Sector Director - Banking, Financial Services & Insurance

About Softwire

Softwire is a leading UK technology and strategy consultancy. From enterprise to government, we help visionary organisations turn strategic ambitions into results at scale. Our practices cover AI transformation, data platforms, systems engineering, advanced CX and experience design. Trusted by well-known organisations across the public and private sectors, Softwire has grown into a business that consistently delivers large, high-profile digital projects for the UK’s leading brands.

Softwire was founded on one simple idea: if we can create the best possible culture and working environment, then everything else will fall into place. And it seems to be working - we were recently voted number 1 company to work for in the UK in the Best Company awards, and we have a loyal and growing client base who trust us with their hardest problems and their mission-critical projects.

When you work with Softwire, you’re not only becoming part of a team with in-depth technical skills and delivery expertise – you’ll be working in a high-trust, high-energy environment full of smart, kind, fun people passionate about building something amazing.

The Role

The Sector Director (BFSI) is the senior leader accountable for the overall performance, growth, and strategic direction of Softwire’s Banking, Financial Services & Insurance business unit. You will define a strategy for the business unit and take full ownership of the P&L, taking accountability for the overall business unit revenue target (£15m in 2026 and looking to grow significantly in the future) and gross margin targets and for managing broader business unit budget and objectives.

You will bring deep sector expertise, strong commercial acumen, and be well networked with and highly credible in front of our target audience of BFSI CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and COOs. You will use your experience and strategic insight to shape which subsectors, propositions, and client types Softwire pursues. You will develop and execute the strategy to take these to market and to differentiate us from our competitors in the minds of our target buyers.

You are an experienced leader able to execute through others and build high performing teams of senior professionals. You are comfortable in sales, pre-sales and strategic account management processes, setting strategy and leading teams to deliver commercial outcomes. You will directly manage Sales Directors, Client Directors and Marketing Executives who are responsible for day-to-day demand generation, sector specific marketing, account development, and opportunity execution, and work closely with Delivery Directors, who lead the successful delivery and on-sell within major programmes. As Sector Director, you are accountable for building the right team to deliver the strategy and achieve the objectives.

You Will Be Responsible For

• Business Unit Leadership & P&L Ownership
  • Full ownership of the P&L for BFSI, including: developing sector strategy and associated business unit budget and objectives, hitting the business unit revenue target, gross margin target, and delivering the strategic objectives.
  • Fully owning Business Unit performance against commercial objectives: forecasting, reporting, and taking action to ensure they are hit. Primary commercial objectives will include:
  • proposition development, validation and scaling;
  • new client acquisition;
  • expansion of existing accounts into new areas and services (i.e. beyond existing programmes and BAU on-sell).

About You

You have 10+ years operating at senior commercial or business leadership level within BFSI and technology, including experience supplier side with responsibility for sector strategy, commercial growth, and go to market execution. You have a strong executive network in BFSI, and can open doors at C-suite level across your subsectors. Industry CIOs, CTOs, COOs and CDOs will regard you as an experienced and trusted adviser who can engage with them as a peer on understanding their business problems and as a leader in how we can use technology to solve them.

You can confidently shape business strategy, market selection, proposition development, and investment decisions. You are collaborative and your default approach is to work with peers as a team, openly sharing information, resources, and comms. You are comfortable in a culture which values and rewards collective success over personal attribution and that takes a “One Team” approach to everything we do.

You are commercially sharp, with a demonstrable track record of growing a business line or BU, closing large (£1m+) complex deals, owning P&L of £10m+, and winning the trust of our target buyer personas. You are a strategic thinker who is equally comfortable rolling up your sleeves and engaging in bids, proposition development, and client strategy reviews.

You have strong client facing skills. You are comfortable identifying win themes and creating compelling narratives that explain how we can help and why they should trust us. You have great negotiation skills and can persuade, influence, get the outcomes we need and develop deeper relationships at the same time.

You have experience building and scaling high performing cross-functional go-to-market teams: defining roles, setting the bar for performance, motivating people towards strategic goals, and building a culture and environment that enables people to deliver their best. You are a natural leader: people follow you because you set direction clearly, bring others with you, and create confidence.

You are energised by ambiguity, resilient under pressure, and proactive in identifying and fixing issues. You don’t need a perfect environment to thrive and where there are problems, you take a positive approach to making them better. You are self-motivated and are comfortable independently defining and driving day-to-day activities towards Softwire’s objectives. You don’t need someone to spell it all out.

What We Offer

Package

• Softwire operates transparent pay scales and a profit share scheme based on role and overall company performance.
• Highly competitive base salary based on level of experience in a similar role.
• You can expect to receive a lucrative profit share/bonus depending on your band and company performance.
• Pension: Additional 5% of salary.
• 25 days annual leave (with the option to buy and sell).
• Time off for company-wide morale events, time off for charitable activities.
• Free annual eye test, income protection, cycle to work, electric vehicle lease schemes, and payroll charity donations.

Flexibility

We are a flexible employer who understand that being committed to a job is not the same sacrificing everything for it: holiday is holiday; if you need flexibility for life stuff that’s not a problem; and we don’t expect (or want) long hours - we believe in a good work/life balance.