Strategic vCTO for Financial Services

RFA; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

RFA seeks a Virtual Chief Technology Officer (vCTO) to provide strategic technology leadership to a portfolio of financial services clients. The vCTO acts as senior technology advisor, aligning technology with business goals, managing risk, and guiding architecture, platforms, and vendors.

This is a high-level, client-facing role not an implementation position. You will coordinate internal teams and lead executive technology reviews with client leadership to plan multi-year investments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in information technology or related fields.
• 5+ years in a senior technology leadership, architecture, or client advisory role.
• Strong knowledge across infrastructure, cloud, networking, cybersecurity, identity, AWS/Azure, and Microsoft 365.
• Experience developing technology strategies, roadmaps, and long-term investment plans.
• Ability to evaluate complex environments and provide architecture-level recommendations.
• Experience communicating with senior executives and presenting technical topics in business terms.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain multi-year technology roadmaps aligned with client objectives.
• Understand each client’s business, operating model, technology environment, risk profile, and future plans.
• Identify technology gaps, risks, lifecycle issues, modernization opportunities, and future requirements.
• Recommend architectures, technologies, platforms, and vendors.
• Introduce new technologies where they can improve efficiency, security, resiliency, or business outcomes.
• Initiate strategic projects based on identified client needs and coordinate internal teams to execute.
• Provide high-level technical and architectural guidance across cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, identity, Microsoft 365, business continuity, and related technologies.
• Lead recurring strategic technology reviews with client executives.
• Help clients plan and prioritize annual and multi-year technology investments.
• Serve as a senior escalation point when significant technical or service issues require cross-functional coordination.
• Work across Engineering, Security, Compliance, Projects, Service Delivery, Solutions Architecture, and other teams to address client needs.
• Ensure technical decisions and projects remain aligned with the client’s broader strategy.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, including AI and automation, for practical opportunities.

Skills

Technology leadership

Executive communication

Cloud & cybersecurity

Architecture guidance

Vendor evaluation

Tools

AWS

Azure

Microsoft 365

Job description

RFA seeks a Virtual Chief Technology Officer (vCTO) to provide strategic technology leadership to a portfolio of financial services clients. The vCTO acts as senior technology advisor, aligning technology with business goals, managing risk, and guiding architecture, platforms, and vendors.

This is a high-level, client-facing role not an implementation position. You will coordinate internal teams and lead executive technology reviews with client leadership to plan multi-year investments.