Strategic delivery lead

Seccl; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary up to £115k

Pension 6%

27 days holiday

Private medical insurance

Learning budget

Sabbatical after 8 years

Home office stipend

Job summary

Seccl is seeking a strategic delivery lead to join our growing team in London or Edinburgh. You will own complex programmes end-to-end, from business case through to launch and handover, translating strategic aims into actionable plans.

You’ll work across Product, Engineering, Operations, Commercial, Risk and Finance, partnering with senior customer stakeholders to deliver programmes of significant value and complexity.

Qualifications

• Background in financial services or regulated industry.
• Experience leading large, complex programmes (re-platforming, market expansion).
• Ability to manage cross-functional dependencies and deliver with accountability.

Responsibilities

• Own complex strategic programmes end to end, from business case and mobilisation through to launch, migration and handover.
• Build the business case, delivery plan, team and governance needed to move a programme.
• Lead cross-functional delivery across Product, Engineering, Operations, Commercial, Risk, Finance and other teams.
• Drive decisions and resolve blockers, while managing risks, dependencies, scope, cost and timelines.
• Lead commercial discussions with customer firms where needed, working with Commercial and Legal.
• Run readiness and go/no-go decisions, then closing programmes against their original business case.

Skills

Financial services

Programme management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Job description

Hybrid role requiring three days a week in our London or Edinburgh office

About Us

Seccl is the Octopus-owned embedded investment platform, on a mission to help more people invest, and invest well.

We're building the infrastructure behind the next generation of investing. Our technology powers some of the UK's most ambitious and forward-thinking banks, fintechs, financial advisers and wealth firms, giving them the software and services they need to launch and grow investment propositions at pace.

We've grown rapidly to reach the scale of some of the UK's largest investment platforms. Today, more than one million people – around 5% of UK investors – rely on Seccl to power their investment experience. And we're now expanding into Europe.

We're proud to be part of Octopus, a group with a track record of using technology to transform established industries. Our sister company, Octopus Energy, has grown from a UK start-up into a global energy and technology business, while its now-demerged Kraken platform supports tens of millions of accounts around the world. We share that ambition to use better technology to transform an industry – replacing outdated investment infrastructure with technology that’s faster, simpler and built for the future.

Like Octopus, we're a B Corp-certified company, with a firm belief that profit and purpose should go hand in hand. If you want to help shape the future of investing in the UK and Europe, you'll be in good company.

Check out the Seccl website to see what we're building and read more about our mission to shape the future of investments.

The role

You'll join our strategic delivery team, reporting to our head of strategic delivery, and lead some of Seccl's biggest and most complex programmes. These could include managing our entry to new markets, overseeing the onboarding of major new customers, tackling significant re-platforming projects or launching new operating models.

You'll take responsibility for a programme end to end – turning a strategic or commercial objective into a workable plan, bringing together the right people from across Seccl and driving the decisions needed to get it delivered.

You'll work across the business – collaborating with our product, engineering, operations, commercial, risk and finance teams, as well as directly with senior stakeholders at our customer firms. These programmes will be of significant commercial value and come with real complexity, so you'll need to build strong relationships, make difficult calls and know when something genuinely needs escalating.

You Will

What you'll be accountable for...

• Own complex strategic programmes end to end, from business case and mobilisation through to launch, migration and handover


• Build the business case, delivery plan, team and governance needed to get a programme moving


• Lead cross-functional delivery across Product, Engineering, Operations, Commercial, Risk, Finance and other teams


• Drive decisions and resolve blockers, while managing risks, dependencies, scope, cost and timelines


• Lead commercial discussions with customer firms where needed, working closely with Commercial and Legal


• Run readiness and go/no-go decisions, then closing programmes against their original business case

This role's for you if...

• You have a background in financial services, fintech or another regulated industry and understand the complexity that comes with delivering significant change


• You have experience leading large, complex programmes (such as major re-platforming or new market expansion), and understand the complexities and inter-dependencies involved


• You've independently led complex, high-stakes programmes from start to finish, with accountability for deliveryYou're comfortable creating direction and structure where there isn’t an existing playbook, and solving problems as they emerge


• You build strong relationships and collaborate well across teams, while being confident enough to challenge, hold people to account and make difficult decisions


• You understand both delivery and the commercial case behind it, including cost, value and trade-offs


• You're strong at cross-functional dependency and risk management and know when to make the call yourself

This role isn't for you if...

• You want a ready-made playbook. You'll often need to create the structure and delivery approach yourself


• You prefer a narrow programme management remit. This role works across the business and gets into commercial and strategic decisions


• You're quick to elevate difficult decisions. We'll expect you to use your judgement and operate with a high level of autonomy


• You’d rather avoid customer-facing commercial conversations. Some programmes will involve working directly with senior customer stakeholders

What's in it for you

• A salary of £85,000-£115,000, reviewed annually, plus a 6% employer pension contribution and life assurance


• 27 days' holiday plus bank holidays, your birthday off and paid dependant leave


• Two volunteering days each year


• The option to work abroad for up to six weeks a year


• Secclbrate, our recognition programme offering flexible rewards including extra pay, additional holiday and increased learning budget


• One-month paid sabbatical after eight years


• Private medical insurance with AXA Health


• Enhanced parental leave


• MacBook and up to £500 towards your home office set-up


• £750 annual learning budget


• Health and wellbeing support, including free therapy through Wellness Cloud and mental health support through Headspace


• Financial wellbeing benefits, including Octopus Money, the Octopus Share Incentive Plan and will writing through Octopus Legacy


• Perkbox, with flexible points and a range of discounts and perks


• Access to Cycle to Work and Octopus Electric Vehicle Leasing

Our culture

We put people first and try hard to create an environment where people feel trusted, heard and able to do their best work.

We value openness, curiosity and different perspectives. You'll have the freedom to challenge how things are done, experiment with better ways of working and take real ownership of your impact.

Check out our Glassdoor page for the latest reviews or our LinkedIn for company updates and insights from the team.

Interview process

• First stage: an initial discussion around your relevant experience and how you work with the hiring manager and another strategic delivery lead


• Second stage: role-specific assessment with the hiring manager and chief product officer


• Final stage: a bar raiser interview with our chief technology officer

We review applications as they come in and may close the role once we have enough candidates to move forward. We'll keep you updated throughout.

Everyone's welcome

We want to build a diverse and inclusive company full of brilliant people with different skills, experiences and perspectives. All applicants will be considered without regard to age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran status, neurodiversity or disability.

If this sounds like your kind of thing, we encourage you to apply even if you don't tick every box. We'll love to hear from you.

Compensation Range: £85K - £115K