Location: Basingstoke (flexible working)Contract: Permanent Hours: Full Time
Solution bringers. Day makers. Extra milers. We are the AA. And we keep everyone’s show on the road. There for our members wherever and whenever they need us, we’re always ready for anything. That’s why, for over 100 years, we’ve continued to evolve and adapt. Today, as the nation’s number one motoring organisation, we offer a range of excellent products and services to millions of customers. As a Senior Solutions Architect, you’ll join our exciting journey to fulfil our future vision. We aim to support the UK’s 17m drivers and to facilitate their driving lives through data and innovation; to succeed with this, we require a step-change in pace and thinking. Join us as we transform and deliver on this ambitious vision.
This is the job
As the Senior Solution Architect, you will support the existing portfolio and all change delivery by bridging the specific business problems and issues to the technologies that support them.
You will adopt a pragmatic approach to architecture, aligning compliance with the AA architectural principles with those of efficient and effective delivery, they will also be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of formal risk management methodologies.
The Senior Solution Architect is accountable for a team of Solution Architects, consisting of permanent, partner and contract personnel, and ensuring the team are fully aligned to the timely delivery of Solution artefacts to support programmes, portfolio and projects.
What will I be doing?
- Leads a team of skilled professionals in delivering ongoing improvement to the IT estate,
- Develops a technical architecture Roadmap for the Insurance area and influences delivery according to these agreed future states,
- Acts as a trusted technical advisor to the business in considering solution options and end states,
- Drives ongoing review and documentation of current and future to-be states,
- Oversees the correct alignment of the technology with the business needs,
- Ensures that technology decisions align with the group architectural strategy and guidelines, where possible,
- Delivers solutions designed for effective test and operational excellence, and fully comply with the AA’s InfoSec Policies.
- Keep an eye on the future emerging technology trends and present regular updates for consideration.
What do I need?
Capability, Knowledge and Experience:
- Experience in a Financial Regulated Domain, General Insurance would be of particular interest.
- Proven experience in Policy Administration Platforms and associated ecosystems.
- Proven experience in Integration Platforms and technologies.
- Appreciation of InfoSec practices as applied in a regulated environment.
- Knowledge and understanding of Cloud capabilities and services.
- Strong knowledge in Data Platforms and technologies.
- Knowledgeable in the use of architectural modelling tools.
Personal Characteristics:
- Communication and Presentation – A core requirement for a Solution Architect is being able to effectively communicate to different audiences. It is important to be able to communicate ideas clearly and concisely in written documents (graphics or text), and to present these coherently and logically.
- Project Management – Solution Architects should demonstrate the pragmatic and practical ability of the architecture to be implemented. Key to this is an understanding of the issues involved in project development, the language of project managers and, therefore, the ability to engage with the project managers in the deployment of the architecture.
- Domain Knowledge – Solution Architects need to be aware of not only what is currently happening in their specific area of expertise, but also of forthcoming advances and plans, ensuring these can be incorporated into the overall architecture where appropriate.
- Architectural Training – For an architecture team to work together, there should be a common language, approach and understanding to discuss and develop architectural artefacts. For the AA knowledge of TOGAF is required.
- Modelling – The ability to model the organisational strategies (current and future states) with capability or process maps is a key requirement. These models are used to determine impact and "what if" scenarios for investments and strategic direction.
- Company Strategy – The key input to the architecture processes is an understanding the company business and IT strategies. Solution Architects should therefore show an awareness and understanding of these strategies, and of their potential impact.
- Operational Awareness – Solution Architect need to be aware of the current IT operational issues and direction and ensure that operations are kept informed of future-state plans.
- Intellectual Integrity – In many cases, the Solution Architect must present unbiased architectural opinions and recommendations to senior management for their decisions. This requires an independent and objective approach to the issues in focus.
