Head of Architecture in London

We are working with a regulated UK bank specialising in correspondent banking, FX, and cross-border payments into emerging and frontier markets. As the bank embarks on a multi-year transformation toward an agentic, intelligence-driven Target Operating Model, we're seeking a strategic and technically strong Head of Architecture to define and drive enterprise architecture across a growing international banking platform.

Reporting directly to the CTO and working closely with the COO, you'll own and drive the bank's enterprise architecture strategy, leading a team of approximately 9 architects and acting as the senior architecture authority across the organisation. You'll create a unified architectural vision, ensure alignment between business objectives and technology delivery, and lead architectural standards across complex banking and payments environments, all while operating as part of a small, senior Technology Leadership Team with genuine strategic influence.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and drive the bank's enterprise architecture strategy, developing a unified technology vision across the organisation.
• Establish and evolve architecture governance, standards, and frameworks.
• Ensure architectural decisions support long-term business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Lead a team of architects, providing strategic direction across technology domains.
• Provide architectural leadership across international payments, FX platforms, correspondent banking, payment processing, and banking operations.
• Design scalable platforms supporting cross-border payments and financial services, ensuring resilience, compliance, and operational efficiency.
• Drive innovation initiatives, assessing how AI can be embedded into operational processes and banking services.
• Evaluate agentic AI architectures and future-state intelligence models, partnering with business leaders to identify practical AI use cases.
• Establish architecture frameworks and governance models, promoting best practice adoption across engineering and architecture teams.
• Drive consistency across business, data, application, and technology architecture domains, leveraging recognised methodologies such as TOGAF.

What We're Looking For

• Strong preference for candidates with experience in correspondent banking, cross-border payments, FX platforms, international banking operations, payments infrastructure, or financial market infrastructure.
• Proven Head of Architecture, Enterprise Architect, or Chief Architect experience.
• Deep understanding of enterprise architecture frameworks, with experience implementing or operating within TOGAF-based environments.
• Knowledge of modern cloud-native architecture.
• Exposure to intelligent systems, AI, and emerging architecture patterns; understanding of agentic architecture concepts highly desirable.
• Natural authority and gravitas, with the ability to influence executive stakeholders.
• High energy and enthusiasm, comfortable operating at C-suite level.
• Strong communicator, able to create alignment across technology and business functions.