ED, Core Banking Tech Strategy & Architecture Lead 1

The Core Banking Transformation Program Lead is accountable for the end-to-end delivery of a large-scale, multi-country core banking transformation program covering core banking, payments and other corporate banking flows. The role holder aligns the program to the bank's strategy and technology roadmap, owns program governance, funding and benefits realisation, and leads cross-functional teams across business, operations, technology, risk, compliance and external vendors.

The role requires an experienced program leader with hands-on exposure to core banking implementations, a sound working knowledge of the corporate banking domain, and the executive presence to act as a trusted advisor to senior business and technology leaders in the region and at global level.

Key Responsibilities

Transformation Strategy and Roadmap

• Lead the planning, execution and delivery of core banking transformation initiatives aligned with the bank's regional and global business objectives, translating strategic priorities into executable programs and roadmaps.
• Develop business cases, investment papers, implementation strategies, target operating models and delivery plans, and support approval through senior governance and investment committees.
• Partner with enterprise architecture and technology leadership to define the target-state architecture, platform and integration approach, including API-led, modular and cloud-enabled capabilities, and the sequencing of product and market migrations.
• Drive front-to-back process improvement, simplification and standardisation across business and support functions, balancing global consistency with local business and regulatory requirements.
• Champion the adoption of digital technologies, automation, data analytics and emerging technologies to improve client experience, productivity and operational resilience.

Program Delivery, Planning and Tracking

• Deliver program benefits defined by the business on time, within approved scope and budget, and to the bank's quality standards.
• Establish and manage scope, objectives, deliverables, timelines, resource requirements, dependencies and success measures, with an integrated plan across projects, workstreams, regions and countries.
• Manage program scope through effective change control, and manage dependencies and constraints across parallel regulatory and strategic initiatives.
• Oversee the full delivery lifecycle: requirements, solution design, build, integration, testing (functional, performance, resilience and user acceptance), data migration, business readiness, training, cutover and post-implementation stabilisation.
• Apply Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery models as appropriate, and drive consistent delivery standards and disciplined project management practices.
• Capture and apply lessons learnt, within the program and across the organisation.

Governance, Risk and Control

• Establish and operate the program governance framework, including steering committees, workstream forums, design and investment governance, and executive reporting that supports transparency, accountability and timely decisions.
• Maintain the program execution documentation covering budget, scope, resources and benefits, and ensure program data is complete and accurate in the enterprise reporting system.
• Provide program quality assurance through scheduled and ad hoc reviews, and monitor performance through KPIs, milestones and benefit-tracking.
• Proactively identify, assess, mitigate and escalate risks and issues, including delivery, technology, data, vendor, regulatory and operational risks.
• Ensure compliance with banking regulations, data protection, information security, outsourcing and cloud requirements, internal policies and risk management standards.
• Strengthen operational resilience and business continuity through robust cutover, contingency and rollback planning.

Financial Management

• Prepare and maintain the program budget through the annual planning cycle and over the program lifetime, working with finance, procurement and technology partners to track actual spend, accruals, recharges and third-party costs, and to allocate funding and capacity effectively across workstreams.
• Maintain accurate and realistic forecasts, analyse variances, take corrective action to control cost, and give stakeholders clear recommendations on emerging risks and trade-offs.
• Support the accountable executive in meeting the program's financial commitments and in realising the business case, including cost savings from legacy decommissioning.

Stakeholder Management and Global Collaboration

• Build strong relationships with senior executives, business heads, sponsors and functional leaders, and act as a trusted advisor on transformation priorities, implementation considerations and execution risks.
• Understand, prioritise and align multiple stakeholder agendas, including competing objectives, to build consensus and maintain alignment to strategic goals, influencing across organisational boundaries without direct authority.
• Facilitate executive steering committees and management forums, reporting clearly on progress, risks, dependencies and key decisions.
• Represent the region in global program forums and partner with global teams to align frameworks, governance standards and best practices.
• Engage regulators, internal audit and control functions as required.

Vendor and Technology Partner Management

• Manage strategic vendor and platform-provider relationships, including selection, contract and commercial negotiation, performance management, delivery quality and risk, ensuring contractual outcomes are met and value for money is achieved.
• Oversee delivery across in-house teams, global capability centres and vendor partners operating across multiple locations.

Team Leadership and Change Management

• Lead, coach and develop high-performing, multi-location, multidisciplinary teams (program management, engineering, product, business analysis, testing and change management), acting as the point of escalation for project and workstream leads.
• Foster a collaborative, high-trust and continuous-improvement culture, and support talent development, succession planning and capability building.
• Lead organisational change management, including stakeholder engagement (addressing resistance constructively), communications, training and adoption strategies, operational readiness, and post-implementation reviews to ensure benefits are realised.
• Anticipate conflicts and difficult situations and take steps to mitigate them.

Conduct and Regulatory Responsibilities

• Demonstrate exemplary conduct, uphold the bank's values and Code of Conduct, and take personal responsibility for embedding high standards of ethics and regulatory and business conduct.

Key Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Banking and Finance, Economics, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related discipline.
• 15+ years of experience in banking or financial services, with significant exposure to large-scale technology-enabled transformation, change management and project delivery.
• Proven experience leading large core banking transformation programs, including multi-country rollouts and migration from legacy to modern platforms.
• Hands-on experience across core banking and corporate banking transformation, with detailed knowledge of the product and package implementation lifecycle.
• Working knowledge of the corporate and transaction banking domain, such as payments, clearing, cash and liquidity management, trade, and corporate channels and connectivity.
• Strong program management capability: planning, scoping and estimation, governance, risk management, tracking and control, budgeting, financial and commercial management, and benefits realisation.
• Working knowledge of Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies, and of project and portfolio management tools and reporting frameworks.
• Understanding of core banking platforms and integration approaches (for example commercial core banking packages, APIs, middleware and microservices), data migration and testing strategies, with sufficient technical literacy to engage engineering teams and facilitate informed decisions on delivery challenges.
• Strong understanding of banking products, client journeys, operational processes, risk frameworks and regulatory environments.
• Experience managing complex, matrixed initiatives involving business, operations, technology, risk, finance, compliance, vendors and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and influence senior executives, lead executive-level discussions and build alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Strong leadership, communication (across technical, business and executive audiences), presentation, facilitation, analytical and problem-solving skills, with sound judgement to distinguish fixed constraints from areas where solutions can be negotiated, and the ability to lead through ambiguity and organisational complexity.

Preferred Qualifications

• PMI Program Management Professional (PgMP) / Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) certification or equivalent.
• Master's degree (for example an MBA) or equivalent advanced qualification.
• Experience delivering transformation across multiple markets or regions, accommodating local regulatory and country-specific requirements.
• Experience leading large-scale data migration and data quality initiatives.
• Experience with strategic vendor management and offshore or global capability centre delivery models.
• Awareness of emerging technologies (data analytics, AI, automation) and their application in banking.