Head of Finance Data and Systems in Royal Tunbridge Wells

Are you a strategic leader with a passion for finance data and innovative technology? AXA UK is seeking a dynamic Head of Finance Data and Systems to drive our financial data strategy forward. You’ll define, deliver, and optimise finance data products that underpin accurate reporting, regulatory compliance, and actionable insights. Operating within an agile environment, you’ll lead the development of cutting‑edge financial data solutions, enhance business intelligence capabilities, and introduce AI-driven innovations that empower our finance operations and strategic decision‑making. As the central point of contact for all finance‑related data and systems initiatives, you’ll ensure governance, compliance, and seamless alignment with enterprise‑wide transformation programmes. Your leadership will foster consistent delivery across teams, uphold centralised standards, and accelerate the velocity of our data and systems initiatives.

At AXA we work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You’ll work at least two days a week (40%) away from home, moving to three days a week (60%) in the future. Away from home means either attendance at one of our office locations, visiting clients or attending industry events.

What you’ll be doing:

• Own the full lifecycle of finance data products, ensuring they deliver measurable value to stakeholders and support strategic decision‑making.
• Lead the identification, implementation, and governance of finance data tooling, maintaining an up‑to‑date catalogue with security reviews and access controls.
• Ensure compliance with Databricks architecture standards, including Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, MLflow, and CI/CD pipelines, for scalable and secure data solutions.
• Define and implement a unified data platform for finance, facilitating seamless integration with existing systems and supporting reporting and compliance needs.
• Lead the development and automation of finance reporting and analytics using Power BI and other BI tools, enabling self‑service for stakeholders.
• Ensure all financial data products adhere to governance, regulatory, and data quality standards such as SOX, IFRS, and GDPR, while managing data security and accuracy risks.
• Lead multi‑million £ Finance system transformation/change programs that require matrix management and implementation across several years, with sponsorship at the exec level.
• Be the first point of contact for all change likely to impact on Finance data and systems along with overseeing the successful delivery of change into systems and downstream outputs.

What you’ll bring:

• Strong leadership skills to oversee the end-to-end delivery of data engineering initiatives across finance workstreams, ensuring results are delivered on time and to a high standard.
• Proven ability to monitor and improve delivery metrics such as velocity, predictability, and quality, effectively identifying and resolving blockers to maintain momentum.
• Excellent backlog management skills, with the ability to prioritise work aligned to strategic goals and communicate complex requirements clearly through well‑defined Epics, Features, and User Stories.
• Champion agile methodologies, adapting and applying best practices to fit data engineering projects, and actively participate in Agile ceremonies to drive continuous improvement.
• A strong technical mindset, capable of facilitating design sessions for scalable, reusable solutions, and continuously refining work in collaboration with stakeholders to deliver value incrementally.
• Collaborative approach, sharing best practices and emerging industry ideas across the organisation to enhance the team’s technical capabilities.
• A solid understanding of modern security standards and best practices, ensuring all systems are secure, compliant, and of the highest quality throughout their lifecycle.
• Demonstrate effective people management skills, fostering a positive team environment focused on continuous learning, professional growth, and collaboration, while supporting recruitment and performance development.

As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

What we offer:

• Competitive annual salary dependent on experience
• Annual company & performance-based bonus
• Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)
• Life Assurance (up to 10 x annual salary)
• Private medical cover
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Opportunity to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave
• Wellbeing services & resources
• AXA employee discounts

To apply, click on the ‘apply for this job’ button, you’ll then need to log in or create a profile to submit your CV. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and don’t discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics. If you have a long-term condition or disability and require adjustments during the application or interview process, we’re proud to offer access to the AXA Accessibility Concierge. For our support, please send an email to martin.eels@axa-uk.co.uk.

Who we are:

AXA UK Support Functions power AXA’s three customer‑facing business units, providing the infrastructure, support and expertise to ensure our customers can always count on us. Whether you’ve got heaps of experience and qualifications behind you, or you’re just starting out, we’ll give you the support and opportunities to help you grow and develop with confidence.