Meet Jen
Discover how Jen helps teams navigate change, solve complex challenges and turn big ideas into practical outcomes.
Your story
Tell us about yourself and what you do at Vanquis, without using your job title.
I work in the Tech and Change team at Vanquis. My focus is on bringing together groups of brilliant colleagues to solve challenges and implement change in a controlled and sensible way. I help shape where we go next, who does what, and where we might get stuck, while helping senior leaders make informed, efficient decisions that keep us rolling.
What attracted you to Vanquis, and why did you decide to join?
I was attracted to Vanquis because I wanted to cut my teeth on big projects, right in the heart of the City of London, working in financial services with important regulatory demands. I joined because my initial calls with the Talent Team and early interviews were such a positive experience.
The next chapter
What was happening at Vanquis when you joined, and what excited you about being part of it?
When I joined in June 2024, there was lots of change, particularly a huge investment in modernising our technology and data foundations. The exciting thing was the scale. I’d worked on complicated projects before, but joining Vanquis meant bigger systems, more stakeholders and many more dependencies to think about.
What does ‘The next chapter starts with you’ mean to you personally?
For me, it’s about taking ownership of what comes next rather than waiting to be told or expecting someone else to work it out. I’ve always been drawn to projects and organisations where there isn’t a perfect answer sitting on the shelf.
You’ve got to ask questions, bring the right people together, make important decisions and move forwards. It’s about making the decision right, rather than waiting to make the right decision.
Ownership and impact
Tell us about a change, improvement or idea you’ve helped bring to life.
One of the biggest pieces of work I’ve been involved in has been building the new Snowflake-based data and analytics platform for Vanquis. A big part of my role has been helping turn this complicated technology programme into something that colleagues across the bank can use.
That has meant coordinating engineering, product, testing and business stakeholders, agreeing definitions, setting priorities and making sure there’s always a clear line of sight from the business need, through to development, acceptance and use.
How does your work make a difference to customers, colleagues or the wider business?
I think a lot of what I do is fairly invisible when it’s working well, which is a good sign for a project manager. For colleagues, it’s all about clarity, surfacing problems constructively and working through whatever comes our way as a team.
For the wider business, the data work is so important because governed, single-source-of-truth data means better info, better understanding and better decision making for our customers.
Problem solving
What’s one challenge your team has solved that you’re particularly proud of?
I’m proud of the reputation that the Tech and Change team has built within Vanquis as a team that gets things done and wants to make things better. There’s a real willingness to help, get stuck in and find a way through challenges, rather than saying ‘that’s not my problem’.
What’s a complex problem you’re tackling today that candidates might find exciting?
We’re working through the challenge of moving away from legacy SAS technology and towards a more modern data estate. The interesting part is that this isn’t simply a technology replacement.
There are lots of existing reports, analytical processes and business dependencies built around the legacy environment, so we need to work out what genuinely needs to be recreated in the new world, what we can improve and what can be retired.
This involves lots of interesting conversations about data, analytics, insights use-cases and business value. It’s the kind of problem where there often isn’t an obvious answer, which is what makes it interesting.
Building what's next
Which piece of work will have the biggest impact over the next few years?
I think the data and analytics transformation will have a fantastic long-term impact. Getting the underlying data architecture right gives the bank a strong foundation for reporting, analytics, and exciting future tech like AI.
What excites you most about the future of your area?
The amount of change and the opportunities the leadership team has embraced around AI is really exciting. We’re using cutting edge tools to improve the way we work, and the level of investment and collaboration behind that is great.
Technology and innovation
What’s one misconception people might have about Technology and Change at Vanquis?
There’s sometimes a perception that Technology and Change is a place where you hand over a problem and wait for a solution to come back. In practice, it’s far more collaborative, and I’ve found that when the business is passionate about both the problem and the solution, we reach a far better outcome more efficiently.
What exciting problems are you solving with technology?
Fairly fundamental problems, like how the bank manages and uses data. That includes bringing data into our data platform from various sources, replacing legacy technology and, along the way, improving reporting and creating more reliable and trusted data for our colleagues.
Growth and development
How have you grown professionally since joining Vanquis?
Confidence is probably my biggest area of growth. I’m much more comfortable operating at a bigger scale because the support network here is so strong.
Colleagues have been kind, understanding, patient and honest. When I joined, I received great advice: see Vanquis as a place to be a totally authentic leader, challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone, because the people here give you a real safety net to try new things and take a few risks.
What advice would you give to someone looking to grow their career in your field?
Get comfortable being the person who asks the slightly annoying questions. If something doesn’t make sense, ask why.
Culture and belonging
What has surprised you most about the culture here?
How helpful people are, particularly when you’re working across teams. There’s a lot of specialist knowledge across the bank, and I’ve found people are always willing to explain things when I need more context. They’re also happy to connect you with the right person when you need it.
How would you describe your team in three words?
Curious, collaborative, determined.
Looking ahead
If we spoke again in two years, what would you hope to have achieved?
I’d like to look back and be able to point to projects that delivered a positive change, not just in terms of technology, but also in the way people work. I’d like to have grown into a more senior role, taking on even more ambiguous problems and helping other project managers develop along the way.
Final word
What’s the one thing you’d want candidates to know before applying?
Come prepared to learn a lot. There’s lots going on, and you won’t understand everything on day one or even in month one. But as long as you’re curious and willing to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while, you’ll do brilliantly here.