Head of Architecture (SOPRA / SBS) - Hybrid – London - £900 PD (Inside IR35) - 6 Months

An exceptional opportunity for a Head of Architecture to join a nationally significant financial organisation, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of its core banking platform and digital transformation strategy to be based in London 3 x PW.

This role has been created to fill a critical expertise gap and will act as the organisation’s go-to SME for Sopra Banking Software (SBS/SOPRA) providing technical leadership, challenging suppliers, and ensuring the platform is scalable, secure, and aligned to long-term strategic goals.

The Role
*Act as the internal authority on core banking (SOPRA/SBS)
*Challenge and steer supplier solutions (Sopra, Atos, System Integrators)
*Provide end-to-end architectural oversight across build, test, and release
*Lead core banking integration, optimisation, and transformation initiatives
*Drive adoption of cloud-native, event-driven architectures (AWS aligned)
*Support large-scale migrations and legacy system transformation
*Ensure alignment between business needs, product capability, and technical delivery

Key Experience Required
*Deep expertise in core banking platforms (SOPRA/SBS highly desirable)
*10+ years in banking architecture / core banking engineering / solution architecture
*Proven ability to challenge and influence senior stakeholders & suppliers
*Strong understanding of banking products, processes, and regulatory environments
*Experience delivering large-scale integrations & core banking implementations
*Hands-on knowledge of event-driven architecture & cloud (AWS preferred)
*Track record of owning full lifecycle delivery (build test release)
*Experience with legacy system migration / modernisation programmes

Desirable
*Public sector or government-backed financial services experience
*Exposure to highly regulated environments
*Cloud / Architecture certifications

Head of Architecture (SOPRA / SBS) - Hybrid – London - £900 PD (Inside IR35) - 6 Months