Citi Belfast Marks 15 Years Of Growth With 300 New Jobs

EyeonGrowth

Citi Belfast highlights 16 years of growth by announcing the creation of 300 new jobs

EyeonGrowth

Northern Ireland’s largest financial services employer Citi Belfast has announced plans to create over 300 new jobs in 2022, covering all levels from apprentices and graduates to experienced roles, each providing the opportunity for career development.

With a firm focus on building careers, the team at Citi benefit from support, mentoring and excellent training, with opportunities to develop expertise.

Leigh Meyer, site head of Citi in Belfast reflects on the growth of the only global investment bank operating in Northern Ireland, how its Belfast-based team has grown from strength to strength over the last 16 years, and what sets Citi apart as an employer.

“Citi established its Belfast team in 2005 with 375 technology staff. Through

steady growth – and with thanks to the incredibly deep and broad pool of talent present in Northern Ireland – Citi Belfast has become a strategic delivery centre for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Today, Citi Belfast is proud to employ over 3,200 people and supports 21 different capabilities for Citi’s global team including legal, HR, compliance, audit, markets, and tech across four Belfast locations. All these roles deliver critical services to the bank and its global customers, supporting daily transactions in trillion-dollar businesses. Our global teams interact with employees in over 100 countries, processing over 600,000 transactions and supporting next-generation technology solutions for enterprise. They deliver critical services to the bank and its customers to make sure we are a stronger and safer organisation for our clients.

Whilst the past twelve months have no doubt been a challenge for all businesses in Northern Ireland, Citi is proud to have employed over 1,000 new people last year through organic growth and internal transfers. And whilst many workers in diverse industries and sectors continue to reconsider their career trajectories, we are attracting both experienced

finance professionals and those keen to make a change and take advantage of one of the many career pathways available to them through Citi Belfast as we continue to give our people the opportunity to live locally but work globally, supporting businesses around the world.

From apprenticeships to mentorships to those returning to work – and through training and ongoing development opportunities – Citi continues to seek out bright, enthusiastic professionals aspiring to build a career in financial services or find a supportive workplace environment to grow their potential. New staff are supported, provided with excellent training, and positioned with opportunities to connect with global teams to develop expertise. We want people to build a career here, not just apply for a job, and that’s what makes Citi Belfast different as an employer.

In addition to challenging the stereotypical idea of finance professionals by providing diverse pathways into the profession, Citi Belfast champions diversity within the workforce. We are proud to have 40 different nationalities working within the local team with 47% of leadership roles across the site being held by women. Our team also benefits from five active affinity networks including Women, Pride, Families Matter, DisAbility and Multi-cultural. Our unique Belfast mentorship programme, CitiSpire, has also increased its female intake at the technology academy from 21% to 24% and we are working to set up training for primary school teachers about how to integrate coding into the classroom.

Our people are the key to our success and amid the challenges of the pandemic we have succeeded in growing over the last two years both in headcount and number of functions based at Citi Belfast. I have been genuinely impressed by the outstanding adaptability, agility, and resilience of our team, who have demonstrated tremendous determination and innovative skills and taken a pragmatic, common sense approach to help us not only keep going, but continue to grow and welcome new team members, whilst contributing to the ongoing success of Citi globally.”

“Our people are the key to our success and amid the challenges of the pandemic we have succeeded in growing over the last two years both in headcount and number of functions based at Citi Belfast.”

Visit https://jobs.citi.com/belfast for further information.

EyeonNews

Lidl Northern Ireland announces 180 new jobs and pay rewards of £1.5 million

Lidl Northern Ireland is creating 180 new local jobs this year and awarding pay increases worth £1.5 million to all employees in recognition of their efforts throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons, Maeve McCleane, Director of Human Resources at Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland, Lidl Dundonald Duty Manager Matthew Blair and Customer Assistant Faye Harvey.

With 180 new jobs available in a variety of operational and office-based roles across its store network of 41 store locations and regional distribution centre in Nutt’s Corner, Co. Antrim, the new roles are being created to support Lidl Northern Ireland’s growing footprint that will see the retailer increase its store count to 50 by the end of the decade and will expand the retailer’s workforce to over 1,300 employees.

The new jobs announcement is in addition to a recruitment drive last year of more than 300 roles and affirms Lidl Northern Ireland’s established position as the region’s fastest-growing supermarket. Successful candidates will be offered Lidl’s market-leading benefits packages and awardwinning learning and development opportunities within the business.

Also confirmed today, the retailer is investing £1.5 million in additional pay increases to all of its employees which will take effect from March 1.

Lidl Northern Ireland has already paid more than £300,000 in Covid-19 bonuses to all employees throughout the pandemic in recognition of their efforts, commitment and dedication during a challenging period. In November 2021, the company committed again to paying the new recommended Living Wage, exceeding the advisory rate by a further 20p to £10.10 for more than 450 employees and building on its commitment to fair pay for all employees. Lidl became the first nationwide retailer on the island of Ireland to introduce this back in 2015.

Welcoming the latest investments by Lidl Northern Ireland, Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said:

“Lidl Northern Ireland’s announcement to hire an additional 180 employees this year is testament to its success here as a leading retailer and employer and will provide a huge boost for the wider retail sector and local economy. The variety of roles available will cater to a wide range of candidates with different skill sets and underlines Lidl’s commitment to the region and to delivering on its growth ambitions.

“I’m also delighted to learn that Lidl Northern Ireland is investing a further £1.5 million in pay increases for employees. It is encouraging to see Lidl Northern Ireland leading the way in supporting its staff and I’d like to extend my congratulations to the entire Lidl Northern Ireland team and I look forward to this next phase of growth.“

Maeve McCleane, Director of Human Resources at Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland said:

“We are delighted to continue to invest in our expansion in Northern Ireland and continue to growing our team further in 2022 with 180 new roles. Our most important asset has always been our people who are the bedrock of our business, which is why we have prioritised building an exceptional place to work.

For more than two decades, Lidl Northern Ireland has cemented its position locally as an employer of choice, most recently being awarded Retail Company of the Year. We are pleased to underscore our commitment in maintaining that position with a significant additional £1.5 million investment in pay increases as well as offering the most competitive and allencompassing suite of benefits in the jobs market at present.

Recognising hard work, rewarding success, and celebrating achievements have always been at the core of Lidl Northern Ireland’s people strategy and we’re pleased to be in a position to further recognise the efforts that our frontline and support teams make every day, particularly as an essential business throughout the pandemic.” The new jobs and salary investment forms part of a wider announcement by Lidl Ireland today to recruit more than 750 new employees to its Irish operations this year across 214 stores, 4 regional distribution centres and Dublin head office, adding to its team of 6,100 across the island of Ireland. Lidl also announced a €10 million investment in pay increases for all employees. The announcement was welcomed by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

Earlier this week, Lidl Northern Ireland was named by the Top Employers Institute as a Top Employer for 2022 for the second year running. One of only 84 companies in the UK and the only major supermarket retailer locally to be awarded the accolade, the Top Employer accreditation is a globally recognised and highly sought-after certification, held by international brands such as Heineken, Puma & PepsiCo and showcases an organisation’s dedication to a better world of work and exhibits this through excellent HR policies and people practices.

As part of its established people strategy, Lidl Northern Ireland has developed a series of awardwinning local programmes to support employee development and employment opportunities. These include The Princes Trust ‘Get into Retail’ programme, a Bursary scheme in partnership with Ulster University and Queen’s University and the ‘Feed Your Mind’ degree programme in association with Ulster University and Irish Times Training.