Solutions Architect, Client and Channel at Rand Merchant Bank

Job description

Role Summary:

This role will involve architecting and leading the development of solutions within RMB related to our customer and channel landscape. Additionally you will be expected to collaborate with and influence the Business Units within RMB and the FirstRand Group. The role needs to work closely with business to ensure alignment between business requirements, Group requirements and enterprise architecture through the execution of the Client Experience Programme and our Omni Channel strategy.

Solutions will enable the business strategy and will align with the banks technical standards. The solutions need to define the vision for the following architecture domains:

Business Architecture which includes an understanding of the business strategy, business processes, business capabilities and products as well as the people required to execute the process

Application Architecture which includes an understanding of the applications required to execute the business processes on, the data required and the integration between applications

Data and Integration Architecture which includes the logical and physical data required for a solutions as well as the integration point between applications and the data in each integration point

Technical Architecture which includes the application designs, physical infrastructure required for the applications and database architectures

Security Architecture which includes all the security requirements and design for the solution

Responsibilities include:

• Interacting with stakeholders to understand business requirements
• Understanding and influencing the business strategy
• Defining the “As-Is” and “To-Be” architecture
• Producing requirements specifications, architectural designs for the project you are working on
• Representing RMB at the various Group boards related to Customer
• Presenting the architecture vision of a project to the banks Architecture Board for approval
• Getting buy-in for the architecture vision from stakeholders which includes the business, project team and other architects
• Act as the architect during the life of the project to ensure the project aligns to the architecture and that the vision is kept alive during the construction phase of the project
• Defining all non-functional requirement for a project and making sure they are fully tested during the testing phase of the project
• Supervising application build, test, and deploy activities
• Progress reporting to senior management and the business
• Managing risk and project deliverables
• Active participation in the bank's Architecture Board
• Prepare architecture documents and models for the project
• Sell the vision to the stakeholders in the business and technical teams and get their buy-in

Essential Experience:

• At least 8 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry working in Technology
• Seen as a leader in pertinent technologies used by RMB and extensive business knowledge of Investment banking
• Static and Reference data experience. Must have at least 3 years of hands on experience managing architecture related to a customer
• Training as a Software Architect and Togaf certification
• Leading development teams
• Consulting experience
• Played the architect role on several large projects preferably in Investment Banking projects and in the Finance division
• Demonstrate a clear and thorough understanding of Enterprise Architecture patterns and best practices. .
• Data Integration: Extract Transform Load (ETL), batch architecture and frameworks.
• Middleware Knowledge: Message Oriented Middleware (for example Tibco Business Works),
• Object Oriented Middleware (for example COM, JEE)
• UML modelling
• Working operating system knowledge: Windows & Linux
• Strong relational database experience (Oracle, and Oracle E-Business Suite).
• A solid understanding of highly available, high performance, distributed architectures
• Enterprise Data Modelling (Entity-Relationship Diagrams, Data Flow Diagrams, Data Vault Modelling)
• Practical experience in the following is essential:
• Enterprise Information Integration
• Enterprise Application Integration
• Service Oriented Architecture: Web Services and related Web Service Standards (WS-Transaction, WS-Security etc.), WSDL, SOAP, REST, Enterprise Service Buses, Business Process Engines (BPEL), Business Rules, Service Registries and Repositories,
• Event Driven Architecture.
• XML, XSLT, XPath, XSD(and related technologies)
• SOA & Web Services (SOAP, XML-RPC, REST)
• Multi-threaded programming
• Database design (Oracle, , Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase)
• Excellent communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills
• Leadership skills and the ability to lead and influence development within your team
• An understanding of key success factors in projects and IT environments
• Good time management skills

Desirable Experience:

• Middleware solutions including Enterprise Service Bus
• Proven success in contributing to a team-oriented environment
• Proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment
• Desire to work in an information systems environment
• Systematic approach to integration
• Able to work independently.
• Add specific finance skills here

Qualifications:

• Relevant Technology Degree
• Togaf Certification
• UML Modelling
• Design of technical solutions
• Experience in using a architecture modelling tool like Aris or System Architect
• Exposure to Finance architecture e.g. General Ledgers and financial reporting systems
• Oracle EBS exposure
• Exposure to Reconciliations environments