Senior Solution Architect

Job Title Senior Solution Architect

Advert Sage is a global company with a local heart. The market leader for cloud-based accounting, financials, enterprise management, people, and payroll software, we empower the world’s business heroes—from single-person startups to large enterprises. Our people are passionate and positive. We inspire our colleagues to serve business builders everywhere and champion their success. As a FTSE 100 company with 14,000 colleagues across 24 countries, we do business the right way, while giving back to our local communities through the Sage Foundation. Sage is passionate about building a culture where our colleagues feel they can bring their whole selves to work. Where people know they’ll be judged on their performance and behaviours - not their identity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on their race, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

Job Description In support of Sage’s vision, the IT function has moved to a single global operating model. As a consequence, we have moved to a new IT management structure, aligned functionally, supported by regional and local representation. Our mission is to transform the way IT is delivered to customers and colleagues across the world with the emphasis on simplicity, mobility, and efficiency. The Architecture function is core to enabling our colleagues to focus more on our customers and increasing revenue by providing unified global IT platforms, multi-channel customer engagement and a consistent customer experience across the globe.

This role is responsible for the delivery of large, complex solution architectures and governance that help to enable and transform regional and global IT services. This responsibility includes but is not limited to; working closely with business analysts and business stakeholders to understand requirements, defining and designing architectures, liaising with delivery teams on technical detail, overseeing builds and ensuring alignment with architecture, and participating in global governance boards. You will work alongside the broader architecture team to ensure the successful evolution from local to global architecture design and from traditional on premise and custom-built platforms to open and modular cloud-hosted services.

On a day-to-day basis you will work closely with the project and programme teams and be the voice of architecture. You will report on the progress of architecture deliverables to key stakeholders and ensure the architecture leadership team is kept informed of progress through standard reporting methods and architecture forums.

Key Responsibilities Key accountabilities and decision ownership: (8 or 10 max) ▪ Define complex solutions according to business requirements and strategic targets ▪ Build strong working relationships with regional and global stakeholders across the business, and to lead architecture design and governance on projects ▪ Work closely with stakeholders across functions, becoming a strong partner to the business and influencing decisions from ideation through to implementation ▪ Drive opportunities to move from disparate local systems to unified, strategic global systems, in line with global business and IT strategy ▪ Evangelise new, emerging or disruptive technologies and methodologies where they represent an opportunity or advantage to the business ▪ Work with Enterprise Architects and business leaders to build transformation roadmaps ▪ Represent the wider Architecture function ▪ Work with the Director of Architecture and other leaders and contribute the evolution and delivery of our IT strategy
Skills, know-how and experience: Must have: • Extensive experience of shaping and defining large, complex global enterprise and solution architectures spanning multiple domains or business areas • Team player with experience of working with distributed and global teams • Working with senior business stakeholders, helping to shape thinking and strategy by providing support and educating in the art of the possible • Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate and present complex information concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences. • Analytical and critical thinking skills, prepared to challenge conventional thinking • Assesses solution options through multiple lenses and build compelling arguments • Ability to influence, drive change and rally others behind an agenda - provides technical leadership, coaching and end-to-end ownership.
Prepared by: Lee Foster
Date: 26 February 2019

Key performance indicators: (3-5 Max) • High-quality architecture designs and patterns for global initiatives • Successful delivery of complex, often business-critical solutions • IT roadmaps for key products/initiatives aligned with IT strategy • Quality of relationships and influence across IT teams and business stakeholders • Strong, respected and influential voice in architecture and leader of change
Technical / professional qualifications: • Degree in information Technology / Computer Science / Software Engineering • Enterprise Architecture / Frameworks certified – TOGAF (at least), Zachman, DoDAF, FEAF • Experience with Business Analysis/Architecture and Architecture design tooling and notational standards
Key stakeholders: • Global and regional Architecture teams • Global and regional business stakeholders • IT functional leadership

Function IT

Country United Kingdom

Office Location Newcastle

Location Region