Job Description
The Central Bank of Kenya is seeking an accomplished financial markets professional to join its Financial Markets Department as Deputy Director, Settlements Accounting and Control. This is a senior leadership opportunity for a highly experienced executive with deep expertise in payment systems, financial markets operations, treasury management, settlements governance, accounting control, and institutional risk oversight. The successful candidate will support the Director of the Financial Markets Department in providing strategic leadership for the Settlements Accounting and Control Division while ensuring operational excellence across domestic and international financial market activities.
The role is responsible for strengthening the integrity, efficiency, and resilience of settlement, accounting, reconciliation, custodial, and control functions that support Kenya’s financial market infrastructure. The Deputy Director will oversee the end-to-end processing of domestic and foreign transactions, financial reporting, securities operations, liquidity management, payment systems governance, and operational risk management while ensuring alignment with CBK’s strategic priorities and international financial market standards.
This position requires a visionary leader capable of driving modernization initiatives across financial market operations through automation, straight-through processing, analytics, cybersecurity enhancement, and digital infrastructure optimization. The successful candidate will provide strategic direction in the development of settlement policies, accounting frameworks, operational standards, governance controls, and risk management practices that enhance transparency, accuracy, and institutional resilience.
The Deputy Director will collaborate closely with senior management, regulatory authorities, government institutions, commercial banks, market infrastructure providers, and regional and international financial organizations. The role also involves contributing to strategic policy development, supporting monetary policy implementation, strengthening government securities operations, and enhancing the effectiveness of Kenya’s payment and settlement ecosystem.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional leadership capability, strong financial markets expertise, outstanding analytical judgment, and the ability to manage complex operational environments with multiple stakeholders. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence national financial market infrastructure, strengthen governance frameworks, develop high-performing professional teams, and contribute directly to the stability and advancement of Kenya’s financial system through sound leadership, operational excellence, and strategic innovation.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership for the Settlements Accounting and Control Division and oversee implementation of divisional objectives aligned with institutional priorities.
- Lead the management of domestic and international payment settlements, transaction processing, confirmations, reconciliations, custodial services, accounting operations, and cash management activities.
- Coordinate settlement operations across payment systems, securities platforms, treasury systems, and financial market infrastructure.
- Strengthen governance frameworks by implementing effective internal controls, segregation of duties, authorization structures, and operational risk management procedures.
- Oversee financial accounting processes, ledger integrity, reconciliation controls, and financial reporting across settlement and treasury operations.
- Supervise government securities settlement, interest payments, redemption processing, corporate actions, and post-trade operational reporting.
- Ensure timely resolution of payment investigations, transaction discrepancies, settlement exceptions, and operational escalations involving high-value financial market transactions.
- Direct liquidity monitoring, funding forecasts, collateral management, intraday liquidity controls, and cash optimization initiatives supporting monetary policy operations.
- Lead automation and straight-through processing initiatives that improve operational efficiency, transaction accuracy, and cost effectiveness across financial market operations.
- Strengthen cybersecurity controls through secure payment messaging, authentication protocols, encryption standards, audit trail management, and operational resilience measures.
- Develop and oversee business continuity and disaster recovery strategies for critical settlement and financial market systems.
- Coordinate financial systems integration involving RTGS platforms, SWIFT infrastructure, Oracle financial systems, treasury applications, and securities settlement platforms.
- Establish comprehensive policy frameworks, operational manuals, standard operating procedures, and governance standards for settlements, accounting, custody, and reconciliation functions.
- Oversee customer settlement instructions, master data governance, account maintenance controls, and operational data integrity processes.
- Coordinate divisional budgeting, financial planning, performance monitoring, operational analytics, and strategic reporting initiatives.
- Lead internal and external audit engagements, regulatory reviews, control assessments, and implementation of sustainable corrective action programs.
- Maintain comprehensive operational risk registers and monitor implementation of mitigation strategies across settlement and accounting operations.
- Collaborate with senior management on financial market policy development, strategic initiatives, operational modernization, and institutional transformation programs.
- Represent the Central Bank in national, regional, and international committees, industry working groups, stakeholder forums, and financial market development initiatives.
- Mentor senior professionals, strengthen leadership capability, oversee succession planning, and build a high-performance culture within the division.
- Support cross-functional collaboration across departments and contribute to broader organizational objectives, institutional governance, and strategic financial market development initiatives.
Qualifications & Requirements
- Applicants must possess a bachelor
- The successful candidate should demonstrate advanced knowledge of domestic and international financial markets, payment systems, treasury operations, settlement infrastructure, accounting standards, government securities, foreign exchange markets, liquidity management, monetary policy operations, and financial market governance. Strong understanding of banking regulations, risk management frameworks, financial reporting, investment accounting, regional payment systems, and financial market infrastructure is essential.
- Candidates should possess outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, decision
- making, communication, stakeholder management, negotiation, project management, and analytical problem
- solving skills. The role requires exceptional integrity, professionalism, sound judgment, resilience, emotional intelligence, and the ability to lead organizational change in a highly regulated financial environment. Strong technological capability, governance expertise, operational excellence, and experience managing multidisciplinary professional teams are critical for success in this executive leadership position.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit their application through the official Central Bank of Kenya careers portal before the stated deadline. Applications should include a detailed curriculum vitae, academic and professional qualification documents, and any other supporting information relevant to the position. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of the recruitment process.
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