Product Owner

Lead Product Owner

Tier 1 Bank | 6-Month Contract (Umbrella)

Overview

A leading Tier 1 bank is seeking a highly experienced Lead Product Owner (Director level) to define and deliver the strategic vision across its day-to-day banking, servicing, and mandates portfolio .

Operating within a large-scale, highly regulated environment , this role will be responsible for driving transformation across core banking capabilities, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy while delivering customer-centric, compliant, and scalable product solutions .

You will play a key leadership role across the organisation, bridging senior business stakeholders, technology teams, and offshore delivery functions , ensuring effective execution of complex, business-critical initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Product Leadership

• Define and execute the product vision and roadmap across day-to-day banking, servicing, and mandates
• Ensure alignment with enterprise-wide strategic priorities and regulatory frameworks
• Drive modernisation of product capabilities in line with evolving customer expectations and market trends

End-to-End Product Ownership

• Maintain accountability for the full product lifecycle , from strategy through to delivery and optimisation
• Lead the delivery of large-scale transformation initiatives across core banking products
• Ensure product roadmaps are aligned with business, risk, and operational priorities

Performance & Governance

• Define and manage product KPIs, OKRs, and performance metrics aligned to business objectives
• Ensure robust governance across product delivery, including adherence to:
• Regulatory requirements
• Risk frameworks
• Internal controls

Customer & Journey Focus

• Champion a customer-first, journey-led approach across all product initiatives
• Translate complex business and regulatory requirements into intuitive customer experiences
• Ensure alignment between customer outcomes and organisational goals

Stakeholder & Leadership Engagement

• Act as a key interface between product, technology, operations, and senior executive stakeholders
• Influence decision-making at senior leadership level across business and technology functions
• Drive alignment across multiple business units and delivery teams

Delivery & Offshore Team Leadership

• Lead collaboration across cross-functional teams , including engineering, architecture, operations, and risk
• Provide direction and oversight to offshore teams (India) , ensuring delivery quality, consistency, and alignment
• Foster a high-performance delivery culture across distributed teams

Domain Expertise (Banking)

• Demonstrate deep expertise in:
• Business banking / retail banking operations
• Day-to-day banking products
• Servicing models and customer interaction channels
• Customer mandates, account structures, and controls
• Provide strategic insight into regulatory, operational, and market-driven changes

Experience & Requirements

• Proven experience operating at Lead Product Owner level within a Tier 1 or large financial institution
• Strong background in banking or financial services , with exposure to core banking products
• Experience delivering large-scale transformation programmes within complex, regulated environments
• Strong understanding of:
• Governance frameworks
• Risk and compliance requirements
• Enterprise delivery models
• Demonstrated ability to engage and influence senior stakeholders (C-suite / MD level)
• Experience managing distributed and offshore teams (India preferred)

Preferred Background

• Experience gained within Big 4 or top-tier strategy consulting
• Exposure to core banking transformation, digital modernisation, or platform migration programmes
• Experience working within Agile / scaled Agile environments (e.g., SAFe)

Core Capabilities

• Strategic thinking with strong execution capability in complex organisations
• Ability to navigate matrixed environments and competing priorities
• Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and influencing skills
• Ability to operate effectively in highly regulated, risk-aware environments
• Strong commercial awareness with a focus on value delivery and cost optimisation

Contract Details

• Duration: 6 months
• Engagement Type: PAYE
• Location: [London / Hybrid – 2–3 days onsite typical for Tier 1 bank]
• Start Date: ASAP

Summary

This is a critical leadership role within a Tier 1 bank, focused on delivering strategic transformation across core banking products . The successful candidate will combine strategic vision, hands-on product leadership, and deep domain expertise to drive outcomes in a complex, highly governed environment.