Snr Spec: Solutions Architect at Liberty Group South Africa

Purpose

• As a Senior Specialist: Solution Architect Applications (Solutions Architect), you will be responsible for evaluating the organization's business needs and determining how IT can support those needs by leveraging software, hardware, or infrastructure. As well as ensuring that the overall enterprise architecture strategy is consistent with the overall enterprise vision and mission.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for assisting in the establishment of an IT Architecture practice, and the adoption of an architecture and standards methodology.
• Manages activities that take place during solution ideation, solution design, and solution implementation.
• Reviews business context for solutions to company challenges as well as defining the vision and requirements for the solution, recommending potential options, (which may include RFIs, RFPs or prototype development), selecting the most optimal option, and the development of a roadmap for the selected solution.
• Communicates the architecture to the stakeholders and collaborates and coordinates with existing domain architects in the formalization and adoption of IT standards and procedures.
• Champions a structured approach to business application solutions.
• Directly assists in the development of a solutions architecture program including departmental roadmaps and project portfolios for IT systems architecture.

Additional Key Responsibilities

• Assures solutions not only are a fit for the specific purpose but also closely align with the standards guidelines of technology solutions.
• Influences changes to standards when necessary.
• Assists domain architecture team on solutions management and timing of financial spend for application solutions.
• Supports the architectural aspects of all application projects in peer IT portfolios.
• Directs the identification and recommendation of appropriate solutions, upgrades, replacements, or decommissioning options incorporating business and technology productivity, usability, and total cost of ownership.
• Develops and executes solutions which further reduce the percentage of time spent on reactive work.
• Provides analysis of security protection technologies as necessary.

Minimum Experience

• Minimum of 7 – 10 years of experience related to IT Management or other information technology solutions architecture role.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate the complexities of technical programs.
• Proficiency with information technologies in a secure network environment.
• Expertise with personal computers in a secure network environment and Microsoft applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and SharePoint) or similar software.
• Experience in Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, Salesforce) - Similar platforms.
• Tracking the progress of projects.
• Documenting procedures, architecture principles, and patterns.
• Evaluating and implementing new technologies.
• Collaborating with other teams to improve business processes.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas [NQF Level 07] in Information Technology and Computer Sciences.

Certifications

• TOGAF Certification is mandatory.
• AWS, Azure, Salesforce (Experience)

Finance

• Adhere to financial controls, governance and compliance policies and processes throughout an area of specialisation, contributing to cost efficiency.