Description
Thought Machine’s mission is bold – to properly and permanently rid the world’s banks of legacy technology. To achieve this, we have developed the foundations of modern banking through core and payments technology which run natively in the cloud. What we are attempting is hard and means we need great people working together to build great technology.We have grown rapidly in the past few years – growing our team to more than 550 individuals across offices in London, New York, Singapore and Sydney. We have raised more than $500m in funding and are now valued at $2.7bn. Our investors include Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Temasek, Nyca Partners, JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments, Standard Chartered Ventures, and more. We have created a culture that enables our team to produce the best work in the industry while ensuring we have fun along the way. We're regularly cited as having a fantastic workplace culture and have been recognised by Sifted magazine as having one of the highest Glassdoor ratings for a UK fintech company and the industry's most generous employee share package. Global Finance Magazine named us one of the world’s most innovative fintechs, and the Financial Times recognised us as one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in 2023 and 2024.As a Business Architect, you will be the leading authority within Thought Machine regarding business strategies, implementation methodologies, and impacts of executing core banking modernisation programmes. You will develop a deep understanding of the client's needs to help them grapple with complex questions at the very outset of their programmes, such as: Which products and regions should I prioritise for deployment? How can I rationalise my complex legacy product book? How can I manage the impact of the programme on my legacy business? What is the best practice programme delivery method for product and process-related activities? Business Architects are a global client-facing team within Thought Machine’s Client Services division. Much like Solution Architects, who consult on the technical architecture of the target state, Business Architects are a relatively small team of high-value consultants who primarily support clients during the sales and early programme delivery phases before handing off execution to the programme’s delivery teams. Duties
1. Support Thought Machine’s clients in executing their core banking modernisation programmes, which includes consulting on (but not delivering):
2. developing the product strategy, including product prioritisation, rationalisation, and implementation methodologies,
3. advising on delivery phasing, leading to the programme ‘spine of the plan’ for end-end delivery,
4. analysing and understanding the impact of the overall transformation programme on the business and operating model,
5. discovering as-is products, processes and data, cataloguing these so that they can be considered when designing the target state,
6. shaping the high-level to-be products, processes and data, taking a holistic view across capabilities,
7. harmonising products and processes in the legacy estate in advance of production migrations.
8. Be regarded by Thought Machine’s clients as:
9. an authority on the impact of strategic business requirements on their programme strategy/solution,
10. a key strategic partner, working closely with client stakeholders to discuss goals, identify opportunities and make recommendations,
11. a credible core banking and payments SME who can work with the client to solve complex design/delivery issues and effectively innovate and compete in the market.
12. Support Thought Machine’s internal functions through:
13. developing a deep understanding of the client's needs from both a programme perspective and their wider organisation,
14. highlighting the value of our wider professional services offering and providing opportunities to land and expand our delivery teams,
15. providing business-related client and industry insights to Thought Machine’s Product and Engineering teams to support them in product roadmap prioritisation and feature design.
Requirements
Essential
16. Experience delivering:
17. outcome-based professional services,
18. large core banking or payment modernisation programmes at tier 1 financial services organisations,
19. A demonstrated history of:
20. building credibility and relationships with senior stakeholders to help drive them towards appropriate courses of action,
21. independently making informed recommendations based on fluid requirements,
22. communicating effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including up to director / C-suite level,
23. an analytical approach to problem-solving skills with deep attention to detail,
24. managing teams in successful project delivery.
25. Ability to:
26. navigate the complexities of cross-border and/or diverse teams and engagements,
27. explain complex products and software to both business and technical audiences with effective written and verbal communication/presentation skills,
28. adapt communication and delivery approach as needed depending on stakeholder context,
29. map business pain to technology solutions.
30. Deep understanding of:
31. the banking/fintech industry, modern technologies, products and services,
32. the end-to-end lifecycle of large core banking transformation programmes,
33. the regulatory environment that banks operate within, willingness to keep abreast of regulatory developments, and specific understanding of banking regulations in your region.
Desirable
34. Experience designing or developing core banking financial products.
35. Understanding of modern core banking and payment system architectures.
36. Eagerness to keep abreast of financial services industry research, insights, and best practices.
37. Subject matter expertise on the migration Extract, Transform, and Load lifecycle.
Benefits
38. Highly competitive salary
39. Pension plan (match up to 7%)
40. Life insurance - three times annual salary
41. Competitive maternity (six months fully paid) and paternity leave (four weeks fully paid)
42. Shared parental leave (matched to our maternity leave for the same point in time)
43. 25 days holiday and bank holidays
44. Private health insurance with Bupa for you and your family
45. Health cash plan (including dental and optical)
46. Flexible working hours
47. Cycle-to-work scheme
48. Electric car scheme
49. Season ticket loan
50. Access to outstanding learning materials and courses
51. Sports and hobby clubs, subsidised by Thought Machine
52. All the latest tech you need
53. Start the day properly with fresh fruit and cereals
54. Huge range of healthy (and not-so-healthy) snacks, smoothies and drinks
55. A talented and experienced team as your colleagues
56. An environment where we encourage learning and progress
57. Two charity days a year
58. Weekly food pop-up