Director, Technology Platform & Governance

Citi•Mississauga, ON

About The Position

Citi is a leading global bank with approximately 200 million customer accounts and operations in over 160 countries. The bank offers a wide range of financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. Citi's Operations & Technology teams are crucial in maintaining the bank's safety, managing global resources, providing technical tools, designing digital architecture, and ensuring a first-class customer experience. They aim to reimagine client and partner experiences through secure, reliable, and efficient services. Citi is committed to diversity and fosters an environment where the best people want to work, valuing respect, merit-based promotion, and opportunities for personal development. Ideal candidates are innovators who bring their authentic selves to work and complement the company's results-driven culture. The role is for a Director of Technology Platform & Governance, responsible for governing and executing strategic business and technology initiatives within a complex, multi-team organization in the financial services sector. This position is key to aligning technology program delivery with enterprise goals to drive revenue growth, cost efficiency, and improved partner experiences, while upholding rigorous standards for risk management, compliance, and budget accountability. Reporting directly to executive leadership, the role is an integral part of the functional leadership team and includes full management responsibility for multiple teams across planning, delivery, and program governance. Candidates should thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment requiring strategic program leadership and operational discipline.

Requirements

15+ years of experience across multiple technology disciplines, with demonstrated expertise in business, functional, and people management within large-scale, complex organizations.
Proven ability to lead and govern enterprise-wide technology programs, including defining strategy, managing multi-million dollar budgets, and delivering measurable business outcomes aligned to organizational goals.
Strong experience in project and program management, encompassing scope definition, resource planning, risk mitigation, feasibility assessments, and cross-functional coordination with senior stakeholders and executives.
Demonstrated proficiency working with technology platforms and tools including relational databases, SQL, JIRA, Confluence, cloud environments, and AI/ML enablement capabilities.
Deep expertise in risk and control management, with the ability to assess, escalate, and resolve complex issues while ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements, policies, and ethical standards.
Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with a track record of influencing senior and executive leadership across functions and managing expectations with both internal stakeholders and external vendors.
Demonstrated experience directing subordinate managers and cross-functional teams, including full performance management responsibilities such as hiring, compensation, and disciplinary actions.
Experience partnering with business analysts, architects, QA engineers, and external vendors to deliver integrated technology solutions that meet business objectives and quality standards.
Familiarity with agile, waterfall, and hybrid delivery methodologies, with the ability to adapt governance frameworks and project approaches to the complexity and nature of each initiative.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent)
Professional certifications (e.g., PMP, PgMP)

Responsibilities

Define and implement the overall vision, strategy, and roadmap for program governance, aligning initiative portfolios with organizational strategic goals and ensuring programs contribute to revenue growth, cost reduction, and improved business partner experience.
Lead end-to-end execution of complex technology programs and projects, maintaining adherence to project plans, quality standards, timelines, and budget constraints, while managing scope changes through structured evaluation and approval processes.
Develop comprehensive project plans, including feasibility studies, risk assessments, resource allocation, and mitigation strategies, in close collaboration with business stakeholders, architects, quality assurance engineers, and technology partners.
Manage and communicate program status, risk disposition, and issue resolution to senior management and technology partners in a timely and transparent manner, ensuring executive-level visibility across all active initiatives.
Collaborate with senior leadership on cross-functional initiatives and identify resolution pathways for issues that fall outside established project boundaries, providing strategic direction and stakeholder engagement support.
Partner with technology teams on initiatives leveraging relational databases, SQL, reporting tools, JIRA, Confluence, cloud platforms, and AI enablement to drive program delivery excellence.
Direct and develop a high-performing program team including senior analysts, leads, and project staff — through performance evaluation, compensation recommendations, hiring decisions, and disciplinary actions.
Drive adherence to program processes, procedures, methods, and organizational standards; coordinate with external vendors; and research new methodologies to improve execution and delivery outcomes.
Appropriately assess and escalate risk when business decisions are made, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, policies, and ethical standards while maintaining accountability across all managed areas.
Lead lessons learned sessions post-project completion and apply continuous improvement practices to evolve program governance frameworks, delivery standards, and team capabilities.