Sen Specialist: Solutions Architecture (Technology Readiness) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To provide expertise, advice and support in practice formulation and associated best practice improvement tactics, by creating IT solution architectures for specific projects, including articulating the architectural vision, conceptualizing and experimenting with alternative architectural approaches, creating models and component and interface specification documents, and validating the architecture against requirements and assumptions

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Bachelor Degree/ Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Information Tech and Computer Science and 8 - 10 years' experience in IT environment, of which 3 - 4 years at a junior specialist level

Alternative

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) and 15 years IT experience, of which 3 - 4 years at a junior specialist leve

 Minimum Functional Requirements

• At least 5 years’ experience in solutions design.
• Experience and knowledge of Enterprise Architecture frameworks, governance and Microsoft solutions including Hybrid Cloud adoption and modern workplace platform strategies. 
• Modelling, mapping and maintaining technical skills and roadmaps.

Job Outputs:

Process

• To provide specialist technical skills to support the optimal management and operation of all technology implementations and enhancements, related infrastructure and software in the production, pre-production, quality assurance and development environment.
• Management of high-level projects and programs within all ICT areas as well as line management, technology and architecture approval, supplier management and 3rd level technical assistance on all problems, incidents and changes. 
• Should have good communication skills as the job will entail collaboration with various teams to ensure successful solution implementations and ongoing support roadmaps.
• Applies knowledge of products, techniques and processes to provide expert advice to project teams regarding the design of major corporate systems.
• Apply concepts and theories to resolve problems to ensure adherence to approved architectural designs throughout the project life cycle.
• Design, develop and implement architectures for specific projects.
• Ensure adherence to approved architectural designs throughout the project life cycle. Help define the roadmap for transformational projects.
• Ensure traceability of solution against project objectives and requirements.
• Establish the technical direction of strategic projects, defining the strategies necessary to fulfil the stated vision, and providing expert advice to project teams regarding the design of major corporate systems.
• Own the solution which includes the business impact, feasibility, design, and support creation/updates of a detailed design.
• Provide technical, specialist expertise to help define the roadmap for transformational projects.
• Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures, policies and practices. 
• Contribute to the optimum utilisation of org. resources, advising on effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans. 
• Develop a single practice area in alignment with operational activity and procedural frameworks and ensure tactical implementation. 
• Draw on own technical or professional expertise, knowledge and experience to identify and recommend tactical solutions to defined problems in practices. 
• Integrate business information, compare, analyse and produce reports to identify trends, discrepancies and inconsistencies for decision making purposes. 
• Optimise goal achievement through tactical strategy implementation and optimisation of practises, processes and systems across an internal value chain. 
• Plan for value-added, continuous practice and system improvements to deliver on objectives to enhance tactical implementation and excellence. 
• Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives, best practice implementation solutions. 
• Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associated procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation. 
• Translate top-down policy, apply modification in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders. 
• Present high Level Solution Architecture designs in collaboration with domain architects per project or requirement for approval by the architecture governance.
• Maps application capabilities to business capabilities to ensure the realisation of business solutions.
• Participate in the evaluation processes during RFPs for given solutions to ensure the right selection of the solution.
• Provide architecture guidance and consultancy services during the development of solution per project, to ensure that development is in accordance with solution architecture, and address any deviation/s.
• Provide conceptual architecture designs for based on business requirements per project. 
• Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders. 

Governance

• Develop and/or align governance and compliance policies for own practice area to identify and manage risk exposure liability.

People

• Integrate new knowledge and transfer skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job. 
• Provide specialist know-how, support, advice and practice thought leadership in area of expertise. 

Finance

•  Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of specialisation. 

Client

• Develop and ensure implementation of a practice that builds service delivery excellence and encourages others to provide exceptional stakeholder service. 
• Participate in the specialist practice community and contribute positively to organisation knowledge management. 
• Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders. 

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking 
• Strategic Thinking
• Attention to Detail 
• Commitment to Continuous Learning 
• Expertise in Context
• Conceptual Ability 
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Organisational Awareness 
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Application Development and Maintenance
• Business Knowledge
• Computer Literacy
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Database Design and Management
• Efficiency improvement
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• IT Architecture
• IT Knowledge
• IT Project Management
• IT Systems
• Reporting
• System Thinking
• Solution Architecture
• Agile IT Architecture
• Enterprise Architecture

Deadline:16th July,2025