EMEA Oracle ERP Service Owner - Director - Investment Banking

EMEA Oracle ERP Service Owner - Director - Investment Banking

Direct reports - 10-15 Purpose of the Role
This is a Director role to lead IT teams to deliver and support all Oracle ERP applications (On Prem and On Cloud) for EMEA Finance, Operations and other business and supporting functions

• The role is responsible for the strategic direction, implementation, and operational maintenance of the Bank's Oracle applications ecosystem (ERP and EPM).
• Reporting to the CFO IT Platform Lead, this role is key to delivering strategic IT solutions for Finance functions across all EMEA entities and implementing Oracle solutions across the region, including the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Ireland, and Dubai.
• This role ensures that financial technology solutions are optimized for efficiency, data integrity, compliance, and user satisfaction across the EMEA.
• The role includes line management of a multi-disciplinary delivery team, ensuring effective leadership, capability development, and performance management.

The role also plays a pivotal role in managing senior business stakeholders, building strong relationships across Finance, Operation, IT, and regional leadership teams to ensure Oracle solutions align with strategic and regulatory business needs.

Background and Organizational Context

• The role falls under CFO IT EMEA which operates within the ITSD - Cross Products Platforms Department, providing technology solutions and services that support all EMEA legal entities and branches.
• The function delivers, maintains, and enhances the Oracle Financials platform alongside key in-house finance systems to meet operational, regulatory, and strategic business needs across the region.
• The team manages a diverse Book of Work, spanning strategic platform architecture, regulatory programmes, and continuous improvement initiatives aligned to Finance and Technology roadmaps.
• The role involves extensive cross-functional collaboration across Finance, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and Technology, ensuring integrated delivery and alignment with enterprise priorities.

The role requires Strong cross-regional coordination, partnering with global IT teams and stakeholders in other regions to ensure consistency, leverage global capabilities, and drive standardisation where possible

Scale & Scope

• Lead Oracle Financials services across 20+ EMEA legal entities, covering General Ledger, Operations, Asset accounting, Tax, and Management and Statutory Reporting.
• Oversee delivery of major regulatory and transformation programmes, including ECB-related initiatives.
• Manage an annual operational and change budget of $5M+ with full financial governance.
• Direct a 15+ person multi-disciplinary team alongside third-party vendors and system integrators.
• Own a multi-year strategic roadmap, ensuring platform stability, scalability, and compliance.

Engage senior stakeholders across Finance, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and Technology throughout EMEA

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Governance: Establish and drive the long-term roadmap for Oracle Cloud Applications (ERP/EPM) to support financial transformation
• Product Ownership & Delivery: Serve as the owner of the Oracle ERP/EPM product portfolio, leading module delivery and ensuring alignment with the Finance Technology Book of Work. Oversee ongoing and future EMEA strategic projects, ensuring governance, quality, and timely execution, while providing SME guidance throughout project life cycles.
• Centre of Excellence (COE) Management: Contribute to managing a COE, setting standards for configuration, business rules, and technical development
• Stakeholder & Vendor Management: Collaborate with senior stakeholders (CFO, Finance Managers) to translate business requirements into technical specifications. Manage relationships with third-party implementation partners and system integrators.
• Operational Excellence & Compliance: Ensure high availability and performance of applications. Maintain robust internal controls (SOX), data integrity, and compliance with regulatory requirements (banking standards).
• Innovation & Improvement: Identify opportunities to replace manual workarounds (spreadsheets) with automated Oracle functionalities. Leverage AI and advanced analytics to enhance financial reporting.
• Team & Vendor Management: Creating a Centre of Excellence (CoE) with a high performance team (mix of employees, vendors and temps) to support end-to-end Oracle financial services.

Budgeting & Financial Oversight: Own the service budget including licensing, cloud utilisation, professional services, and operational costs. Drive cost optimisation initiatives and manage annual Oracle renewal cycles

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Experience: 20+ years of experience in leadership, specializing in Oracle Cloud ERP/EPM design, configuration and implementation in an international investment bank.
• Education: Degree in Finance, Accounting and Information Systems (Master's preferred).
• System Knowledge: Deep, hands-on experience with Oracle ERP/EPM applications modules, financial data integration, and reporting tools. Familiarity with API-based integrations, data platforms, and ETL technologies. Data lakes, data sourcing, accounting rules engines, reference data.
• Industry Context: Previous experience in the banking or financial services industry and GAAP standards (IFRS/JGAAP/German/French/US).
• Leadership: Proven experience leading large-scale, complex transformation programs.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to balance immediate operational needs with long-term technology roadmaps.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Influence: Credibility at the C-suite and senior management level.
• Business Process: Strong understanding of finance processes and associated data sets/taxonomies. Understanding of accounting is desirable. Investment and Corporate Banking products and process knowledge 
  

Challenges

• Managing a complex multi-country Oracle Financials architecture across diverse EMEA regulatory and operational environments.
• Balancing conflicting stakeholder requirements while driving standardisation and a consistent strategic direction.
• Independently prioritising a broad portfolio of work within budget, resource constraints, and value-delivery expectations.
• Overseeing resourcing and vendor management to ensure the right capabilities and capacity across BAU and change initiatives.
• Making decisions in high-ambiguity situations, particularly during fast-moving regulatory and transformation programmes