APAC & Middle East Corporate Banking Technology Director

Role Overview

The APAC & Middle East Corporate Banking Technology Director is a critical leadership role responsible for defining and driving the strategic transformation of corporate banking technology across the APAC and Middle East regions. This individual will lead efforts to enhance horizontal Risk & Control frameworks, strengthen Operational Governance, and deliver technology solutions to enable scalable and resilient corporate banking platforms. The role will involve overseeing complex, multi-region technology programs, beginning with the buildout of the Gift City Corporate Banking Platform and extending to Singapore and Hong Kong, while also optimizing delivery in UAE and India for UBS corporate banking programs.

In this role, the successful candidate will collaborate closely with Technology, Operations, Product, and Front Office teams to ensure alignment of technology solutions with business objectives, operational requirements, and product innovation priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Transformation and Governance
• Define and implement the technology strategy to support the corporate banking business in APAC and the Middle East.
• Drive a robust horizontal Risk & Control agenda, ensuring alignment with regional and global corporate banking priorities.
• Establish and maintain strong Operational Governance frameworks to oversee execution quality and mitigate delivery risks.

Program Delivery and Buildout
• Lead the technology development and deployment for the Gift City Corporate Banking Platform, ensuring timely and high-quality execution.
• Oversee the subsequent buildout of corporate banking technology platforms in Singapore and Hong Kong, ensuring scalability, compliance, and efficiency.
• Enhance technology delivery and operational excellence for UBS corporate banking programs in the UAE and India.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with Technology teams to leverage synergies and ensure end-to-end delivery of technology solutions.
• Collaborate with Operations teams to ensure systems are operationally robust and efficient.
• Work with Product teams to incorporate business innovation and new features into the technology roadmap.
• Liaise with Front Office teams to ensure the technology platform supports client-facing requirements and business growth strategies.

Leadership and Team Oversight
• Lead a team of senior technology professionals and cross-functional delivery teams, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability.
• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to India-based technology teams, driving delivery excellence.
• Champion agile execution practices to enhance responsiveness and adaptability to evolving business needs.

Qualifications and Experience

Technical Expertise
• Extensive experience (15+ years) in corporate banking technology, with a proven track record in leading large-scale, multi-region transformation programs.
• Strong understanding of Risk & Control frameworks and Operational Governance practices within banking technology environments.
• Expertise in building and scaling corporate banking platforms across diverse regulatory and operational landscapes.

Leadership and Stakeholder Management
• Demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate with senior stakeholders across business, operations, and technology functions.
• Proven leadership in managing geographically distributed teams, with a focus on fostering innovation and driving delivery excellence.
• Adept at navigating complex regulatory and compliance requirements in APAC and the Middle East.

Other Requirements
• Strong program and portfolio management skills, with experience delivering technology solutions in agile environments.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and organizational skills to manage competing priorities and ensure successful delivery.
• Familiarity with UAE, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong corporate banking landscapes is highly desirable.

Key Competencies
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving
• Strong risk management and governance expertise
• Results-driven, with a focus on execution and impact
• Collaborative leadership and team-building skills
• Adaptability in navigating complex, dynamic environments

Why Join Us?

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the corporate banking technology strategy for one of the most dynamic and high-growth regions in the financial services industry. As a pivotal leader, you will drive transformational change, deliver impactful technology solutions, and strengthen the foundation for future growth across APAC and the Middle East.

Purpose of the role

To  lead and manage engineering teams, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and support to ensure the delivery of high-quality software solutions, driving technical excellence, fostering a culture of innovation, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to align technical decisions with business objectives. 

Accountabilities

• Lead engineering teams effectively, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture to achieve project goals and meet organizational objectives.
• Oversee timelines, team allocation, risk management and task prioritization to ensure the successful delivery of solutions within scope, time, and budget.
• Mentor and support team members' professional growth, conduct performance reviews, provide actionable feedback, and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Evaluation and enhancement of engineering processes, tools, and methodologies to increase efficiency, streamline workflows, and optimize team productivity.
• Collaboration with business partners, product managers, designers, and other stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions and ensure a cohesive approach to product development.
• Enforcement of technology standards, facilitate peer reviews, and implement robust testing practices to ensure the delivery of high-quality solutions.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.