Chief Enterprise Architect

Head of Architecture – Client Platforms

London | Hybrid | Permanent/Full Time | UK Work Permit is Mandatory

£200K (Inc. £45k Bonus, Benefits, Equity, Full Family Health Care, Pension +More…

This role requires a Chief Architect or above level candidate with a deep understanding of Financial Platforms architecture, transformation and modernization with an understanding of regulatory compliance processes and technical adherence to FCA/PRA regulations with a proven track record of leading globally distributed architecture or technology teams and first class stakeholder management.

KEY DELIEVERABLES:

• Architecture blueprints and guidelines.
• Governance dashboards tracking compliance and quality metrics.
• Regular audit reports for regulatory and internal reviews.
• Collaborating with Technology Delivery teams to create and maintain technology roadmaps
• Dependency matrices and risk assessments.
• Quarterly roadmap review presentations for stakeholders.
• Agile architecture + training.
• Metrics on technical debt reduction and architecture adoption.
• Build an architecture runway (e.g., reusable APIs, microservices) supporting Agile teams.
• Embed architects in Agile Release Trains (ARTs)

BROADER ROLE PROFILE:

You will Head up and take the lead for:

• Developing enterprise-wide architectural standards.
• Frameworks for Technology Reference Architecture outlining approved technologies, patterns (e.g., microservices, event-driven architecture), and integration approaches.
• Implement governance processes via Architecture Review Boards (ARBs), to review and approve designs for new systems or changes to existing ones. (Confluence or ServiceNow to document and track compliance).
• Ensure adherence to financial regulations (e.g., FCA/PRA rules, GDPR for client data) and internal policies for customer-facing systems like brokerage platforms.
• Establish metrics (e.g., system uptime, API response times) to monitor the quality of systems and enforce consistency.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

• Proven track record of leading globally distributed architecture or technology teams, ideally in a large, complex investment/wealth manager type financial organization.
• Experience in influencing senior stakeholders, demonstrating the ability to align diverse groups around a shared vision.
• Background in financial services ideally wealth management with an understanding of domain-specific challenges like regulatory compliance.
• Deep expertise in enterprise architecture principles, including creating standards and frameworks.
• Familiarity with modern architecture practices, such as microservices, domain-driven design, or event-driven architecture.
• Understanding of Agile methodologies and how to integrate architecture into Agile processes.
• Awareness of global financial regulations. (FCA and PRA)