Program Director – Banking & Financial Services Transformation Engagements

Role: Program Director – Banking & Financial Services Transformation Engagements

Location: London, UK

Is it Permanent/ Contract: Permanent

Is it Onsite/Remote/Hybrid: Onsite

Job Description: Program Director – Banking & Financial Services Transformation Engagements

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Program Director to lead large-scale Banking and Financial Services transformation programs across Payments, Forex, Core Banking, Treasury, and Digital Banking domains. This is a senior client-facing leadership role responsible for managing strategic customer programs, overseeing multiple workstreams, driving delivery excellence, and ensuring realization of business outcomes.

The Program Director will serve as the primary executive interface for the Customer, providing leadership across delivery, solutioning, governance, risk management, and stakeholder alignment. The role requires an Accomplished Leader with a strong technology and banking domain background with proven experience in delivering complex banking transformation programs while managing senior client relationships and executive stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

1. Program Leadership & Delivery Management

• Lead large-scale Banking and Financial Services transformation programs across Payments, Core Banking, Forex, Treasury, and Digital Banking domains.
• Own end-to-end delivery of multiple workstreams, ensuring commitments are met for scope, schedule, budget, quality, and business outcomes.
• Establish effective program governance, delivery metrics, and operating models to drive execution excellence and predictability.

2. Executive Stakeholder & Client Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary client-facing executive and trusted advisor for strategic banking programs.
• Build strong relationships with CXOs, business leaders, technology stakeholders, and program sponsors.
• Lead Steering Committee meetings, Executive Business Reviews, governance forums, and executive communications.
• Drive customer satisfaction through proactive communication, transparent reporting, issue resolution, and strategic advisory support.

3. Strategic Solutioning & Transformation Advisory

• Partner with customers to define transformation roadmaps aligned with business objectives and industry trends.
• Drive innovation initiatives leveraging GenAI/Agentic AI, automation, cloud, and modern engineering practices.

4. Governance, Risk & Compliance Management

• Establish and lead robust governance frameworks for program oversight, decision-making, and stakeholder alignment.
• Proactively identify and manage risks, dependencies, escalations, and cross-functional challenges across multiple workstreams.

5. Business Outcomes, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Drive measurable business value and successful realization of transformation objectives across engagements.
• Monitor program performance through KPIs, financial metrics, delivery dashboards, and executive scorecards.
• Provide concise executive reporting on program health, risks, achievements, and strategic priorities.

Qualifications & Experience

Must Have

• 20–25 years of overall experience in Information Technology and Technology Services.
• Minimum 10+ years of experience leading large programs, portfolios, or strategic customer programs.
• Proven experience delivering large-scale Banking and Financial Services transformation programs.
• Strong domain expertise in one or more of the following:
• Payments
• Core Banking
• Treasury & Forex
• Lending
• Digital Banking
• Wealth Management
• Demonstrated success of managing multi-million-dollar programs with multiple workstreams and distributed delivery teams.
• Ability to engage effectively with CXOs, business sponsors, and senior technology leaders.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and strategic consulting skills.

Nice-to-Have

• PgMP, SAFe, Agile, or similar leadership certifications.
• Technical background in Software Engineering, Enterprise Architecture, Cloud Technologies, Digital Transformation.
• Exposure to regulatory and compliance frameworks such as ISO 20022, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, SWIFT, Basel, and related banking standards.
• Experience with GenAI/Agentic AI driven delivery transformation and intelligent automation initiatives.