Platform Lead

About the Business

Quilter oversees £141.9 billion in customer investments (as at 31 March 2026). It has an adviser and customer offering spanning financial advice, investment platforms, multi-asset investment solutions, and discretionary fund management. The business is comprised of two segments: Affluent and High Net Worth.

Affluent encompasses the financial planning business, Quilter Financial Planning, the Quilter Investment Platform and Quilter Investors, the multi-asset investment solutions business.

High Net Worth includes the discretionary fund management business, Quilter Cheviot, together with Quilter Cheviot Financial Planning - offering a highly personalised service to private clients, charities, trustees, and professional partners. Quilter Cheviot has presence throughout the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands.

At Quilter we never stand still. Our foundations are rooted in our extraordinary expertise, which is trusted by hundreds of thousands of customers, but we have great ambitions to stay one step ahead and make an even greater difference to the people and communities we serve, including our colleagues.

Our business is transforming, continually modernising, and becoming even more customer centric. So, if you want to be bold in the pursuit of your ambitions, bring new ideas, and challenge and evolve what we do, it’s the perfect time to join us!

About the Role

Level: 5

Department: Group Technology Solutions

Location: Southampton or London

Contract type: Permanent

The Platform Lead is accountable for the successful integration, ongoing operation, and strategic delivery of an outsourced platform within the organisation. Acting as the primary interface between the technology and the vendor, this role ensures that the platform performs to agreed service levels, evolves in line with organisational strategy, and delivers measurable value.

Reporting directly to the Head of Affluent Tech/Deputy CIO, the Platform Lead combines technical understanding, commercial acumen, and stakeholder management to govern the vendor relationship, drive continuous improvement, and embed the platform as a core operational capability.

Key responsibilities of the Platform Lead:

Vendor & Partner Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the outsourced platform vendor, managing day-to-day relationships and escalations.
• Maintain the contractual framework, including SLAs, KPIs, pricing schedules, and change management processes pertaining to the technology operations.
• Work with all relevant areas to deliver the technology enhancements aligned to the platform and broader technology strategy.
• Lead regular service review meetings (weekly, monthly, quarterly) with the vendor to assess performance and drive accountability.
• Manage vendor risk, including contingency planning, exit strategies, and compliance with data protection and security obligations.
• Evaluate and negotiate change requests, enhancements, and contract renewals in line with organisational objectives.

Platform Strategy & Roadmap Execution

• Translate the organisational platform strategy into an executable roadmap, working in partnership with the vendor and internal stakeholders.
• Own the platform product backlog, prioritising capability enhancements, integrations, and technical debt in alignment with business priorities.
• Define and track platform OKRs and success metrics, reporting progress to the Head of Affluent Tech and senior leadership.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends, competitor platforms, and vendor product releases and changes to inform strategic decisions.

Integration & Technical Oversight

• Accountable for the execution of the technical integration of the platform into the organisation's architecture, systems, and data landscape.
• Work with internal engineering, data, and architecture teams to ensure integrations are robust, scalable, and well-documented.
• Function as technical owner of the platform, providing input on configuration, APIs, data flows, and third-party connections in collaboration with architecture and engineering practices.
• Lead or co-ordinate platform onboarding, migration, and upgrade programmes, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.
• Ensure integration design and delivery adheres to security, compliance, and data governance standards.

Operations & Service Management

• Own platform operational health, including incident management, problem resolution, and root-cause analysis, aligned to the group service management framework.
• Define and maintain operational runbooks, escalation paths, and service continuity procedures.
• Monitor platform availability, performance, and capacity, proactively addressing risks before they impact the business.
• Manage the change and release management process for platform updates, patches, and new feature deployments.
• Co-ordinate platform-related business continuity and disaster recovery activities in collaboration with IT and Risk teams.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communications

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders across business units, technology, operations, finance, legal, and compliance.
• Function as a trusted advisor, translating platform capabilities into business outcomes and helping stakeholders understand value delivery.
• Produce clear, executive-level reporting on platform performance, risks, costs, and strategic initiatives.
• Facilitate platform governance forums, steering groups, and working groups as required.
• Manage communications around planned maintenance, incidents, and significant platform changes to minimise business impact.

