Lead Operational Excellence Specialist

ABOUT US We’re the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services, headquartered in Belgium. We are the way the world moves value – across borders, through cities and overseas. No other organisation can address the scale, precision, pace and trust that this demands, and we’re proud to support the global economy. We’re unique too. We were established to find a better way for the global financial community to move value – a reliable, safe and secure approach that the community can trust, completely. We’re always striving to be better and are constantly evolving in an ever-changing landscape, without undermining that trust. Five decades on, our vibrant community reflects the complexity and diversity of the financial ecosystem. We innovate diligently, test exhaustively, then implement fast. In a connected and exciting era, our mission has never been more relevant. Swift now has a presence in 200 countries and legal territories to serve a community of more than 12,000 banks and financial institutions. Are you an operational leader who has run production environments and transformed how services operate at scale? Do you combine hands-on engineering credibility with the ability to shape strategy, influence senior stakeholders and drive lasting operational improvements? In this role, you will lead the evolution of operational excellence across our mission-critical platforms and services. You will work closely with engineering, service owners and senior leadership to improve resilience, strengthen governance, and embed a culture of continuous improvement grounded in real-world operations. This role is critical to ensuring our licence to operate, enabling our teams to deliver stable, secure and high-performing services to our global community. What you will do You will: Shape and drive the operational excellence strategy, grounded in real operational experience and aligned to business priorities and regulatory expectations Lead governance and operational forums, translating operational data and insights into clear, actionable recommendations for senior leadership Define and evolve operational KPIs (e.g. Availability, MTTR, MTTC), ensuring they drive the right behaviours across engineering and service teams Improve operational visibility, ensuring dashboards and data provide a consistent, reliable view of service health and risks Partner with engineering and ITSM teams to embed best-practice operational processes and ways of working Drive continuous improvement initiatives, using operational data, incident trends and real-world insights to deliver measurable impact Influence without authority, working across a complex organisation to align stakeholders and drive change Act as a bridge between engineering and leadership, ensuring operational priorities are understood, owned, and acted upon What will make you successful We are looking for a profile that combines operational depth, engineering credibility and transformation capability: Core experience Proven experience running or owning production services or platforms in a complex, mission-critical environment Strong background in incident, problem and service management, ideally within a regulated environment Demonstrated experience driving operational transformation (not just maintaining or improving processes) Solid understanding of ITIL and modern service management practices Engineering credibility Previous hands-on experience in engineering, infrastructure, SRE or operations environments Ability to credibly engage with engineering teams and understand real operational challenges Experience translating technical realities into operational improvements and governance structures Operational excellence & governance Experience defining and managing operational KPIs and performance frameworks (e.g. availability, MTTR, reliability) Proven track record of building or improving operational governance (forums, reporting, accountability models) Familiarity with regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, DORA or similar Leadership & influence Strong servant leadership mindset – able to influence, empower and challenge teams Experience leading without direct authority in a matrixed organisation Ability to engage senior stakeholders and translate data into clear, compelling narratives Ways of working Comfortable working in Agile environments (JIRA, Confluence familiarity beneficial) High level of ownership, autonomy and drive Willingness to roll up sleeves and engage at both strategic and operational level What we offer We give you the freedom to be yourself. We are creating an environment of unique individuals – like you – with different perspectives on the financial industry and the world. A diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone’s voice counts and where you can reach your full potential. We are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation related to accessibility during your application or interview, please contact accessibility-Sysgroup@swift.com or indicate this in your application. Please note that this mailbox is not monitored for general recruitment enquiries and should only be used for accessibility or accommodation-related requests (for example related to vision, hearing or neurodiversity). All requests are confidential and will not affect your candidacy. Don’t meet every single requirement? At Swift, we are dedicated to building a workplace where people can bring their full selves and ideas to the team, so if you are excited about this role, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every single qualification. Swift doesn’t stand still. We are constantly evolving and tirelessly innovating. Working at the intersection of finance and technology is a very exciting place to be right now. Swift is transforming cross-border payments, making them faster and more transparent than ever before. We are the way the world moves value — every instant of every day, in almost every country. We are proud that what we do has a critical impact on the global financial community and touches almost every aspect of the financial world. So, what you do at Swift has real impact too — an impact that matters every day. Which is why you matter to us. Joining Swift gives you unparalleled exposure to knowledge, expertise and technologies. If you have what it takes, you’ll be able to take on different career paths and have the opportunity to work in teams, departments and disciplines in countries around the world. Swift is unique. There is no other organisation like ours in the world driving the long-term future of the financial ecosystem. You’ll be surrounded by bright, customer-focused and intellectually curious people in a collaborative, friendly, open and inclusive environment. At Swift we are trusted every instant. Everything we do has an impact that matters. And as a member of our team, you are trusted to make your impact every day. Interested in working at Swift, but the role you are looking for is not available yet? Please create an account and register for a Job Alert and we will let you know when new jobs matching your career interests become available.