More than one way to build a career

Josephine Chui Chief of Staff and Head of Business Management, Retail Banking

One of the things that attracted me to Barclays was the scale and variety of the organisation. You can see how a bank works from end to end and build a career across very different parts of it. I know that first-hand. I began in structured finance and have since worked across Treasury, Markets, transformation and Retail Banking. Within Barclays, I’ve moved from Treasury to the Investment Bank and then into Barclays UK. What drew me to Retail Banking was the connection to customers’ everyday lives. The decisions we make can affect how easily someone pays a bill, buys a home or manages a difficult period. That gives the work real purpose.

Seeing how the bank comes together
Today, I’m Chief of Staff and Head of Business Management for Retail Banking, with a remit spanning Current Accounts, Payments and Lending. A lot of my role is about joining the dots. I work with colleagues across Product, Finance, Risk, Technology and Operations to turn priorities into clear plans and keep important work moving.That breadth is something I think can surprise people about Barclays UK. There are opportunities far beyond the roles you might immediately associate with banking, and you get to see how very different teams contribute to the same customer outcome.

Changing direction without starting again
Moving from Markets and Wholesale Banking into Retail Banking was one of my biggest learning curves. I had a new customer context and regulatory landscape to understand while stepping into a leadership role. What helped was realising that I wasn’t starting from zero. I already knew how to work across a complex organisation, bring people together and turn strategy into action. Those skills gave me a foundation while I learnt the parts of the business that were new to me. That experience changed how I think about career development. Progress doesn’t always mean moving up in a straight line. Sometimes the biggest growth comes from taking what you already know into a completely different part of the business.

There are opportunities far beyond the roles you might immediately associate with banking.

Building skills that travel with you
At Barclays, I’ve learnt from senior leaders and taken on increasingly complex work. I’ve become better at simplifying difficult issues, bringing together different viewpoints and keeping things moving when priorities change. Those are skills that matter across BUK, whether you’re working directly with customers, helping shape a product or supporting change across the business.

Looking ahead, I want to keep broadening my leadership experience and deepen my understanding of customers and commercial decisions. I’m particularly interested in opportunities where I can lead change and help improve outcomes for customers and colleagues. My advice to anyone starting out is not to feel you need your whole career mapped out on day one. Stay curious about the teams around you and put yourself forward for unfamiliar work. You might be surprised by where your strengths can take you.