Regional Head of Specialized Infrastructure

Overall purpose of role 

The Specialized Infrastructure Regional Manager is responsible for overseeing the introduction of SI products, service deliverables, and production support within the region. Collaborating with regional peers, the manager ensures consistent service levels for High Frequency Trading infrastructure by engaging with business stakeholders, leading teams, supporting staff development, and managing local third-party suppliers. This role involves analyzing complex issues and proposing solutions to reduce infrastructure latency, increase throughput, enhance stability, and improve workflow efficiency. 

As the Regional Head of Specialized Trading Support, this position is part of the senior leadership team and is accountable to our internal/external stakeholders of a superior quality of infrastructure services, and to our colleagues of a learning culture where we continue to grow, improve and advance through innovations. The role provides trading technology support for essential trading operations at the firm and oversees end-to-end technology service delivery, including server, storage, database, network connectivity, low latency computing, low latency networking, and low latency middleware. Services include change projects aligned with business objectives, project services, and proactive management of infrastructure and support. 

The SI Regional Manager also holds global technical service ownership of specific low latency infrastructure disciplines, setting product directions. 

Key Accountabilities

• Providing dedicated business focused support services for Markets Electronic Trading businesses across asset class, at a level commensurate with the Specialized Trading mandate (i.e. high touch, business critical and important support) 
• Working collaboratively with senior business and IT executives to ensure the strategy is aligned with the business 
• Provide strategic direction and implementation to improve production service delivery with a key focus on rapid time to delivery of critical trading support services, world-class production availability, cost optimization, customer satisfaction, and risk management 
• Building outstanding rapport and relationships within the business 
• Ensuring a global operating plan and relevant budget meet the needs of the strategy 
• Delivering annual efficiencies in line with business expectations 
• Ensuring that production service levels are robust and meet business expectations 
• Proactive management of risk posture to ensure Barclays Group is in compliance with risk and regulatory requirements 
• Leading an organization of 15+ in the execution of the strategy 

Stakeholder Management and Leadership 

• Communicates technical content clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences; presents product roadmap to stakeholders for alignment. 
• Prioritizes project tasks and support requests; presents data-driven troubleshooting analysis concisely to stakeholders. 
• Adapts to change, promotes a learning culture, and encourages positive thinking. 
• Manages and coaches a virtual team of engineers, tech leads, and analysts through product strategy and roadmap. 
• Evaluates and introduces new technologies, processes, and policies as needed. 
• Partners with engineering and product teams to align broader initiatives; interfaces and manages suppliers relationships.  

Decision-making and Problem Solving 

• Able to work on complex cross discipline deliverables independently 
• Own technology vision, R&D, architecture, and execution the engineering team 
• Manage the development of scalable and robust systems across multiple disciplines 
• Identify and track critical diagnostic metrics for the health and growth of our core technologies 

Risk and Control Objective  

• Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Barclays Policies and Policy Standards.
• Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Barclays Policies and Policy Standards

People Development 

• Develops immediate direct reports to their fullest potential and can describe coaching and development methods to achieve this 
• Capable recruiter of top talent, and can explain best practices methods to find, evaluate, and select top talent 
• Builds winning teams that win together based on strong teamwork and can explain best practice methods to achieve this 

Person Specification 

The candidate will collaborate with various independent business and technology groups, each with unique technical requirements and team structures. Strong communication skills are essential for the candidate to effectively comprehend the needs of different user groups and accurately articulate technical requirements to both technical and non-technical teams, including Barclays internal teams and external counterparts. 

• Commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
• Proactive self-starter.
• Technical curiosity and willingness to extend knowledge boundaries.
• Capability to innovate and drive changes 
• Willingness to share knowledge and contribute to team success.

Essential Skills/Basic Qualifications: 

• 10 years+ experience working in an Investment Bank (or similar), especially with front-office trading systems and their technologies, including low latency client/server computing and networking. 
• Excellent communicator with significant experience presenting to senior business and IT executives (Managing Director) 
• Proven ability to interface with the business and application development community with a track record for building strong partnerships. 
• Proven experience in designing and implementing large and complex application platform solutions in large financial service firms using web server, application server, and application security technologies. 
• Competent vendor manager with demonstrable track record of experience with managing vendors in large complex infrastructure environments. 
• Has a working knowledge of the key issues in implementing security within in-scope infrastructure 
• Plays a leadership role in the adoption and furtherance of the technology strategy 
• Explored and evaluated design considerations for multiple technologies 
• Computer Science degree or equivalent preferred. 

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.