Bank ABC
Head of IT Application Support
- Permanent
- Manama, Bahrain
- Experience 20yrs+
Job expiry date: 02/04/2026
Job overview
Date posted
17/02/2026
Location
Manama, Bahrain
Salary
Undisclosed
Compensation
Job description
Bank ABC seeks to recruit a Head of IT Application Support in the Group Information Technology Department based in its Head Office in Bahrain. The Head of IT Application Support provides bank-wide leadership and accountability for the stability, availability, resilience, and controlled change of the Bank’s application and digital service landscape, covering core banking platforms (e.g., Temenos), payments, digital channels, treasury & markets, CRM, trade finance, AML/KYC & sanctions, regulatory & finance reporting, data platforms, and enterprise integration. The role owns the Run-the-Bank (RTB) and Change-the-Bank (CTB) operating model and shapes the Run-and-Change interface between the Bank, IT vendors, and Managed-Service providers, ensuring production services are delivered in a predictable, secure, compliant, and cost-effective manner across a hybrid cloud environment spanning on-premise, private cloud, and public cloud platforms. As part of the Bank’s technology transformation agenda, the role supports and executes the application support strategy for core banking and associated ecosystems, including cloud-hosted deployments, vendor-managed services, and complex integration patterns. The position modernises and adopts AI-enabled capabilities across application support, embedding disciplined ITIL-aligned service management practices in collaboration with technology teams, and acts as a senior contributor to the wider Group Technology Strategy, supporting technology governance, regulatory readiness, risk management, architecture discipline, and control frameworks. The role encompasses application lifecycle and obsolescence management, rationalisation and simplification of the application estate anchored on the Temenos core banking platform, ITIL/ServiceNow-aligned service management practices (incident, problem, change, release, knowledge), major incident and problem management, root-cause-analysis, SLA/OLA models, operational tooling alignment, multi-tier (L1–L4) support models, hybrid cloud architectures, non-functional requirements (NFRs) including availability, performance, security, scalability, observability, resilience, and recoverability, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), automation, monitoring, data-driven service delivery, ETL processes, data integration, data management platforms and tools, data lake architectures on AWS and Azure, API management and integration, machine learning and AI frameworks, cyber security, data protection, audit and regulatory expectations within regulated financial services environments.
Required skills
Key responsibilities
- Define, own, and continuously evolve the Application Support strategy aligned with business objectives and the wider Group technology strategy, establish and enforce a robust governance framework for Run-the-Bank (RTB) and Change-the-Bank (CTB), clarify accountability across internal teams, vendors, and Managed-Service providers, and ensure adherence to regulatory, risk, audit, and internal control requirements across the application and digital service landscape.
- Lead and govern the stability, availability, resilience, and controlled change of core banking platforms including Temenos and associated ecosystems such as payments, digital channels, treasury & markets, CRM, trade finance, AML/KYC & sanctions, regulatory & finance reporting, data platforms, and enterprise integration, ensuring predictable, secure, compliant, and cost-effective production services across hybrid cloud environments spanning on-premise, private cloud, and public cloud platforms.
- Own and drive application lifecycle and obsolescence management, proactively engage systems owners to decommission, migrate, consolidate, or modernise applications in line with the Bank’s core banking and digital transformation strategy, and rationalise and simplify the application estate with Temenos as the strategic foundation.
- Oversee and mature ITIL/ServiceNow-aligned service management practices including incident, problem, change, release, and knowledge management, lead major incident and problem management with executive communication and root-cause-analysis, and ensure durable remediation and continuous improvement through structured service lifecycle management and multi-tier (L1–L4) support models.
- Embed modern reliability and operations practices including Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), automation, monitoring, observability, data-driven service delivery, and AI-enabled operational capabilities, while ensuring non-functional requirements (availability, performance, security, scalability, resilience, recoverability) are defined, measured, and governed.
- Collaborate closely with Architecture, IT Delivery, Data Management, Service Management, Cyber Security, and Business technologists to ensure seamless transition of solutions into production, alignment with enterprise integration patterns and API management standards, and sustained operational excellence across cloud-hosted deployments and vendor-managed services.
- Govern vendor and managed-service relationships including SLA/OLA models, performance management, commercial oversight, and accountability mechanisms, ensuring transparency, service quality, and compliance with technology risk management and regulatory expectations within regulated financial services.
Experience & skills
- Demonstrate 20+ years of progressive technology, digital, and/or application support experience with at least 10+ years in a senior managerial and leadership role within banking or regulated financial services, holding proven end-to-end accountability for stability, availability, resilience, and controlled change of large-scale, business-critical application estates.
- Exhibit extensive hands-on experience operating and supporting core banking platforms, preferably Temenos, across complex, multi-vendor, integration-heavy environments covering payments, digital channels, treasury & markets, trade finance & cash management, AML/KYC & sanctions, regulatory & finance reporting, CRM, data platforms, and enterprise integration.
- Possess deep expertise in ITIL-aligned service management frameworks, IT Service Management practices, ServiceNow, incident/problem/change/release/knowledge management, SLA/OLA models, multi-tier (L1–L4) support structures, hybrid cloud architectures across on-premise, private cloud, and public cloud, AWS and Azure platforms, cloud computing technologies, and governance of non-functional requirements including availability, performance, security, scalability, observability, resilience, and recoverability.
- Demonstrate strong knowledge of modern reliability engineering concepts including Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), automation, monitoring, AI-enabled operational capabilities, machine learning and AI frameworks, as well as solid experience in ETL processes, data integration, data management platforms and tools, data lake architectures on AWS and Azure, and API management facilitating secure data exchange between internal and external systems.
- Show comprehensive understanding of technology risk management, audit and regulatory expectations, control frameworks, cyber security, data protection, and regulatory readiness within regulated financial services, coupled with proven experience managing geographically distributed, multi-disciplinary teams and executing succession planning and capability uplift strategies.
- Hold a Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, with professional certifications in IT Service Management (e.g., ITIL), Cloud Platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure), Project deliver/governance (e.g., Agile, PRICE 2), and desirable formal training or certifications related to Temenos implementations, operations, or upgrades.