Head of Derivatives IT Development

Section 1 – Details

Job Title / Corporate Title

Head of Derivatives IT Development

Department / Group

ITSD / Markets Product Oriented Development

Responsible to / Line Manager

Head of IT Development - ITSD

Direct Reports

S&T Front Office Derivatives Development team

Location

London

Date Prepared

October 2024

MiFID Knowledge and Competence

Out of scope

Certification regime

Out of scope

Section 2 – Purpose of Job

• Accountable for the successful software delivery from inception to deployment for the complete Front Office Derivatives Technology Stack
• Deliver key strategic business goals by identifying systems changes that support revenue generation and regulatory reporting for the Front Office businesses, focusing on Derivatives Markets
• Working with development and technology leads in other regions in designing technology solutions on the new strategic Sales and Trading Derivatives platforms
• Build the future technology roadmap for EMEA for Derivatives working with Product Manager, aligning to the global strategic technology framework
• Consolidate the distributed technology landscape in EMEA Derivatives for various entities into a consistent technology stack
• Responsible for the implementation of high priority, high value changes in close cooperation with Product Managers ensuring fast, stable, resilient and supportable systems within the approved budgetary framework.
• Accountable for internal and external audit and their findings as well as regular engagement with the compliance team regarding their specific area.
• Manage external vendor selections and relationships ensuring that we use the most effective and efficient options whilst overseeing cost pressures.
• Manage the team of 15+ Front Office developers to deliver on their individual responsibilities and ensure that the Front Office desks are fully supported with a global system architecture.

Section 3 – Background

The Front office (Derivatives) software development team requires an agile and versatile hands-on specialist and team manager with extensive expertise in Java/Python/C# software.

The role requires an experienced people manager, and an individual that is comfortable to work in close partnership with a variety of front office stakeholders, globally. The head of the team will be expected to be very well versed in, and keep up to date with, a multitude of new technologies.

The role requires a thorough understanding of development and architecture best practice coupled with a good working knowledge of IT General Controls.

The position requires comprehensive knowledge and understanding of complex Derivatives structures and products, pricing and quants and the ability to advise on the best technical solutions to facilitate them.

Section 4 – Facts / Scale

• This role is a key delivery owner for the Front Office Derivatives Business in EMEA.  Working with the Product Owner, it is responsible for delivering sound, well designed and technically advanced solutions to our business users.
• The role is a key escalation point and mentor for the members of the Derivatives Development team
• The role requires design and development of new software, integration with vendor systems, organising on-call rota support and following and expanding the established SDLC processes.
• It involves managing the team of 16 developers covering projects such as Derivatives Sales and Trading, Derivatives Enablement, Prism enhancements and Polaris rollout.
• The role is responsible for agreeing and delivering IT Strategy, assisting in revenue generating and regulatory initiatives and ensuring that SMBC IT systems provide competitive advantage.
• It actively endorses and promotes Diversity and Inclusion opportunities across the board.

Section 5 – Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Responsible for effective and efficient running of the Front Office systems, integrated into the wider SMBC environment in order to meet the needs of SMBC trading desks (Derivatives)
• Managing a team developers working on complex software solutions to onboard and integrate vendor products as well as internal systems covering the full lifecycle of the trade
• Delivering fast-paced agile high quality software changes and solutions, running Scrums and Sprints and creating and deploying Releases
• Providing guidance and advice on .Net, .Net Core, C#, Python, Java and other development tools and languages, their usage and upgrades, and leveraging them to maximise the business benefit.
• Frequent development tasks such as delivering new projects, improving and optimising the current setup, providing future-proofing guidance on all relevant data points.
• Promoting enterprise data management and governance design approach delivered through Agile SDLC.
• Prepare the current tech stack for future hybrid collaboration with cloud technologies such as Azure.
• Delivering regulatory and internal reporting in a resilient and timely manner incorporating the latest and most suitable industry and technology solutions.
• Daily collaboration with traders and Desk heads to make sure their strategic objectives are being met through technology changes.
• Advanced business knowledge and experience in Derivatives and the proven ability to work closely with Derivatives traders to help deliver their strategic objectives.

Section 6 – Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Advanced core development languages covering full stack - .Net, .Net Core, C#, Python, C++ and Java
• Strong numerical and financial skills with the ability to interpret financial information and able to design and use financial models
• Extensive leadership experience of building successful performing development teams and teams with capability fully to support front office stakeholders
• Experience of working in an Agile environment delivering incremental consistent value to front office users at an agreed and published cadence
• Experience of Front Office trading systems is required
• Experience and understanding of a Derivatives Banking Environment, Product range and associated opportunities and risks
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated experience managing, end to end, design, definition and delivery of technical solutions in-line with strategic goals
• Ability to handle communications at all levels from across the whole business, including Front Office.
• Hands-on experience with automated testing frameworks, DevSecOps and CI/CD
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science