Innovation Program Manager (Fintech)

TL;DR

Innovation Program Manager (Fintech): Identifying, shaping, and delivering partnerships with fintechs and startups to launch new customer-led banking propositions with an accent on commercial viability and internal cross-functional delivery. Focus on navigating complex risk and governance landscapes to take early-stage experiments from discovery to scaled implementation.

Location: Must be based in Bristol, Edinburgh, or Leeds; hybrid role requiring at least 40% office attendance.

Salary: £61,344 - £68,160

Company

A leading UK financial institution focused on rebuilding its digital future and fostering innovation through diverse, customer-centric banking solutions.

What you will do

• Identify and onboard fintechs, startups, and scale-ups that align with strategic business priorities.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of innovation experiments from problem definition to live market testing.
• Act as the primary innovation lead for external partners to foster collaborative relationships.
• Apply test-and-learn approaches to rapidly validate customer value and commercial potential.
• Work cross-functionally with risk, legal, compliance, and technology teams to ensure propositions meet internal requirements.

Requirements

• 3 years of experience in innovation, partnerships, or product-related roles.
• 3 years of working with fintechs, startups, or scale-ups in corporate or consultancy settings.
• Proven delivery mindset capable of managing multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Strong commercial acumen for assessing value and scalability of new ideas.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with experience engaging senior leadership.

Nice to have

• Experience running pilots or proofs of concept in regulated environments.
• Background in navigating risk, legal, and procurement processes within banking.
• Knowledge of emerging fintech trends and business models.
• Experience scaling propositions from experiments to full launch.

Culture & Benefits

• 30 days of holiday plus bank holidays.
• Generous pension contribution of up to 15%.
• Annual performance-related bonus and share schemes.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including a dedicated cancer initiative and menopause package.
• Flexible work environment with support for workplace adjustments.