Head of Change Guild

Description The Application Solutions Guild defines and governs the architectural and engineering approach to how our applications are designed, built, and maintained. The Guild focuses on scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions, driving consistency, reuse, and excellence across product and platform teams to support a product-aligned operating model. As Head of Application Solutions Guild, you'll lead the strategy and execution for application solutions across AXA UKI. You'll own the standards, patterns, and delivery approaches for core business applications, oversee modernisation initiatives, and partner with product, engineering, and enterprise architecture to ensure cross-functional alignment and maximum business value. You'll also build and mentor a community of solution architects and technical leads to raise capability and consistency across domains. At AXA we work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You'll work at least two days a week (40%) away from home, moving to three days a week (60%) in the future. Away from home means either attendance at one of our office locations, visiting clients or attending industry events. We're also happy to consider flexible working arrangements, which you can discuss with Talent Acquisition. What you'll be doing: Define and evolve the application engineering, design standards, and delivery patterns for core business applications. Guide solution design across change programmes and product teams to ensure technical alignment and business value. Own the modernisation roadmap for legacy applications, promoting re-platforming, integration, or retirement where appropriate. Ensure applications are secure, scalable, and support interoperability across platforms and services. Collaborate with engineering, product, and enterprise architecture to ensure application decisions align with AXA's broader technology strategy. Provide oversight for application lifecycle management, from selection and configuration through to support and optimisation. Drive continuous improvement in delivery quality, technical debt reduction, and performance management across the application portfolio. Lead and develop a team of solution architects and technical leads, fostering collaboration and capability-building across domains. Due to the number of applications we expect to receive for this role, we reserve the right to close this advert earlier than the listed closing date to ensure we're able to effectively manage interest. Therefore, if you're interested in joining us at AXA, please don't hesitate to apply. We know that some candidates may be discouraged from applying if they don't meet every requirement. If you're excited by this job and the prospect of working at AXA but you're not sure you tick every box, we'd still encourage you to apply. What you'll bring: Extensive experience in application engineering, solution design, or technical leadership across complex enterprise environments. Deep experience in designing and integrating enterprise-scale applications across multiple business domains. Strong understanding of modern application architectures including APIs, microservices, event-driven design, and cloud-native patterns. Experience working across packaged solutions (e.g., ERP, CRM, policy admin systems) and custom-built applications. Skilled in managing technical risk, vendor solutions, and delivery trade-offs. Knowledge of secure application development, data privacy, and compliance best practices. Familiar with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and application monitoring tools. Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to align technical delivery to business outcomes. As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom. What we offer: At AXA UK, we're appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. You can expect to receive: Competitive annual salary dependent on experience Annual company & performance-based bonus Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions) Life Assurance (up to 10× annual salary) Private medical cover 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays Opportunity to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave Wellbeing services & resources AXA employee discounts To apply, click on the 'apply for this job' button, you'll then need to log in or create a profile to submit your CV. We're proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and don't discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics. If you have a long-term condition or disability and require adjustments during the application or interview process, we're proud to offer access to the AXA Accessibility Concierge. For our support, please send an email to daniel.harrison@axa-uk.co.uk. Who we are: AXA UK Support Functions power AXA's three customer-facing business units, providing the infrastructure, support and expertise to ensure our customers can always count on us. Whether you've got heaps of experience and qualifications behind you, or you're just starting out, we'll give you the support and opportunities to help you grow and develop with confidence. #J-18808-Ljbffr