Interim Chief Technology Officer
Interim Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Location: UK (Hybrid)
Duration: 6-9 months
Type: Interim
Start: ASAP
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Interim Chief Technology Officer to join one of the UK’s leading financial services platforms at a pivotal moment in its evolution.
This is a high-impact leadership role focused on stabilising, modernising, and repositioning a large-scale technology function within a highly regulated environment. The organisation operates a complex, mission-critical digital platform serving millions of customers and managing significant assets.
The successful candidate will provide executive-level technology leadership, restore confidence and clarity across engineering and product teams, and shape a credible, forward-looking technology strategy aligned with business goals.
This is not a maintenance role. It is a transformation mandate.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Define and articulate a clear, pragmatic technology strategy aligned to commercial and regulatory objectives
- Partner with the CEO, CFO, and executive team to position technology as a strategic enabler
- Provide Board-level reporting and confidence in delivery, resilience, and risk management
Technology Modernisation
- Assess current architecture, platforms, and operating model
- Develop a realistic roadmap to modernise legacy systems and improve scalability, resilience, and security
- Improve platform stability and operational performance
- Introduce modern engineering standards and DevOps practices where appropriate
Organisational Effectiveness
- Evaluate the existing technology leadership structure and capabilities
- Clarify accountabilities across engineering, architecture, product, data, and security
- Strengthen delivery discipline and execution rigour
- Build a high-performance, accountable engineering culture
Regulatory & Risk Oversight
- Ensure technology meets regulatory expectations in a UK financial services environment
- Strengthen governance, controls, and operational resilience
- Provide assurance around cyber security, data protection, and platform integrity
Stakeholder Management
- Rebuild trust across business units
- Act as a credible and confident voice of technology internally and externally
- Engage constructively with regulators where required
What We’re Looking For
Essential Experience
- Previous CTO experience in a scaled, regulated financial services organisation
- Proven track record leading large engineering teams (300+ FTE ideally)
- Experience stabilising and modernising legacy technology environments
- Demonstrable experience operating at Board and ExCo level
- Strong understanding of risk, governance, and regulatory frameworks in UK financial services
Transformation Capability
- Experience leading through complexity and ambiguity
- Able to balance short-term stability with long-term transformation
- Skilled in diagnosing organisational dysfunction and implementing pragmatic solutions
- Comfortable making difficult structural and capability decisions
Leadership Profile
- Calm, credible, and outcomes-focused
- High emotional intelligence and strong stakeholder management skills
- Hands-on enough to interrogate architecture and delivery issues, but strategic in orientation
- Able to build trust quickly in an established organisation
Why This Role?
- Opportunity to shape the next era of technology in a household-name financial services platform
- Executive-level visibility and influence
- Complex and meaningful transformation mandate
- Immediate impact opportunity
Ideal Candidate Background
We are particularly interested in candidates who have:
- Led technology functions in wealth management, investment platforms, retail banking, or similar regulated sectors
- Delivered large-scale core platform modernisation
- Managed significant operational resilience and cyber security oversight
- Experience in both digital platform environments and legacy modernisation
How to Apply
If you are an experienced technology leader with a track record of stabilising and transforming complex technology functions, we would welcome a confidential conversation.