Lead Architect - Financial Wellbeing, Loans & Cards in Manchester

We are investing in simplifying, modernising and transforming our technology landscape and we are looking for a Lead Architect for Personal Unsecured Lending (including credit cards, loans and financial wellbeing) to drive this change. This role defines, upholds and communicates the Technology Strategy and direction to support the Group's vision and strategic intent, with a clear focus on the capabilities needed to ensure long term success aligning our Technology agenda with the Group's Strategy.

The Lead Architect will join our Personal Unsecured Lending team, which incorporates the Card, Loans and Financial Wellbeing Platforms. This is a key role supporting the Consumer Lending Business Unit which is a major part of the Group's growth strategy.

You need experience in building relationships and developing trust, providing thought leadership to business and technology change delivery colleagues, owning the technology strategy for your area of focus and maintaining alignment with and influencing the wider Group strategies. You will also be a confident leader, passionate about architecture and making a difference, able to build effective relationships at all levels (up to and including Executive level).

• Proposing the architectural strategy for Loans, Cards and Financial Wellbeing and manage its development and/or delivery, in line with the Technology strategy and the Consumer Lending strategy.
• Driving the definition of architecture roadmaps, guardrails and patterns to drive change over the medium and long term against our Technology Strategy.
• Ensuring that Roadmaps meet the needs of significant customers relating to complex, often customised products and services.
• Bringing together business design, customer outcomes, a deep understanding of the Loans, Cards and Financial Wellbeing architecture and the Technology Strategy to drive the right enterprise outcome.
• Setting the direction for change management in the platform to enable major change programmes, taking personal responsibility for a few business-critical projects.
• Defining governing policies and has a presence at governance forums to ensure the roadmaps, guardrails and patterns are effectively adhered to, in line with Group and Technology strategies.
• Acting as business partner to board members and senior internal business leaders to ensure technology delivers on business outcomes.
• Conducting external research to stay atop of industry best practice including technology, customer and products trends and utilising this knowledge when delivering business design activities to enable overall corporate strategy.
• Effectively leading a team of architects specialising in Personal Unsecured Lending to ensure the architecture is driven in line with the group and technology strategy.

We're on an exciting journey and there couldn't be a better time to join us. The investment we're making in our people, data, and technology are leading to innovative projects, fresh possibilities, and countless new ways for our people to work, learn, and thrive!

• A proven track record in an Architect role, having successfully helped drive the architecture vision and strategy, is essential.
• Experience in business skills such as corporate governance, business control, solution development, and design.
• Technical knowledge of Public/Private Cloud, APIs, traditional hosting, and event-driven architectures.
• Architectural expertise, including feasibility assessments and road-mapping.
• Personal strengths: agile mindset, digital approach, strong communication, leadership, and alignment with company values.
• An open, collaborative, approachable and friendly style, working well with both senior and junior colleagues, building strong relationships, and breaking down barriers.
• Passion & energy, ownership of one's work/portfolio & driving this forward with laser focus on value to customers & clients.
• Gravitas and impact to operate at a director level.
• Strong storytelling skills, both written and verbally, in how you present your communication recommendations in line with priorities.

Our focus is to ensure we're inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture.

We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. And it’s why we especially welcome applications from under-represented groups.

We are disability confident. So, if you would like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.

We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes:

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
• An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance
• Share schemes including free shares.
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping.
• 30 days' holiday, with bank holidays on top
• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies

Want to do amazing work, that’s interesting and makes a difference to millions of people? Join our journey!