About the client:
One of the leading Financial Services companies with Insurance, Asset Management and Banking streams. The company in South Africa listed on 3 major African stock exchanges, with a growing African footprint and vibrant culture.
A technology-forward company, with a continuous learning environment that is in the business of helping people and companies do great things with their money.
What are we looking for:
The Senior Solution Architect primarily works with the business domain experts and business leadership to craft a solution that is fit for purpose from a business perspective. Consequently they focus their attention on a smaller facet of service (the solution package) to make sure that it operates effectively as part of the whole as well as independently as a stand-alone solution.
- Focusses on the technical and business feasibility of a solution and ensure that it fits within well-established patterns and guidelines laid down by the enterprise architects and solution practice architects
- Takes responsibility for the quality, commercial compliance and technical integrity of the solution being delivered back into the business
- Works actively with senior technology / platform systems analysts from across the operational space (both internal subject matter experts and those of the chosen suppliers)
- Could have a small team of solution architects under his/her guidance
Key Responsibilities:
Compliance
- Ensures delivery fits within the guidelines laid down by the enterprise / solution practice architects and is in compliance with the IT strategy
- Oversees the implementation of new solutions to ensure they adhere to the signed off solution architecture designs
Financial Control
- Understands the fiscal components of a solution to ensure it satisfies the commercial requirements of the business and is sustainable, adaptable, and practical within the RUN model
Personal Effectiveness
- Ability to explain the complex in layman’s terms to bring technology to the masses
- Accepts and lives the company values
- Accountable for service delivery through own efforts
- Collaborates effectively with others to achieve personal results
- Individually accountable for managing own time, tasks and output quality for periods of 3 months to 1 year
- Plans workload vs work demand for a small team of solution architects
Strategy
- Models and defines the financial implications and considerations of potential solutions
- Models, defines and collaborates around designs with business and enterprise stakeholders
- Provides options and recommendations to business stakeholders to ensure that they can make the best business decisions based on the different solution alternatives and patterns
Technical Consultation
- Analyses business processes to determine how IT investment could deliver value through improved cycle times, lower costs, improved quality
- Builds the detailed transition plan for the more effective exploitation of IT investments
- Defines a solution and ensure that it:
- Meets the business requirements
- Meets the non-functional requirements
- Fits within the guidelines laid down by the enterprise / solution practice architects
- Is in compliance with the IT strategy
- Can be readily leveraged by other parts of the business
- Responds to stakeholder needs and influences the development of alternative solutions
Non-negotiable requirements:
- Broad- IT knowledge and strong problem solving skills
- IT Technical skills. (Java, Java Script)
- Able to model different architecture views including conceptual, logical and detailed physical designs in order to facilitate discussions with both business and technical stakeholders
- Grasp of IT concepts, patterns, principles
- Policy Administration knowledge
- Cloud certification, specifically AWS
- SAFe architecture certification or familiarity with Agile architecture
Essential Competencies
Strategic
- Change as a Way of Executing
- Leading with influence
- Collaboration (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Agile Innovation
- Customer First, Personal Mastery (Lifelong Learning)
Location & Type
- Cape Town/ Hybrid working model
- 6 month contract – renewable based on performance
Desired Skills:
- Cloud certification
- specifically AWS
- SAFe architecture certification
- Java
- JavaScript
- Agile
- Policy Administration