Role purpose
To lead the delivery of critical workstreams within a major acquiring transformation programme, ensuring that business outcomes are achieved through effective mobilisation, structured delivery, disciplined execution and strong cross-functional engagement. The role requires someone who can operate in a matrix environment where resources sit across product, technology, commercial, finance and operations, rather than building a standalone team.
Core responsibilities
We are hiring a senior delivery leader to support a major payments transformation within an acquiring business.
The successful candidate will have worked on large-scale payments, platform or transformation programmes, ideally within acquiring, merchant services, financial services technology or major digital / process transformation environments.
This is a practical delivery role. The individual must be able to solve problems, structure delivery, influence across a matrix organisation and personally lean in where needed.
Lead complex payments transformation workstreams from design through delivery, implementation and stabilisation.
Establish the right delivery structure, governance, metrics and cadence for the workstream.
Drive delivery outcomes directly, rather than simply coordinating status updates.
Work effectively across a matrix organisation, influencing technology, product, operations, commercial and finance teams.
Identify delivery risks, dependencies, constraints and blockers, and actively resolve them.
Apply agile, waterfall or hybrid delivery methods pragmatically, selecting the best-fit approach for the task.
Translate strategic business outcomes into actionable delivery plans and measurable delivery patterns.
Operate comfortably in brownfield environments involving legacy technology, new platforms, vendor delivery and operational constraints.
Take ownership of specific delivery gaps or roles at points in time where the programme requires it.
Bring AI literacy and a considered view on how AI will transform payments, acquiring, servicing, risk, operations and platform economics.
Required and essential experience - attributes and behaviours
Significant experience in major payments, fintech, payment acquiring company in transformation delivery.
Large-scale programme or consulting experience, ideally in technology transformation or process re-engineering.
Delivery-led consulting or transformation backgrounds, such as technology delivery, process re-engineering, platform implementation or turnaround work.
More likely to have worked delivery-led consultancies.
Less likely to be pure strategy or people advisory backgrounds unless there is clear evidence of hands-on transformation delivery.
BAU-only profiles are unlikely to fit unless gained in a private equity, turnaround or similarly intensive transformation environment.
Proven delivery track record across complex, industry-scale change.
Experience working in matrix organisations where accountability is shared across multiple functions.
Strong practical understanding of delivery metrics, delivery cadence, benefit measures and risk management.
Hands-on, practical and able to lean in to solve delivery problems.
Outcome-focused, pragmatic and not precious about delivery methodology.
Energetic, curious and able to build momentum from ambiguity.
Commercially aware, with strong judgement around benefits, cost, customer outcome and operational performance.
Prepared, informed and able to evidence research into the specific deal structure and transformation context.
This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship and applicants must already hold the legal right to work in the UK.
The suitable candidate needs to be based in the UK already and be able to work in London or Northampton, in easy commuting distance.
This role is intended for candidates who are already operating at Director/SVP level.
Strong evidence - essential experience
Personally driven delivery, not just managed governance or reporting.
Takes major change live and follows through into stabilisation.
Can challenge optimistic reporting and distinguish real progress from activity.
Understands brownfield constraints and can make pragmatic trade-offs.
Builds credibility with senior stakeholders, engineers, product, finance and operations.
Director-Level Expectations
Lead with clarity, accountability and pace, ensuring delivery commitments are understood, owned and progressed.
Operate effectively in complex, matrixed environments, balancing commercial outcomes, customer experience, risk and control considerations.
Provide clear delivery insight and challenge to support senior decision-making and executive governance.
Leadership Behaviours, Values and Mindset
All colleagues with leadership responsibilities are expected to demonstrate the LEAD behaviours: Listen and be authentic, Energise and inspire, Align across the enterprise, and Develop others.
All colleagues are expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship.
All colleagues are expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset: Empower, Challenge and Drive.
About BPL
Barclays’ payments acceptance business provides critical infrastructure to the UK economy, processing billions of pounds of payments annually for both small businesses and domestic and international corporate clients.
In April 2025, Barclays announced a long-term partnership with Brookfield Asset Management to grow and transform the payments acceptance business by broadening the range of services offered and enhancing the experience for both existing and prospective clients. Leveraging extensive client relationships and deep experience of UK payments, BPL will create an environment of continuous innovation, activated by Brookfield’s global private equity expertise in payments, technology, operational transformation and corporate carve-outs, to ensure the business is strategically positioned for long-term growth.
Barclays will invest approximately £400m in the new business, the majority of which will be incurred during the first three years. Performance-linked incentives will drive greater alignment between the partners, underpinning the long-term commitment to the transformation.
Barclays and Brookfield will work to create a standalone entity over time, continuing to use the Barclaycard Payments (BPL) brand and acting as the sole payments acceptance services provider to Barclays’ clients for a minimum of ten years.For more information on our partnership with Brookfield, please visit Barclays.com.
Purpose of the role
To manage change projects that help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives, while ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, in control and in compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies and procedures.
Accountabilities
- Management of change projects within the organisation, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within scope, budget, and to the required quality standards.
- Development and management of project plans that outline the scope, objectives, timelines, and resource requirements for change projects.
- Communication with stakeholders, including senior management, project teams, and external partners, to ensure that they are informed about project progress and that their needs and expectations are being met.
- Management of project teams, ensuring that they are properly resourced and that they have the necessary skills and expertise to deliver on project objectives.
- Management of project budgets, ensuring that projects are delivered within the agreed budget.
- Creation of reports on project progress to ensure that proposed solutions are delivered on time and within budget.
- Management of project risks, ensuring that risk, assumptions, issues and dependencies are identified, assessed, and mitigated as necessary.
- Facilitation of change management activities, including training and communication, to ensure that change projects are successfully implemented and embedded in the organisation.
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.
