Solutions Architect Sandton, at Bidvest Bank

Primary Purpose:

The Solutions Architect will provide leadership and alignment of the solutions architecture and technology design for Bidvest Bank. This includes development of architectural principles aligned to business strategy. The Solutions Architect will engage with engineering leaders, product managers and business leaders ensure alignment on solutions ensuring technical direction and will provide thought leadership across the company.

The Solutions Architect will proactively share knowledge of architecture and design and create opportunities to build competitive advantage and improve efficiency and effectiveness of business.

Solutions Architects must be prepared to collaborate with leaders, managers, and employees across every business unit.
To successfully align IT solutions with business objectives, solutions architect must have strong leadership and communication skills, as well as both technical and business knowledge. As a solutions architect, you will need to understand the business side of the organisation to understand which IT solutions will fit the company’s goals. Your leadership skills will be important for steering the overall process of identifying key business objectives and determining the requirements for each solution

Minimum Requirements
Qualifications

•  Bachelor’s Degree, Postgraduate, Business Administration equivalent

Experience

•  10 to 15 years of IT and business/industry work experience
•  5 -8 years management experience
•  5 years developing and executing strategic plans and/or project portfolios

Ideal

•  Enterprise Architecture
•  Solutions Architecture
•  Solutions Design
•  IT Architecture

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required

•  Strategic thinking and planning
•  Operational execution excellence
•  Ability to drive change that enables efficiencies and drives growth
•  Excellent interpersonal skills to influence, persuade and motivate others
•  Systems thinking
•  Team and collaboration orientation
•  Management and Leadership skills
•  Problem solving
•  Performance driven
•  Learning orientation
•  Effective written/verbal communication skills

Duties and Responsibilities
FINANCE

•  Control and manage costs in line with the Business and bank budget expectations

CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE

•  Responsible for the solutions architecture for the Bidvest Bank.
•  Develop and maintain productive and collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, to support achievement of Business outcomes.
•  Proactively serve as a “trusted advisor,” and function as the primary IT point of contact to Bank stakeholders.
•  Build and drive successful relationships across the business promoting a best for business approach to solutions, architecture, and design principles.
•  Operate as the key business contact representing IT in promoting IT services and capabilities
•  Function as the key liaison across all functional areas, including business units, the information technology department, and outside vendors
•  Advising on technological solutions available to address business problems, providing timely advice on the feasibility

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
Strategy, design, and solutions

•  Provide strategic thought leadership with regards to the role IT plays in executing the business strategy.
•  Lead the translation of strategy into the development of solution architecture deliverables to ensure alignment with Bank strategies and architecture frameworks.
•  Work with application, integration, and supplier architects to design solutions that support the business and assist with the alignment of supporting technology roadmaps.
•  Oversee the solution architecture and design of solutions and help to maximise the positive impact on the Business.
•  Actively contribute to IT strategy implementations and ongoing refinement activities in line with Bank goals.
•  Strive to understand market challenges, including customer priorities and competitive issues
•  Provide support in delivering solutions architecture that meet the needs of the business
•  Collaborate with program/project teams to reconcile solutions to Bank architecture.

Innovation

•  Provide thought leadership on the future of technology as it relates to the Bank, initiative-taking in getting to grips with leading edge technologies and understanding their potential.
•  Ensure the business is aware of emerging trends, practice, and technologies in the marketplace and how they may contribute to business outcomes and strategies.
•  Actively identify and champion innovation initiatives supporting the Bank strategy.
•  Continuously seek improved ways to work and efficiencies within team

People Management

•  Promote and foster collaborative team and stakeholder relationships based on growth and resilience, integrity, accountability, and inclusion, and adheres to the Bank value of ‘Leadership’
•  Monitoring and managing deliverables, output, and performance of subordinates
•  Develops talent by facilitating cross training, developing, coaching, mentoring & growing individuals & teams in the Business Units.
•  Encourages career advancement endeavours to staff.
•  Following up on disciplinary procedures and any other matters relating to subordinates’ behaviour and activities.
•  Ensures that effective training & development practices exist in the BU & that continuous learning is fostered.
•  Accountable for providing an environment in which employees can apply what they have learned
•  Support & reinforce the application of newly acquired skills. Rewards the application of newly acquired skills & knowledge. Fosters a climate of continuous learning
•  Ensure training is a part of employees' daily routine & encourages them to tap into the knowledge of their colleagues & to set performance improvement goals.
•  Manage day to day staffing requirements, issues, and performance.

LEARNING AND GROWTH

•  Take ownership for driving own career development
•  Achievement of objectives/milestones set out in the development plan
•  PDP plans and performance discussions with staff
•  Recommend and participate in the design and implementation of standards, tools, and methodologies.
•  Share best practice, lessons learned and constantly update the architecture requirements based on changing technologies, practice, and knowledge.