: strategy, sponsorship and execution in world’s leading innovation hubs and where HSBC have strategic presence.

**Governance and Committee Memberships**

+ Part of the Group Innovation and Digital Partnerships leadership team.

Will participate in various forums and committees as aligned to the role once defined.

**Leadership & Teamwork**

+ Lead and manage the Innovation Enablement team globally.
+ Leadership of innovation communities of practice
+ Significant engagement responsibility across the organization across business and technology

**Functional Knowledge**

+ Stakeholder engagement: Strong grasp of engaging with diverse stakeholders, covering business, technology and external partnerships, to align innovation efforts with bank priorities.
+ Collaboration: Experience in facilitating cross-functional workshops, hackathons, and innovation sprints to drive group-wide impact.
+ Innovation culture: Strong understanding of building and sustaining a culture of innovation within large organisations, including strategies for fostering intrapreneurship, employee engagement and cross-functional collaboration.
+ Barrier identification and resolution: Expertise in diagnosing and resolving systemic barriers to innovation.

Knowledge of continuous improvement methodologies.
+ Agile innovation processes: Knowledge of lean startup and agile methodologies to accelerate idea-to-MVP cycles.
+ Operational: Experience in offering platforms and tools as a service to a large enterprise
+ Strategic: Proven track record in defining and leading strategies.

**Others**

+ Entrepreneurship mindset – able to operate in an evolving environment as the organization gets further developed and defined, recognizing that we will need to specialize as we mature.
+ Trusted and respected across financial services with a proven record of success in senior leadership roles.
+ Demonstrated expertise in the successful development and implementation of Innovation products and capabilities.
+ Comfortable interacting with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including Customers, Product teams, Regulators, Industry/Trade Groups, and HSBC senior leadership (i.e., GEC, Board, etc.).
+ Highly competent, collaborative, and outcome-oriented, with a strong ability to drive results and navigate complex challenges.
+ Tenacious and committed to delivering necessary outcomes in alignment with HSBC's mission and purpose.
+ A strong focus on customer and teammate needs, with a dedication to serving and supporting them in achieving their goals.

**Experience**

+ Broad and comprehensive understanding of concepts and principles within multiple disciplines or a fast changing discipline

**Business / Commercial knowledge**

+ The role requires a comprehensive understanding of several value units / products / regions / legal entities, alongside an advanced understanding of the industry and the relative positioning of the HSBC's products and services.

**Leadership**

+ Management responsibilities for a sizeable team of professionals (including responsibility for budget, and planning)

**Problem Solving**

+ Covers a wide range of activities that require complex judgements based on advanced analytical thought.

Problems often require an innovative approach, based on extensive research

**Innovation**

+ Is proactive in developing ideas, continuously searching for improvements in techniques which add value to the business and has full responsibility for implementation.

**Accountability / decision making**

+ Latitude to make decisions within the objectives of HSBC global business / global function overall.

Little guidance is available and role holder is expected to formulate strategy following the objectives of the business.

**Strategic Responsibility**

+ Sets strategy for value unit / region / product / legal entity

**Communication**

+ The role requires an extremely high level of interactive listening, in order to negotiate with others often at the highest level.
+ The job is likely to be involved in both internal and external negotiations which will have a major impact on the function, and possibly the entire business unit.

**Opening up a world of opportunity**
http://www.hsbc.com/careers

HSBC is committed to building a culture where all employees are valued, respected and opinions count.

We take pride in providing a workplace that fosters continuous professional development, flexible working and opportunities to grow within an inclusive and diverse environment.

Personal data held by the Bank relating to employment applications will be used in accordance with our Privacy Statement, which is available on our website.

Issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

Required Skill Profession

Other General