Head of Architecture Standards & Policy Automation (London Area)

Head of Architecture Standards & Policy Automation

London

FS provider executing a multi-year technology modernisation. We need a senior architecture leader to industrialise governance through code, standardise multi-cloud platforms, and cut time-to-market across diverse product lines.

Key Responsibilities

• Codify enterprise architecture frameworks into reusable blueprints and embed policy-as-code (e.g., OPA, native cloud policies) directly in CI/CD pipelines, eliminating the bulk of manual reviews.
• Design and maintain secure, scalable landing zones for Azure, AWS and GCP using Infrastructure-as-Code and Compliance-as-Code methods.
• Lead a 25–40-person architect guild, chair the Design Authority, and own KPIs for reuse, technical-debt reduction and FinOps savings.
• Drive legacy-exit programmes and migrate core workloads to microservices, event-driven and data-mesh patterns.
• Translate architecture strategy into board-level outcomes while partnering with investment, retail and corporate-technology leaders.

About You

• 15+ years in technology leadership, including 5+ years running enterprise-architecture functions in highly regulated environments (financial-services preferred).
• Demonstrable delivery of policy-as-code or compliance-as-code in production pipelines.
• Deep expertise in multi-cloud landing-zone design, Terraform/Bicep automation and guard-rail enforcement.
• Proven success leading large-scale cloud migrations and platform rationalisation programmes.
• Confident communicator able to influence C-suite and engineer alike.
• Certifications such as TOGAF®, ArchiMate®, AWS or Azure Solutions Architect are advantageous.

What Success Looks Like

• More than 80 percent of architecture controls fully automated.
• At least 80 percent reuse of reference blueprints across business units.
• Quantifiable year-on-year reduction in technical-debt index and cloud spend.
• Environment-provisioning lead-time cuts.