Job Description
Purpose of the role
The Director, Market Data Accountable Executive, will act as a senior leader within the Core Strats Market Data team, responsible for managing a portfolio of strategic market data vendors, contracts, product categories, and business relationships.
The role requires a commercially strong, market-aware leader who can engage effectively with Front Office stakeholders, trading desks, quants, data consumers, technology teams, and external vendors to understand business requirements, challenge demand where appropriate, negotiate optimal commercial outcomes, and ensure Barclays receives high-quality, cost-effective market data services.
The successful candidate will lead vendor-facing and business-facing activities across relevant market data product categories, act as a senior escalation point for contractual and commercial matters, and contribute to the continued development of market data strategy, governance, operating model, and team capability.
Accountabilities
Commercial and Vendor Management
Lead commercial negotiations with major market data vendors, ensuring favorable terms, appropriate risk mitigation, and alignment with business requirements.
Manage a portfolio of strategic vendors and contracts across relevant market data product categories.
Ensure Barclays leverages its global purchasing power through disciplined negotiation, contract consolidation, demand challenge, and strategic vendor engagement.
Business and Front Office Engagement
Own and manage senior relationships with assigned business areas, including trading desks, quantitative teams, analytics users, research teams, and technology stakeholders.
Translate business requirements into clear market data needs, vendor engagement strategies, commercial options, and sourcing recommendations.
Understand how market data is used across trading, pricing, risk, analytics, quantitative research, and client-facing activities.
Strategy, Governance and Operating Model
Contribute to the development and execution of the Market Data strategy, including vendor rationalization, cost optimization, operating model enhancement, and improved governance.
Support the design and operation of market data governance forums, ensuring discussions are focused, evidence-based, transparent, and action-oriented.
Leadership and Team Management
Provide direction, coaching, prioritization, and performance management to ensure delivery against business, commercial, operational, and strategic objectives.
Build a high-performing team culture focused on accountability, continuous improvement, commercial excellence, risk awareness, and strong stakeholder service.
Director Expectations
To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.
Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.
All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.
All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.
Essential Experience
Significant experience in Market Data, Financial Markets, Investment Banking, Vendor Management, Procurement, or a related commercial management role.
Strong understanding of how market data is used by trading desks, quants, analytics teams, risk teams, and technology platforms.
Proven experience managing major market data vendors and complex commercial negotiations.
Experience negotiating regional or global multimillion-pound/dollar market data contracts.
Strong understanding of market data licensing, usage rights, redistribution restrictions, exchange policies, and vendor audit risks.
Experience managing senior business stakeholders and acting as a trusted commercial advisor.
People management experience, including coaching, prioritization, performance management, and team development.
Strong understanding of market data inventory, cost allocation, invoice management, vendor governance, and supplier management processes.
