Solutions Architect

COMPANY OVERVIEW

As a global leader in cash technology solutions, we provide the financial, retail, cash centre and gaming industries with confidence that their cash is protected and always working to help build a stronger business.

Our cash automation technologies and process engineering services help businesses in more than 100 countries optimise the handling, movement and management of cash. While we span the globe, we personally engage with each customer to address their unique challenges and goals — enhancing staff efficiency, reducing operating costs and enabling a more rewarding customer experience.

We offer peace of mind. We enable transformation. We generate options. We empower people. We do all this by releasing companies from the burden of cash management, putting cash to work, and helping customers enhance the value that their staff and facilities add to their business.

ROLE PURPOSE

In this newly created position, you will be responsible for the creation, direction & alignment of the Corporate IT architecture roadmap with the group business strategy. You will be required to direct management and stakeholders in the evaluation of the business strategy, ensuring the effective use of best of breed technology is applied to the architecture roadmap whilst ensuring the effective use of IT assets.

Once defined, you will need to ensure the architectural requirements are clearly understood and work across the IT Delivery teams and subject matter experts to implement cost effective, supportable end-to-end high-level designs, adhering to enterprise, standards, security and service capability. This is not a hands-on engineering role, but a strong technical understanding and functional experience are essential.

You must be a highly effective communicator and a supportive team player, taking a consultative approach whilst maintaining the integrity and independence of the General Affairs department. You will combine an ability to navigate organisational politics and manage stakeholders, with a talent for operational delivery and a strong sense of accountability for results.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the Technology Programme that defines the architecture needed to support and meet the group business goals as per the IT Strategy / Group Strategy.
• Ensure proposed architecture solutions are in line with group strategy and are cost-effective, deliverable, and supportable.
• Chair the governance body (Technical Design Authority) for the approval and alignment of architecture proposals/roadmap.
• Work in collaboration and where needed in a lead architect capacity advising group Glory businesses on best practices and appropriate use of technology through the Technical Design Authority / or associated sessions.
• Review and approve proposed architecture solutions from a business goal and strategy perspective.
• Lead regular technology awareness briefings with IT Leadership to ensure alignment with management and application to corporate strategic plans.
• Provide architectural expertise, direction, and assistance to wider teams.
• Evaluate Corporate IT architecture and define short-term tactical and long-term strategic plans that form the basis of the technology roadmap.
• Develop, document, and communicate plans for investing in Corporate IT architecture, including analysis of cost reduction opportunities.
• Lead the creation of business proposals/business cases in collaboration with Vendor Management and IT Leadership to demonstrate value/risk and mitigation/consolidation across Glory Group companies.
• Produce high-level designs, concentrating on the consumption of existing platforms and services.
• Ensure high-level designs are understood by IT Leadership and relevant stakeholders, including managed service partners to allow them to produce low-level designs and complete builds.
• Conduct research on emerging technologies in support of systems architecture improvements and recommend technologies that will increase cost-effectiveness and systems flexibility.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

Education Level:

• A technical degree or professional qualification.
• Architecture qualifications (e.g. TOGAF, SAFe).
• Experience in ITIL 4 (IT Service Management / Architecture Planning / Capacity Planning)
• Minimum of 10 years of IT and business/industry work experience including architecture design and deployment, systems lifecycle management, and infrastructure planning and operations.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills are essential. Must be able to lead architecture reviews reduce complex ideas to simple terms and express rationale for decision making to both a technical and non-technical audience.
• An excellent understanding of enterprise system architectures.
• Broad knowledge and experience of solution areas including infrastructure, cloud, transformation and migration, security, business analysis, applications, integration, and service management, and understanding how all these interact to arrive at an end-to-end solution.
• Practical experience across a wide range of IT systems and technologies, such as server hardware, virtualization platforms, network and security infrastructure, storage and SAN, and databases.
• Significant demonstrable experience with Cloud technologies including SaaS platforms.
• Good knowledge of Information Security controls and proven experience in integrating these into architecture proposals.
• Keep up to date with Industry trends and customer requirements, the technology landscape, and best practices to deliver technical roadmaps and plans enabling the group IT strategic objectives.
• A strong track record of leadership and influence working across organizations with multiple and varied technical teams (including third party integrators) to define, design, and drive the development and delivery of complex technical strategies and solutions.
• Establishing and maintaining relationships across stakeholders by monitoring and engaging with the functional teams, partners, and the customer on relevant standards and frameworks
• Proven track record in the development of clear, concise, and comprehensive documentation that can be presented across all levels of the organization
• Experience of working across geographical boundaries in a Global Organization (desirable)
• Experience of working in collaboration with third party solution/integration partners with a strong focus on security and compliance at all levels.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Commitment to excellence and high standards; strong organizational skills; able to manage time, priorities, and workload.
• Comfortable to challenge seniority and existing processes.

Key Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Annual bonus
• 25 days’ holiday with an option to purchase 5 additional days
• Competitive company pension scheme
• Private health and dental insurance
• Employee rewards schemes – we recognise your hard work and achievements!
• Commutable from town centre, with a free shuttle bus to Business Park
• Employee assistance programme
• Employee Wellbeing events and Mental Health First Aiders
• Employee Benefits portal offering extensive retail discounts
• Ongoing training and development