Commercial & Financial Management

• Own the platform budget, including vendor spend, licencing, internal resource allocation, and project delivery costs.
• Conduct regular cost optimisation reviews, identifying opportunities to reduce spend without compromising capability or service quality.
• Provide accurate cost forecasting and variance reporting to finance and the Head of Affluent Technology.
• Build business cases for platform investments, presenting options and recommendations to senior leadership.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Maintain a platform risk register, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, owned, and mitigated appropriately.
• Ensure the platform and its integrations remain compliant with all relevant regulatory requirements, including data privacy, information security, and industry-specific obligations by collaborating with the risk and security functions.
• Lead vendor due diligence activities, including periodic audits, security assessments, and business continuity reviews.
• Ensure all platform-related documentation, policies, and procedures are current, accessible, and fit for purpose.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and develop any direct reports or platform team members, setting clear objectives, providing coaching, and managing performance.
• Build a high-performing platform function by developing technical and commercial capability within the team.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and customer-centricity within the platform team.
• Support wider talent development by mentoring colleagues and contributing to the technology community of practice.

Other

• This role requires occasional travel to vendor sites, partner offices, or other organisational locations.
• The role will be required to participate in on-call or out-of-hours support arrangements during critical incidents or major platform events.
• A flexible approach to working hours may be required to support global vendor relationships across time zones.
• This job description is not exhaustive; the post holder may be required to undertake additional duties consistent with the level of the role.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate the following competencies, experience and behaviours:

• Strategic Thinking - Looks beyond the immediate to understand the wider context; connects platform decisions to organisational goals.
• Driving Results - Sets high standards and holds self and others accountable; delivers against commitments consistently.
• Influencing & Persuading - Builds confidence and buy-in across diverse audiences; navigates political complexity with credibility.
• Commercial Acumen - Understands value drivers and cost levers; makes sound decisions that balance risk and reward.
• Collaborative Working - Works effectively across organisational boundaries; builds trust with vendors, peers, and leadership.
• Problem Solving - Breaks down complex problems systematically; makes evidence-based decisions and owns outcomes.
• Adaptability - Responds positively to change; maintains effectiveness in ambiguous or fast-moving situations.
• Communication -Communicates with clarity and impact; tailors’ messages to the audience and listens actively.

Essential

• Proven experience in platform management, product ownership, or technology delivery within a complex organisational environment.
• Demonstrable track record of managing outsourced technology vendors, including contract governance and service performance management.
• Strong understanding of platform integration concepts, APIs, data architecture, and enterprise technology landscapes.
• Experience owning and executing a technology roadmap, translating strategy into delivery.
• Solid commercial skills, including budget management, cost modelling, and business case development.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to operate effectively from technical teams to C-suite.
• Experience with ITIL or equivalent service management frameworks; incident, change, release, and problem management.
• Good Understanding of information security, data privacy, and regulatory compliance in a technology context.
• Ability to manage ambiguity, prioritise under pressure, and drive decisions in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable

• Experience in financial services
• Familiarity with agile delivery methodologies (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban) and tooling (Jira, Confluence, etc.).
• Exposure to cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) and modern integration patterns (APIs, event streaming, microservices).
• Professional certifications such as ITIL, PMP, PRINCE2, or a relevant platform-specific qualification will be advantageous.

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Inclusion & Diversity

We value diversity and strive to promote inclusivity in all aspects of our culture. We believe in equal opportunities for all, ensuring that no applicant encounters less favourable treatment based on anything but their skills, qualifications, experience, and potential. We celebrate the unique contributions of a diverse workforce and create a respectful, nurturing environment where every colleague can thrive.

Values

Do the right thing: We act with integrity and are proudly committed to going above and beyond in service of our clients and the support we provide our communities.

Always curious: We continuously seek new ideas and knowledge so we’re one step ahead of our clients’ needs. We look for inspiration everywhere and encourage experimentation, recognising that this is how we create brilliant solutions for brighter futures.

Embrace challenge: We aim high to transform our potential into meaningful outcomes. With ambition as our driving force and a steadfast commitment to growth, we succeed for the good of every generation.

Stronger together: Combining our diverse talents, we accomplish more collectively than we ever could do alone. We speak openly, actively listen, and support each other, and constructively challenge and embrace new ideas. We seek empowerment and demonstrate ownership and trust, with the confidence to make impactful decisions.

Core Benefits

Holiday: 182 hours (26 days)

Quilter Incentive Scheme: All employees are eligible to participate in incentive scheme, to incentivise business performance and their contribution.

Pension Scheme: A non-contributory company pension scheme that can be boosted through personal contributions.

Private Medical Insurance: Single cover as standard with options to increase cover to include your partner or children.

Life Assurance: 4x your salary.

Income Protection: 75% of salary, less state benefits, payable after 26 weeks of absence.

Healthcare Cash Plan: Jersey employees only

In addition to our core benefits, we offer a range of flexible benefits to UK employees that you can choose from and pay for conveniently via a salary deduction.