Know Your Value And Make It Known: An Interview With A Barclays Leader
Barclays is hiring on POCIT.
Oyindamola (Dammy) Lawal, Partnerships Execution Lead for Barclaycard Payments, plays a key role in shaping the strategic collaborations that power Barclays’ expanding payment technology. Working at the intersection of innovation and relationship-building, Dammy’s ultimate goal is to grow the bank’s payments partnerships across the UK and Europe.
He spoke with POCIT about building a thriving career at Barclays that leaves the door open for others.
Tenacity Meets Opportunity
“My journey has been a mix of tenacity and good fortune,” Dammy tells POCIT. “My career with Barclays has spanned a period of over a decade. I started in a branch role as what was then called a personal banker. After being unsuccessful at gaining entry through any of the available graduate schemes at the time, I met a colleague who informed me of an assessment day that was scheduled for branch recruits.”
This chance conversation proved pivotal. Dammy took the opportunity, attended the assessment center, and landed his first role at Barclays. “From that point, I decided to curate my own scheme where over the period of years I have been with the organization, I have moved across different roles in the different businesses,” he explains.
“I moved from the branch network into the Business Bank, where I supported larger SME [Small and Medium-sized Enterprises] clients. I then moved into the Corporate Bank’s head office functions, where I did different roles across coverage, business management, product management, and partnerships.”
His work in partnerships eventually led him into the tech space. “A lot of the work I’ve done recently has been heavily reliant on technology to achieve the financial outcomes we set as an institution,” he explains.
Navigating Tech as a Person of Color
Dammy says his experience in tech has been very largely positive. “I think I have found that you are always respected for the value that you bring and that in itself always gives a positive feeling.”
“However, on the flip side, as a person of color, what I sometimes feel is a bit of loneliness, which can be discouraging,” he adds. “Whilst camaraderie exists with teams, it grows when you are able to find people that you share commonalities with, the most obvious being background and heritage. I find that a lot of the time, in a number of roles that I’ve worked in, I was the only Black person, and it could be a bit lonely.”
Advice for People of Color in the Industry
When asked what advice he’d share with others following in his footsteps, Dammy offers three clear and practical pillars. “Number one is to be aware of the value that you bring. You need to know what you’re good at,” Dammy says. “You need to know what it is you’re able to deliver. Self-awareness is very critical.” This clarity, he says, is only the first step.
It’s one thing for you to know your value, but it’s also very important for you to be able to articulate it in different ways.
“Secondly, you must be able to articulate and showcase that value. It’s one thing for you to know your value, but it’s also very important for you to be able to articulate it in different ways,” he says. Dammy explains that it is crucial to understand the differences across stakeholders; some will be highly technical, while others will have little to no context, so it’s important to adapt your communication so it resonates with each audience.
His third piece of advice is about attitude and approach. “Always be helpful. Always go over and above,” he says, noting that opportunities often hide in plain sight. Some of his own career moves, he says, were triggered by work he took on out of goodwill, which then opened unexpected doors.
Growing with Barclays
Dammy praises Barclays for investing in his personal and professional growth. “I will give Barclays a lot of credit here,” Dammy says. “I have been a beneficiary of a lot of investment in development programs and schemes to help understand myself and develop my ability in different areas. Barclays as an organization has been very good at providing such development opportunities.”
Beyond structured support, relationship-building has been key. “My network has also been essential. That really requires effort, but it opens many doors, such as mentorship arrangements – some of which have evolved into sponsorships where senior leaders are willing to advocate and use their networks to help me secure opportunities.” He also recommends finding mentors, which was invaluable in navigating different stages of his career.
“Lastly, I would say the element and desire to constantly develop myself has been a key driver,” he adds. “Whether the organization puts the opportunities there, or mentors and sponsors offer their experiences and/or support, ultimately, I will only go as far as I’m willing to go. The old adage says you can take a donkey to the water, but you cannot force it to drink, so the drive for self-development is really useful.”
Creating Space for Future Talent
Dammy is now helping others gain access to the kinds of opportunities that shaped his own career. He outlines several initiatives at Barclays that are designed to support underrepresented communities and increase visibility in the industry.
“We’ve got internal resource groups and ongoing external programs, and one of the things they do is engage externally with different organizations to attract representation from underrepresented communities,” Dammy says. “We also offer support to secondary school, college, and university students where we take them through managing finances, effective networking, and personal branding.”
The teams also collaborate with university societies and student groups to build stronger connections. “We raise awareness of our graduate schemes among underrepresented communities across different universities, working hand in hand with our HR team. We also engage directly with African-Caribbean student societies on campus.”
From workshops to real-world experience, the goal is to provide students with insight and access to the industry. “We work with HR to offer rotation-based shadow working and insight days to give college students some experience of what happens within the bank.”
Building a Future at Barclays
Over the past decade, Dammy has shaped a career that reflects both his professional strengths and personal values. Beginning in a branch role and progressing into the more complex worlds of partnerships and technology, he has made the most of every opportunity and created his own when none existed.
His experience also shows how access to mentorship, institutional support, and a commitment to growth can create a lasting impact, not just for individuals but for the communities they bring with them.
Barclays is hiring on POCIT.
