Head of IT – Foreign Exchange (FX) Front Office at Northern Trust in Chicago, Illinois

Job Description:

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world's most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world's most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Overview:

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Head of IT to lead the technology initiatives within our Foreign Exchange (FX) trading division. This role is essential in driving the evolution and performance of our FX trading platforms, ensuring system integrity, data quality, and operational efficiency across a suite of mission-critical applications.

You will oversee the development and integration of innovative IT solutions, collaborate closely with trading, risk and settlement teams, and ensure the seamless functioning of our FX systems. With a focus on modernization, data governance and team leadership, this is a role for a proactive and solutions-oriented technology leader.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership & Strategy:
  
  
  • Drive the IT strategy for FX trading systems, aligning technology with business objectives.
  
  
  • Lead a team responsible for the design, development, and support of FX front office systems
  
  
  • Build a vision for technology modernization, driving improvements in system performance, scalability and reliability
  
  
  • Collaborate with stakeholders across Trading, Risk, Compliance & Settlements to ensure IT solutions meet business needs.
  
  
  
  


• System Oversight:
  
  
  • Oversee the architecture, development, and support of core FX trading platforms, including our EMS, OMS & PMS.
  
  
  • Lead initiatives to improve static data management and enhance system reliability
  
  
  • Develop a roadmap for data quality management, working towards proactive identification and remediation of data issues
  
  
  
  


• Management & Delivery
  
  
  • Lead the implementation of new technology solutions, managing timelines, resources and communication.
  
  
  • Engage in continuous improvement by identifying and implementing new tools, technologies and best practices.
  
  
  
  

Key Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or related field


• 10+ years experience in IT, with a focus on financial services, preferably withing FX trading systems or front office technology


• Proven experience managing large-scale IT projects, particularly in system integration, data management and trade processing platforms


• Hands-on experience with FX trading platforms (ex. Murex, Spectrum), data governance tools (Collibra), and cloud integrations (Azure, Snowflake)


• Strong understanding of trade lifecycle, data flow between front, middle and back office systems


• Expertise in managing teams and driving results in face-paced environments


• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical audiences

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with agile methodologies and modern development practices.


• Familiarity with cloud-based solutions and emerging technologies in Capital Markets


• Ability to navigate complex regulatory environments and ensure compliance with industry standards

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We'd love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world's most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com .

We hope you're excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.