Head of IT - GIFT

About This Role

This leadership role within the Global Chief Information Officer (GCIO) organization is accountable for in-country business relationships, global and regional technology strategy execution, and the management and oversight of local execution, change portfolio, and technology services. The role provides end-to-end leadership across engineering, delivery, governance, regulatory engagement, and audit readiness, ensuring secure, resilient, compliant technology outcomes aligned with business priorities.

Responsibilities

• Provide in-country oversight and coordination for Technology services and business relationships, managing resources across multiple Technology disciplines
• Act as the senior Technology point of contact for country stakeholders, ensuring priorities, risks, and dependencies are clearly understood and managed
• Attend relevant COO-chaired governance committees, leading key Technology discussions and driving decisions to closure
• Drive and implement the Technology strategy defined by the Group CIO, GB/GF CIOs, Technology Function Heads and Regional CIO, translating it into an executable country plan
• Develop and maintain the Country Technology roadmap, covering all relevant GB/GF and Technology Function activities, aligned to business objectives and regulatory expectations
• Ensure local demand is clearly articulated into global portfolios, with the right data to enable prioritisation and investment decisions
• Maintain strong relationships with relevant regulators and government stakeholders, supporting the Regional CIO and country leadership in regulatory engagement
• Face regulators as required: present Technology strategy, control posture, resilience, cyber/operational risk management, and remediation progress with clear, evidence-based narratives
• Lead Technology responses to internal audit, external audit, and regulatory examinations: coordinate walkthroughs, evidence packs, management responses, and closure plans
• Ensure audit findings and regulatory observations are remediated on time with clear ownership, milestones, and sustainable control improvements
• Provide strong engineering oversight across modern technology stacks, including cloud engineering (architecture, security, resilience, cost governance), API platforms/integration (design standards, lifecycle management, reliability), DevSecOps (CI/CD, automated testing, security scanning, policy-as-code, release governance), and AI/ML enablement (responsible adoption, model risk considerations, data controls, secure deployment patterns)
• Ensure engineering practices meet enterprise standards for security-by-design, reliability, observability, and operational resilience
• Oversee application development, remediation, and service management for non GB/GF CIO-owned solutions/services (where applicable)
• Provide management and oversight of the country change portfolio, including prioritisation, sequencing, dependency management, and benefits tracking
• Lead governance for a large portfolio of programmes and projects, ensuring delivery discipline across scope, schedule, budget, risk, and quality
• Drive consistent delivery reporting (RAID, milestones, financials, resource plans) and intervene early to unblock delivery issues
• Ensure change governance supports safe delivery (release controls, change approvals, incident learnings, post-implementation reviews)
• Provide full oversight and advice on Technology issues in-country, including resolution of critical incidents and coordination of key deployments
• Own end-to-end development and running of non GB/GF CIO-owned country Technology services, including problem management and change governance to ensure service quality
• Strengthen operational resilience through improved monitoring, capacity planning, DR readiness, and continuous service improvement
• Own direct cost and headcount management for country teams, including annual planning and forecasting
• Lead people change activities (including restructuring where required) in partnership with HR and in line with local requirements
• Build a high-performing culture with clear objectives, talent development, and strong accountability
• Perform duties in a professional capacity exercising independent judgement, discretion and decision-making authority in planning, organising, directing work, supervising and appraising the work of team members, as applicable; and taking accountability for delivery outcomes
• Represent the organization with relevant internal and external stakeholders
• Allocate and prioritize work, provide direction and feedback, manage team capacity and leave in line with policy as applicable

Requirements

• Senior Technology leadership experience in a regulated environment, with proven delivery of country-level execution and service oversight
• Demonstrated experience facing regulators and managing audit/exam activities, including evidence preparation and remediation closure
• Strong engineering depth across Cloud, APIs, DevSecOps and modern software delivery practices; working knowledge of AI/ML delivery and governance
• Proven capability managing a large portfolio with strong programme and project management discipline (multi-year roadmaps, complex dependencies, multiple stakeholders)
• Excellent communication and executive presence, able to translate complex technical topics into clear business and regulatory outcomes
• Strong governance mindset: risk management, control ownership, operational resilience, and service management

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with AI-enabled tools is an advantage

About the Company

HSBC is committed to building a culture where all employees are valued, respected and opinions count. They take pride in providing a workplace that fosters continuous professional development, flexible working and opportunities to grow within an inclusive and diverse environment. The GCIO organisation partners with businesses to build the platforms, systems, and products that customers use every day. This team keeps people’s money and data safe, and drives innovation for businesses, customers, and colleagues.