Director, Investment, Risk & Operations Technology

At Rathbones, we help people invest their money well, so they can live well. That means more than financial returns – it’s about helping people feel confident in their decisions and supported in their future. We don’t just manage money, we guide people through life’s big moments, helping them stay on track and focus on what matters most. We’re proud to be one of the UK’s leading wealth managers, with over £109bn in assets under management and 20+ offices across the UK and Channel Islands. We’re a FTSE 250 company with national reach and a local feel – and we’re growing.

About the Role

Accountable to the CTO, operating with a multi‑Director Technology operating model and responsible for owning and leading the Investment and Operations platforms (multiple squads) within Technology, owning the technology‑enabled capabilities and value streams that underpin the investment, risk and research processes and the back‑office operational requirements. This includes ownership of technology capabilities underpinning portfolio construction, suitability assessment, portfolio risk monitoring and client outcomes. Ensure that systems support clear outcome alignment, defensible suitability controls and transparent investment decision‑making. Providing class‑leading support for all our stakeholders.

What you’ll be responsible for:

• With the Data Director on shared platforms and insights
• With CLM and Digital Directors on downstream dependencies
• With security & infrastructure for shared enterprise capabilities

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Investment systems and market connectivity
• Market data feeds and integration to research systems and processes
• Backoffice, custody, settlement and operational systems
• Systems that support ongoing suitability assessment, portfolio drift monitoring and alignment to client risk profiles and prescribed outcomes
• Business engagement and change delivery
• Technology strategy, architecture and design
• Business architecture and analysis
• Testing and quality engineering
• Technology service delivery, including identity and access management
• Technology infrastructure in combination with outsourced partners
• Technology risk management
• Financial control for technology
• Business strategy and reporting

Leadership:

• Accountable for functional squad capacity and skill mix
• Responsible for ensuring there is role clarity between Product, Design, BA and Engineering
• Ensuring a consistent way of working across squads (in partnership with CTO Senior Leadership Team)
• Accountable for demand flow and prioritisation across functional squads, balancing strategic initiatives, regulatory commitments and BAU
• Accountable for setting and advising on an appropriate IT strategy, in consultation with the CTO and Group Executive Committee, considering industry‑wide trends, cyber risks, regulatory requirements and developments in technology
• Able to translate regulatory and client‑outcome requirements into practical technology controls and workflows
• Periodically prepare and submit reports to the Group Executive Committee and management committees on IT strategy, industry‑wide trends and developments in technology
• Attend and actively participate in the Product and Transformation Board meeting to ensure that industry‑wide trends, regulatory requirements and developments in technology are actively monitored and discussed
• Take responsibility for ensuring the continuing professional development of direct reports.
• Develop direct reports with a view to succession and contingency
• Build and maintain an effective communications and engagement plan including ownership and accountability for the actions following the results of any colleague survey
• Lead, motivate and manage the IT change and strategy teams, ensuring a culture of high performance and continuous improvement
• Accountable for making informed trade‑offs between scope, risk, time and cost across the portfolio

Business Strategy & Reporting:

• Report monthly to the COO Operating Committee on areas of accountability, including MI, highlighting areas of concern to colleagues and advising them of critical issues
• Contribute towards the continuing development of the Group by establishing and participating in projects, committees and other activities as required from time to time
• Provide monthly reports for an executive audience
• Undertake a periodic meeting with the CTO & COO to ensure that all issues and matters requiring attention are escalated on a timely basis

Investment and Operations Functions:

• Accountable for the end‑to‑end performance of the Investment and Operations systems functional squads, including demand, shaping, prioritisation, architecture alignment, delivery quality, operational stability and continuous improvement
• Apply a strong working understanding of portfolio construction, model portfolios and portfolio risk concepts sufficient to challenge technical and design decisions
• This role owns technology strategy, delivery and operational outcomes, working in partnership with Group‑wide technology functions
• Accountable and responsible for the capabilities and value streams delivered through the functional squads
• Ensuring business‑facing outcomes are understood, planned and executed effectively with a high level of stakeholder engagement
• This role oversees multiple squads and balances demand, product ownership, and technical delivery
• Accountable for making clear trade‑offs between scope, risk, time and cost across the portfolio
• Accountable for IT service provision for Investment and Back‑office functions delivered through Group‑wide service frameworks
• Accountable for overall technology risk, identification, reporting, management and remediation for Investment and Back‑office functions
• Responsible for supporting the identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring of operational and conduct risks, in the CTO function, in accordance with the firm’s risk appetite statement
• Ensure adherence to the risk management policy and procedures, including expected standards of internal control across the CTO function
• Ensure direct reports monitor and control their areas of responsibility
• Review and monitor the IT Management Governance and Control frameworks (i.e. supplier controls, financial management, risk management, service improvement, etc)
• Management of third‑party providers of infrastructure to ensure contracts, commercial arrangements and service delivery are aligned to the same levels.
• Collaborate on professional service engagements where required

