Director, WCR Lead Engineer

Purpose of the role

To design, develop and improve software, utilising various engineering methodologies, that provides business, platform, and technology capabilities for our customers and colleagues. 

Accountabilities

• Development and delivery of high-quality software solutions by using industry aligned programming languages, frameworks, and tools. Ensuring that code is scalable, maintainable, and optimized for performance.
• Cross-functional collaboration with product managers, designers, and other engineers to define software requirements, devise solution strategies, and ensure seamless integration and alignment with business objectives.
• Collaboration with peers, participate in code reviews, and promote a culture of code quality and knowledge sharing.
• Stay informed of industry technology trends and innovations and actively contribute to the organization’s technology communities to foster a culture of technical excellence and growth.
• Adherence to secure coding practices to mitigate vulnerabilities, protect sensitive data, and ensure secure software solutions.
• Implementation of effective unit testing practices to ensure proper code design, readability, and reliability.

Director Expectations

• 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.

The key responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership and Vision:

• Define and communicate the technology strategy and roadmap for credit risk management systems aligned with business goals.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in risk assessment, reporting, and decision-making tools.

Agile Transformation and Delivery:

• Implement and scale agile methodologies (e.g., SAFe) to enhance productivity, transparency, and adaptability.
• Oversee multiple agile teams, ensuring effective collaboration, delivery cadence, and quality standards.

Technology and Architecture Oversight:

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of robust, scalable, and secure credit risk platforms.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards, focusing on system integration, data accuracy, and regulatory compliance.

Leadership and Development:

• Build and mentor high-performing engineering teams, fostering a culture of agility, innovation, and accountability.
• Ensure continuous skill development to keep pace with emerging technologies and industry trends.
• Defining and delivering enterprise-level data architecture and cloud technologies (both on-prem and off-prem), creating robust and scalable solutions to meet business and technology outcomes.
• Delivering future state data capabilities as part of business-critical initiatives driving significant cost, efficiency, and control improvements within the organization.
• Acting as the expert engineer for the technology team, involving line management, mentorship, and leading the overall colleague agenda

Performance Measurement and Optimization:

• Establish KPIs and metrics to measure the effectiveness of technology solutions and agile practices.
• Use data-driven insights to enhance system performance, user experience, and business outcomes.