Chaps Implementation Lead

London, hybrid (three days a week in the office) | £90,000 to £120,000 plus benefits

I'm working with a UK bank that's becoming a direct participant in CHAPS, and they need an Implementation Lead to design, kick off and lead the programme.

The bank

They're a regulated UK bank built on modern, cloud-native technology, giving businesses secure, API-driven banking that's fast, compliant and built for growth. Their aim is simple: take the complexity out of banking so ambitious businesses can get on with their plans. This role puts you in charge of taking them into one of the UK's core payment systems directly, and that doesn't come along often.

The role

The process of becoming a direct CHAPS participant has already started, and you'll own it from here. You'll design the programme, lead cross-functional gap analysis across the bank, identify the delivery requirements and then lead the implementation.

You'll work with people right across the bank, from senior management to the end users, and you'll deal directly with the CHAPS onboarding team at the Bank of England.

What you need

Knowledge of CHAPS and the CHAPS playbook is imperative. This isn't one you can learn on the job. You need to have worked with the scheme properly, ideally in a project leadership or senior delivery role, and you need to know the playbook well enough to steer a bank through onboarding.

Beyond that, you'll have a strong understanding of UK banking and payments, including the regulatory requirements around risk management, governance, operational resilience and supplier management.

You'll be comfortable working on your own to shape the gap analysis, programme design and implementation requirements, bringing in technical, operational and oversight teams as you need them. You'll be happy wearing more than one hat, programme manager one day and business analyst the next, and getting into the detail yourself when it matters.

And you'll bring structure: clear communication, spotting risks and issues early, and a practical approach to solving problems.

The package

The salary is £90,000 to £120,000, and the benefits are strong. You get 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays, rising with length of service, and a day off for your birthday. There's an enhanced pension (up to 20% salary sacrifice), life assurance at four times salary, critical illness cover and private medical insurance for you and your family.

On top of that there's a personal benefits allowance for salary sacrifice extras like cycle to work and dental insurance, a 24/7 GP service, virtual physio, eye care and prescriptions, digital counselling and mental health support, an employee assistance programme, digital fitness classes and discounted gym membership, market-leading parental leave and competitive sick pay. In the office there's fresh fruit and snacks, regular team breakfasts and a peer recognition programme with monthly awards, plus a clear goals and development framework.

The bank is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from everyone.