Head of Business Application Engineering, Asset Management

We have an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Head of Business Application Engineering in our Asset Management Technology Solutions Team to lead the design, planning and governance of IT architecture and platforms across entire Asset Management business unit. This is an exciting time to join the Asset Management team as we enter a period of significant growth, with the aim to be the best-in-class Asset Management team within the European Insurance sector. This is a unique opportunity to join the journey from the beginning and play a key role in the end-to-end transformation.
Job Title: Head of Business Application Engineering, Asset Management
Job Type, Grade: Permanent, Senior Leadership
Location: This role could be based from our Birmingham, Edinburgh or Telford offices with time spent working in the office and at home.
Flexible working: All of our roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.
Closing Date: 28/06/2024
Salary and benefits: £100,000-£150,000 negotiable, plus bonus 30% to 60%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more
Hiring Manager: Grant Kerr
Who are we?
We want to be the best place that any of our 7,800 colleagues have ever worked.
We're the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business. We offer a range of products across our market-leading brands, Standard Life, SunLife, Phoenix Life and ReAssure. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a pension with us. We're a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050, and we're not done yet.
We have an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Head of Business Application Engineering in our Asset Management Technology Solutions Team to lead the design, planning and governance of IT architecture and platforms across entire Asset Management business unit.
The role
We are seeking an experienced and visionary Head of AM Business Application Engineering with deep expertise in AWS cloud technologies and proficiency in Python programming. As a strategic leader, you will be responsible for driving technical innovation, managing engineering teams, and spearheading the development of scalable, resilient, and high-performance cloud solutions. You will play a critical role in shaping the technology roadmap, fostering a culture of excellence, and ensuring the successful delivery of cutting-edge products and services. As the Head of AM Business Application Engineering you will be accountable for the delivery of Asset Management's technology platform enablement through a significant period of transformation and enabling a suitable support model for a mature Asset Management function which is core to the success of the wider Phoenix Group.
Key responsibilities
- Leadership: Provide strategic direction and technical leadership for the engineering organization, guiding the design, development, and deployment of AWS cloud-based solutions. Define best practices, standards, and frameworks for architecture, development, and operations. Lead and mentor a team of talented engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, continuous learning and empower team members to achieve their full potential.
- Architecture and Design: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to architect scalable, secure, and cost-effective solutions on the AWS cloud platform. Drive the adoption of cloud-native architectures, microservices, and serverless technologies. Ensure alignment with business objectives and technical requirements.
- Development and Implementation: Oversee the development and implementation of software solutions, leveraging Python programming for backend development, data processing, and automation tasks. Champion best practices in software engineering, code quality, and testing.
- Cloud Infrastructure Management: Manage and optimize cloud infrastructure, including compute, storage, networking, and security components. Utilize AWS services such as EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, ECS, and others to build resilient and scalable cloud environments.
- DevOps and Automation: Drive the adoption of DevOps practices and automation tools to streamline development workflows, increase efficiency, and enhance reliability. Implement CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC), and configuration management techniques.
- Performance and Scalability: Monitor and optimize the performance, scalability, and reliability of cloud-based systems. Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions to proactively identify and address issues. Continuously optimize costs and resource utilization.
- Security and Compliance: Ensure the security and compliance of cloud environments, implementing robust access controls, encryption mechanisms, and compliance frameworks.
What we're looking for
Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree or equivalent in computer science, technology or engineering
- Any AWS Cloud certifications will be considered
Experience
Essential
- A strong practitioner of Software engineering disciplines
- Demonstrated Platform Engineering Experience within Financial Services / Asset Management
- Strong stakeholder management and engagement skills
- Ability to travel between business office locations in Edinburgh and London; and the primary engineering location in Telford.
Technical Knowledge and Capability
- AWS Public Cloud experience and Understanding of AWS Serverless Technologies
- Demonstrable practical programming experience using Python
- Strong Practical Experience with Bitbucket Cloud, Bitbucket pipelines, Containerisation, Python, AWS CDK, JavaScript, typescript.
- Understanding of API design, build and implementation of GraphQL / REST API's along with the use of Swagger
- Exposure to Reporting tools and integration via API's (E.g. Quicksight, Tableau, Qlik, Power BI)
- Understanding of the DevSecOps pipelines and integration of multiple SaaS solutions into the pipeline to meet comprehensive security non-functional requirements.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to integrate 3rd party SaaS products into complex IT estates, manage interdependencies between products and lead end to end delivery in potentially multi-supplier engagements
Desirable
- Membership of a professional body
- Experience of working with Front Office and Quant developers in Asset Management
We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we've advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we'd love to hear from you.
If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.
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