Cloud Architect at Santam Insurance

JOB DESCRIPTION

• The purpose of an enterprise architect is to align Santam’s business strategy and objectives with its information technology infrastructure. 
• Being involved in the complete Santam landscape, the enterprise architect ensures that Santam’s systems, processes, and resources are effectively designed, implemented, and managed to support the overall business goals. 
• In effect, the enterprise architect bridges the gap between business and technology allowing Santam to achieve its long-term goals by leveraging appropriate

PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES INCLUDE:

Architecture functions

• Analyse Santam business strategy and translate it into an IT strategy that supports the business vision.
• Design and develop enterprise-wide technology architectures that encompass various aspects, including business processes, applications, infrastructure, and security, but with a focus on cloud solutions. These architectures provide a blueprint for Santam’s cloud strategy and IT systems, ensuring coherence, integration, and scalability.
• Establish and enforce architecture and design governance processes, principles and standards to ensure consistency, interoperability, and compliance across IT projects and systems. 
• Oversee the alignment of IT initiatives with the enterprise architecture and facilitate decision-making regarding technology investments.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, including business leaders, project managers, developers, and other architects, to understand their requirements and constraints. Enterprise architects communicate the architectural vision and plans effectively, ensuring buy-in and understanding from all involved parties.
• Understands how the business requirements can be met using the available cloud solutions or defines what additional solutions is needed.
• Evaluate cloud solutions, emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices to inform decision-making regarding technology adoption, modernization, and retirement.
• Assessment of the impact of new cloud business solutions on the information technology landscape. Includes execution of technical due diligence across all dimensions of IT
• Work as a team member with Development Managers and other technical staff, to ensure the application is implemented according to requirements.
• Identification of potential risks / issues and give input into risk plan.
• Active engagement with technology partners to deliver an integrated solution across platforms and across cloud solution partners.

Generic functions

• Ensure that solution implementations are coherent and consistent with technology strategies, governance and architecture.
• Provide advice and consultancy across the Santam Group on the enterprise architecture matters.
• Participate in reviews and provide guidance to teams to ensure that the principles, architecture and strategies are followed.
• Establish and participate in design reviews, regular architectural reviews and technical issue management meetings.
• Ensure that design is optimised for use on the specific cloud infrastructure.
• Provide support to other members of the development team and members of the business management team as required.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of the workings of cloud architectures, solutions and packages 
• Work effectively in a team with other Enterprise Architects, Solution Architects, Business Architects and Lead developers to consider design alternatives and agree on appropriate design decisions in support of business requirements.

PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES INCLUDE:

Cloud functions

• Establish and maintain Santam Group cloud architecture principles.
• Develop and maintain specific cloud architectures for each of the major cloud providers – AWS, Azure and any other future providers.
• Calculate total cost of ownership options and advise on best and most cost-effective implementations.
• Accountable to establish and maintain Santam Group Logical cloud architecture.
• Accountable to establish and maintain Santam Group Cloud Platform architecture.
• Maintain and mature the architecture capability as per the Zachman framework

 Quality Assurance

• Ensuring the alignment of initiatives to the target cloud architecture and standards with Santam and the Sanlam Group
• Design and improve the Santam STS Enterprise Architecture Governance framework
• Accountable to regulate and enforce adherence to the above framework, with a specific focus on cloud aspects, in the Santam Solution Design Forum, Sanlam Saser, and other forums.
• Review agreed implementation, to ensure correct interpretation of the requirements and architecture and strategies
• Facilitate and lead the quality assurance processes for design and development to ensure the ongoing integrity of the end-to-end systems landscape

QUALIFICATION

• BSc / BCom / BTech / BEng/ Honours with Information Systems or Business as a major.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect (preferred) or Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 8 years of experience in technology roles
• 3 years in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, systems design, operating at enterprise level.
• 3 years of experience in the application of IT architecture governance principles
• 2 years of experience in cloud architecture, cloud designs, and cloud implementation on AWS (preferred), Azure, or both.
• Experience in cloud security concepts such as virtual private cloud, subnets, routing, firewalls, VPN connections, identity and access management. 
• Experience in cloud concepts such as infrastructure as code, continuous integration and continuous deployment, containers, and serverless computing. 
• Experiences with and having worked in a hybrid- and multi-cloud environment.
• Experience in providing cost estimates for cloud solutions, and in calculating and designing alternative solutions in the event of cloud cost increases.
• Understanding of Santam systems and specifically software development experience a benefit.

SKILLS

• Strong leadership and influencing skills
• Ability to negotiate and positively influence others
• Ability to effectively deal with conflict situations and complexity 
• High level of emotional intelligence
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent facilitations skills
• Networking skills
• Applying technologies
• Conceptual thinker
• Risk management
• Change management
• Develop and implement strategy
• Interpersonal skills, ability to engage with senior business stakeholders
• Ability to accept accountability for actions and decisions 
• Analytical in nature
• Problem resolution
• Team player 
• Pragmatism
• Plans and aligns