Senior Enterprise Architect (Payments) in Manchester

About this opportunity

In this pivotal role, you'll define, uphold, and communicate the Technology Strategy to support the Group's vision and strategic goals. With a clear focus on the capabilities needed for long-term success, you'll align our Technology agenda with the Group's overarching strategy. This opportunity is specifically aligned to our Group Payments Business Unit, an essential part of the Group's growth strategy where we already process around 20% of the UK's payments, from everyday payments between people, to paying salaries, paying bills and invoices, purchasing homes, and helping British businesses buy and sell goods and services around the world. The strategic ambition in Group Payments is to transform domestic and international payments processing leveraging modern technologies. In addition, we influence the development of payment capabilities across domestic and international markets and are leading the Group's activities in using distributed ledger technologies, including blockchain and digital asset innovations, across multiple real-world use cases.

As a result, day-to-day you would...

• Drive the strategic direction of architecture for Payments.
• Act as a trusted advisor and internal consultant to Technology and Business Platform Leads.
• Combine corporate governance, business control, and developing business solutions.
• Utilise technical skills in Public and Private Cloud, APIs, Traditional hosting, and event-driven architectures.
• Create feasibility assessments and roadmaps.
• Embrace an agile and digital approach while showcasing strong communication and leadership skills.

What you'll need

• A proven track record in a Lead 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.
• Strong Payments knowledge/background in Financial Services.
• Understanding of emerging technologies such as blockchain and digital assets, with an appreciation of their role in shaping future payment and financial services architectures.

About working for us

Our ambition is to be the leading UK business for diversity, equity and inclusion supporting our customers, colleagues and communities and we're committed to creating an environment in which everyone can thrive, learn and develop. 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. We offer reasonable workplace adjustments for colleagues with disabilities, including flexibility in office attendance, location and working patterns. And, as a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee interviews for a fair and proportionate number of applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role with a disability, long-term health or neurodivergent condition through the Disability Confident Scheme. We provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to reduce or remove barriers. Just let us know what you need.

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.