Vice President - Cost, Workforce & Hiring Management

Cost, FTE & Hiring Management (Emerging Markets), VP

Job Description:

Job Title: Cost, FTE & Hiring Management (Emerging Markets)

Location: Mumbai, India

Corporate Title: VP

Role Description

• The Vice President – Cost, FTE & Hiring Management is the single point of accountability for all cost, headcount, and hiring‑related matters across Emerging Markets, covering 8 sub‑regions with diverse business, and growth profiles.
• This role is critical in ensuring strong cost discipline, robust hiring governance, and forward‑looking cost and workforce planning, while enabling the business to deliver its strategic growth agenda.
• This role requires an individual who can operate independently, lead a small but high‑impact team, engage confidently with senior stakeholders, and proactively drive automation and AI‑enabled solutions to simplify, standardise, and scale Cost and FTE management across regions.

What we’ll offer you

As part of our flexible scheme, here are just some of the benefits that you’ll enjoy

• Best in class leave policy
• Gender neutral parental leaves
• 100% reimbursement under childcare assistance benefit (gender neutral)
• Sponsorship for Industry relevant certifications and education
• Employee Assistance Program for you and your family members
• Comprehensive Hospitalization Insurance for you and your dependents
• Accident and Term life Insurance
• Complementary Health screening for 35 yrs. and above

Your key responsibilities

1. End‑to‑End Cost Management (EM‑wide)

• Own and manage cost performance across Emerging Markets, including compensation, non‑compensation, run‑rate management, and phasing.
• Lead annual and in‑year budget planning, forecasting, and variance analysis, ensuring transparency and early identification of risks and pressures.
• Provide clear explanations of cost movements vs plan/vs forecast, distinguishing structural vs timing impacts and recommending corrective actions.
• Act as the EM authority on cost governance, ensuring alignment with firm‑wide policies and regional constraints.

2. FTE & Workforce Planning

• Oversight of the EM FTE plan across all 8 sub‑regions, including strategic hires, going‑concern roles, replacements, redeployments, and exits.
• Ensure tight control of headcount growth, phasing, and utilisation within approved envelopes.
• Drive continuous JR hygiene, including identification of stale, non‑committed, or mis‑aligned requisitions.
• Partner with business and COO teams to ensure workforce planning is aligned to business priorities, productivity, and cost efficiency.

3. Senior Stakeholder Management

• Serve as a trusted advisor to EM senior management, Business COOs, Finance/CFO, and HR on all cost and hiring matters.
• Confidently manage challenging conversations on hiring deferrals, re‑prioritisation, or cost containment.
• Prepare and present clear, concise, senior‑management‑ready materials for COO, CFO, and OpDeCo‑level forums.
• Build strong, credible relationships across regions to ensure consistent standards and decision‑making.

4. Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a small, high‑impact Cost & FTE team, setting clear priorities and accountability.
• Provide coaching and guidance to uplift analytical capability, governance discipline, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Foster a culture of ownership, independence, and problem‑solving, with strong attention to detail.

5. Automation, AI & Copilot Mindset

• Actively drive automation and simplification of Cost, FTE, and hiring processes across EM.
• Leverage AI, Copilot, dashboards, and data‑driven tools to reduce manual effort, improve insights, and enhance decision‑making.
• Identify opportunities to standardise reporting, approvals, and workflows across regions.
• Champion a forward‑looking, digital‑first mindset within the Cost & FTE function.

7. Independent Regional Ownership

• Operate with a high degree of autonomy, proactively driving cost and hiring topics across all sub‑regions.
• Anticipate issues before escalation and propose practical, implementable solutions.
• Balance central governance requirements with regional realities, ensuring outcomes are both compliant and commercially sensible.

Your skills and experience

Key Skills & Experience

Professional / Technical

• Strong experience in cost management, workforce planning, hiring governance, or financial performance management, preferably within banking or financial services.
• Solid understanding of Cost and FTE controls, budgeting, and hiring frameworks.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear management narratives.

Leadership & Stakeholder Skills

• Proven people manager with experience leading small teams.
• Excellent senior stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Confident communicator, able to challenge constructively and defend positions with clarity.

Mindset & Personal Attributes

• Highly self‑driven and independent, with strong ownership mentality.
• Comfortable operating in a complex, multi‑region environment.
• Strong interest in automation, AI, and process improvement.
• Detail‑oriented, disciplined, and resilient under pressure.

Key Interfaces

• EM Senior Management & Business Heads
• EM and Regional COOs
• Finance & CFO teams
• HR & Central FTE Management
• Regional Operations and Support Functions

How we’ll support you

• Training and development to help you excel in your career
• Coaching and support from experts in your team
• A culture of continuous learning to aid progression
• A range of flexible benefits that you can tailor to suit your needs

About us and our teams

Please visit our company website for further information:

https://www.db.com/company/company.html

We strive for a culture in which we are empowered to excel together every day. This includes acting responsibly, thinking commercially, taking initiative and working collaboratively.

Together we share and celebrate the successes of our people. Together we are Deutsche Bank Group.

We welcome applications from all people and promote a positive, fair and inclusive work environment.

Experience Level

Executive Level