Application Development Vice President

10 Sept 2025

London, LND, GB, EC2M 2AT

SMBC: A trusted partner for the long term 

 

Here at SMBC Group, we want to help you find the next step in your career so read on to discover if this opportunity is the one for you. We like to recognise potential in our people, so we welcome your application even when your experience doesn’t perfectly align with the job description. Whilst we’ll always strive to be better, we’re proud of our inclusive culture, and encourage our applicants and colleagues to be their authentic, unique selves. 

 

 

Who we are

United by a sense of purpose towards our customers – to be a trusted partner for the long-term – and our universal banking platform in EMEA, SMBC Group has an international growth agenda and award-winning products, meaning we provide exciting opportunities to work on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. We deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers as well as investment banking and advisory services, and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets. Read on to find out how you could enhance your skills and gain valuable experience, by joining us to support our clients transition to a sustainable future.

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated IT Service Owner to take end-to-end accountability for the suite of applications supporting SEPA Instant Payments for SMBC in EMEA. This role is critical in ensuring the reliability, performance, and continuous improvement of real-time payment services, aligning with regulatory standards and customer expectations for 24/7 availability. 

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in IT payments processing, a deep understanding of banking payment systems, regulation and messaging formats. 

Business Area

The Business Application Payments Team is a specialized group within the Information Technology & Security Department responsible for designing, developing, maintaining, and supporting the systems and infrastructure that enable secure and efficient financial transactions across SMBC in EMEA. 

The team plays a critical role in ensuring that all day to day payment processing is executed reliably and in compliance with regulatory standards. Through the building, maintaining & managing of change for platforms & applications that support payment processing for the customers of SMBC.  This requires working closely with our internal stakeholders and external technology vendors to deliver business needs. 

Position Description

Product Owner for the end-to-end SEPA Instant payments product offering, responsible for the applications that underpin processing of this payment rail

Own the lifecycle of SEPA Instant Payments applications, including incident management, change control, capacity planning, and service continuity

Ensure high availability, performance, and resilience of the SEPA Instant Payments platform, meeting strict SLAs and compliance requirements.

Act as the primary point of contact for internal business units, IT and external vendors, regarding service performance and enhancements.

Lead root cause analysis and resolution of major incidents. Drive problem management to reduce recurring issues and improve service stability.

Manage projects involving any future enhancements or regulatory changes required with the SEPA Instant payment solution, including the management of both internal & external vendors

Implement and maintain robust monitoring tools. Provide regular service performance reports and dashboards to stakeholders.

Ensure services comply with SEPA regulations, PSD2, and internal security policies. Participate in audits and risk assessments

Identify and implement service improvements, automation opportunities, and cost optimizations.

Skills and Experience

Works autonomously but maintains an open dialogue with management and escalating as appropriate. 

Manages vendors, negotiates contracts, commercials, legal terms etc. 

Works effectively across regulatory, geographic and cultural boundaries throughout the EMEA region. 

Facilitate communication between IT delivery teams and business stakeholders. 

Assist in developing mitigation strategies and tracking the implementation of action plans. 

Provide general administrative & documentation support to the IT delivery team, such as managing solution design with requirement definition 

Competencies

Customer Focus
Driving Change
Driving Results
Embraces Diversity
Enterprise Leadership
Judgement and Decision Making
Risk Management
Strategic and Visionary
Trust and Integrity

What we offer

For all the expertise and experience you bring to help us make a difference, it’s only sustainable if we support you to build your career and be your best self so we offer competitive company benefits, centred around promoting positive well-bring and work-life balance. We also believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, where all team members perspectives and contributions are valued. Initiatives in place which promote a diverse and inclusive culture and healthy work life balance include hybrid working, Sport & Social Clubs and Diversity and Inclusion networks.

As an employee of SMBC you have access to a host of both useful and exciting benefit offerings. See below some of the benefits on offer to you:

  • Hybrid and flexible working 
  • Competitive paid leave days
  • Benefits to support your physical wellbeing, including private medical insurance and life and invalidity insurance 
  • Various policies to support your mental wellbeing, including a robust behavioural health network with counselling and coaching services  
  • Access a wide range of learning and development opportunities and career progression opportunities 
  • Ambitious remuneration package

So, if you like a challenge and want to continuously grow and develop in a role where you will be supported along the way by a dynamic and diverse team, apply today!!

 

We recognise our role as a bank to support social change and welcome all applications, including those from groups often under-represented in financial services. We value the uniqueness of professional and personal, backgrounds and perspectives as they play a vital role in continuing the sustainable growth of our organisation. We’ll ensure reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process are offered due to a disability or long-term condition whenever requested.  

 

About SMBC

A trusted partner for the long term
United by a sense of purpose towards our customers - to be a trusted partner for the long-term - and our universal banking platform in EMEA, we deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers, including corporate, structured and trade finance, leveraged finance, loan market and treasury products. We can also provide investment banking and advisory services and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets.
Find out more about what we do and who we are at www.smbcgroup.com/emea