Jelani Scott

Biography

Let’s get a little candid. Tell us something that caught you by surprise or that you least expected after you became a manager.

Nothing really surprised me when I became a manager. I was well prepared for a management role from previous work and life experiences, as well as being fortunate enough to have had great mentors from whom I learned a lot. Also, I regularly had leadership positions outside of work, particularly during my years playing football. I was captain of my university team as well as for the Somerset Trojans for many years. I learned how to effectively deal with different personalities in a productive way to achieve a common goal: to try our best to win games! Other skills honed from these experiences included leadership, strategic thinking, communication, active listening and being decisive when required. All of these skills are very much applicable and were transferable to assuming a management role at the BMA.  

Give us a snapshot of your career from when you graduated to now. What career pathway did you choose to pursue and why?

Since completing the Graduate Training Programme, I have spent all of my time in the Supervision (Banking, Trust, Corporate Services and Investment Department) (BTCSI) in various roles. In 2013, I was a Senior Analyst on the Banking Team that was responsible for all banks and specific investment companies. This role primarily consisted of off-site and on-site supervisory activities. Following the Department’s restructuring in 2016, I was placed on BTCSI’s On-site Team. This Team is responsible for performing on-site examinations of all sectors under the remit of BTCSI.  In the beginning, I found it interesting and challenging considering the breadth of entities we supervised and the strong understanding required of the various regulatory regimes. I learned a great deal from my experiences conducting on-site examinations of banks, trusts, investment companies, fund administrators and corporate service providers. These experiences, combined with a willingness to learn and strong work ethic enabled me to progress from a Senior Analyst to my current role of Assistant Director in 2021. 

How did the BMA support your professional growth?

The BMA is very supportive of the development of its staff, and I would definitely call it a ‘learning organisation’. Over the years I have greatly benefited from technical and soft skills training sponsored, or internally provided, by the BMA.

What additional learning opportunities or special projects has the BMA offered you, and which one was most memorable?

I intentionally make all discussions, applications and even meetings learning opportunities. There is always something new to learn as long as you are fully present and always have a good listening ear so you can understand others’ perspectives. 

As Assistant Director of the BTCSI On-site Team there are always initiatives to continually enhance the on-site programme. One of the current projects I am involved in pertains to the revision of our internal risk assessment model that is used to help determine the risk profile of entities supervised by BTCSI. Key objectives include enhancing the quality of data and information captured in the model and improving functionality and automation. This initiative is important, considering the model is a valuable tool utilised by the On-site Team in our supervisory activities.

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