Role: Product Owner – Record of Reference (Minimal Core)
Location: London, UK
Is it Permanent / Contract: Permanent
Is it Onsite/Remote/Hybrid: 4 days per week from office
Job Description:
ROR Experience - 10-12 years
Role Purpose
The Product Owner – Record of Reference (RoR) will lead the definition and delivery of CLIENT’s minimalistic core banking layer, acting as the authoritative system of record for key banking, client and transactional entities.
This role is central to CLIENT’s transformation agenda, owning the evaluation, proof‑of‑concept, selection and implementation of products and platforms that together form the RoR capability—while ensuring seamless integration with payments, FX, risk, compliance, finance and downstream platforms.
The Product Owner will balance simplicity, regulatory robustness and scalability, ensuring CLIENT avoids heavyweight core replacement while enabling product and geographic growth.
Key Responsibilities
RoR Product Ownership & Strategy
- Define the vision, scope and functional boundaries of CLIENT’s Record of Reference platform in collaboration with CLIENT and in line with the principles laid out.
- Own the product roadmap for a minimal core that serves as the system of record without duplicating downstream processing systems.
- Ensure the RoR supports CLIENT’s B2B banking model, multi‑currency operations and complex market structures.
Product Evaluation & Selection
- Lead structured product evaluations, RFPs and vendor assessments for RoR‑related components (core, ledger, customer/static data, workflow).
- Own PoCs and pilots to validate functional fit, integration complexity, scalability and regulatory compliance.
- Drive buy‑vs‑build decisions with a clear focus on time‑to‑value and long‑term maintainability.
Requirements & Delivery Ownership
- Own end‑to‑end requirements from regulatory, operations, finance, payments and FX stakeholders.
- Translate requirements into clear epics, stories and acceptance criteria.
- Lead implementation delivery through configuration, integration, migration and controlled rollout.
Systems of Record & Data Integrity
- Define golden sources for customer, account, product, limits and reference data.
- Ensure strong data governance, lineage and auditability in line with regulatory expectations.
- Prevent functional overlap and data duplication across upstream and downstream systems.
Integration & Architecture Alignment
- Own the integration model between the RoR and surrounding platforms (payments, FX, AML, finance, reporting, client channels).
- Ensure API‑first, event‑driven or service‑oriented integration approaches are followed.
- Work closely with Architecture to ensure the RoR fits CLIENT’s long‑term technology roadmap.
Regulatory & Operational Alignment
- Embed regulatory requirements (UK PRA/FCA, audit, reporting, controls) into RoR design from day one.
- Partner with Ops and Finance to ensure the RoR supports reconciliations, GL alignment, controls and operational reporting.
- Ensure implementation supports operational readiness, support models and resilience.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Product Owner or Product Manager experience on core banking, ledger or system‑of‑record platforms within a regulated bank.
- Experience in implementation of cloud/composable banking solutions for banks or equivalent would be desired.
- Strong understanding of minimal core / composable banking architectures.
- Proven experience running product evaluations, PoCs and vendor selections.
- Track record of owning complex system implementations with multiple integrations.
Highly Desirable
- Experience working with wholesale, transaction banking or B2B‑focused banks.
- Exposure to payments, FX, finance, AML or reporting platforms and how they consume core/reference data.
- Experience modernising or simplifying legacy core landscapes.
What Success Looks Like
- A clearly defined, lightweight Record of Reference that is stable, auditable and scalable.
- Reduced architectural complexity and duplication across CLIENT platforms.
- Faster onboarding of new products, markets and partners.
- Clean integrations that allow CLIENT to evolve payments, FX and channels independently of the core.