Technology Applications:

• Responsible for the overall business systems roadmap under the IT strategy for Investment and Back‑office functions
• Ensure that enhancements are business‑focused and come with a clear ROI and link through to the overall IT strategy
• Identify delivery of the applications strategy through both internal business analysts, developers and third‑party partners in the most efficient manner for the business
• Work with the business on end‑to‑end business processes that are fully supported by seamless applications
• Drive continuous improvement, stability, performance and usability in applications
• Provide application roadmap and future capabilities
• Identify vulnerabilities and manage releases, upgrades and patches if required

Business Design Office:

• This role has design authority for Investment and Back‑office functions, accountable for architecture coherence across squads, design trade‑offs between experience, risk, cost and speed and ensuring product and engineering are aligned to design standards
• Acts as the design authority for Investment and Back‑office functions, setting and enforcing standards while enabling squads to deliver at pace
• Accountable for supporting the firm’s digital strategy for review and ratification by the COO Operating Committee and the Executive & Group Risk Committee, ensuring that all activities proposed are in adherence to all applicable rules, policies and procedures and in line with the overall strategy approved by the board
• Periodically review the strategy to ensure it continues to identify, measure and manage the risks of the activities undertaken and to ensure it remains in line with the overall Group strategy
• Accountable for ensuring clear design and environment standards and principles are in place
• This role holds decision authority for prioritisation, architectural alignment and delivery sequencing within the Investment and Back‑office functions portfolio

Business Architecture and Analysis:

• Accountable for the Investment and Back‑office functions – business architecture practice, creation and management of a framework that will provide a shared understanding of the Rathbones Group and its subsidiaries
• Accountable for the firm’s business analysis function, supporting the business’s needs, analysis gaps in process, tooling and data, documenting requirements and feeding into technical design and testing
• Ensures business architecture is actively used to inform investment decisions, sequencing and dependency management across squads

Testing:

• Accountable for ensuring a clear test approach and strategy is in place for the Investment and Back‑office functions teams
• Accountable for ensuring the business design responsibilities for Investment and Back‑office functions teams covers test strategy, development, execution, environments, defect management and delivery
• Accountable for ensuring there are clearly defined testing environments, with automated testing in place to improve overall delivery and quality

About You:

• University degree (or equivalent professional experience)
• Technical background – able to challenge technical leaders on related technology approaches and thinking
• Experience of developing/implementing IT strategy
• Experience delivering or operating portfolio management, suitability or risk platforms in regulated wealth or asset management environments
• Experience of managing demanding business and IT stakeholders effectively
• Able to define, implement and manage IT control and management frameworks (a mix of ITIL, TOGAF)

Our Offer to You:

We want everyone at Rathbones to fulfil their potential, in an environment where you are proud to work and feel like you belong. We offer a comprehensive remuneration package, which we review regularly, and benefits include:

• A company pension – 9% non‑contributory or 10% if you contribute 5%
• Private medical insurance – Individual on joining, family after 1 year’s service
• Life assurance – 8 times salary
• Company share scheme
• Discretionary bonus
• Flexible holidays – purchase up to 5 additional days
• Green Car Scheme
• Family friendly policies – enhanced family leave for parents and carers
• Study support – study days and funding for courses and qualifications
• Season travel ticket loans
• Other voluntary benefits you can choose to suit you

Life at Rathbones:

We aim to become an employer of choice for the wealth management sector. To achieve this we are working hard to build a diverse, equal, and inclusive workplace that motivates, develops and embraces the strengths of all our colleagues. Being part of Rathbones means you will join a team of passionate professionals in a successful culture that cares for its people. At Rathbones, we provide meaningful work, opportunities, and a voice to all. We are committed to building a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities and encourage applications from all backgrounds. We welcome individuals who share our values.

Disability Confidence:

We’re a Disability Confident Employer (level 2) under the UK Government scheme. This means we’ve signed up to a set of commitments around how we recruit, retain and develop people with disabilities. Find out more about the Government Scheme online. If you require adjustments to apply for a role at Rathbones, please contact us via recruit@rathbones.com to let us know what adjustments you may need.

Mission:

We believe in playing the long game. That means building consistent results, earning trust and doing whatever needs to be done for our clients, our colleagues and the communities we’re part of. Our values shape how we work:

• We aim high
• We get it done
• We show we care
• We do the right thing