Lead Solution Architect

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.Job Summary Drive the design and delivery of complex fit for purpose, business strategy-aligned, high impact, cross domain technology solution blueprints & associated solutions & build architectural capability in Dev teams across an estate.Job DescriptionArchitecture • Leverage a solid & deep understanding of the organization strategy to identify, design & deliver relevant, scalable, testable, re-usable technology solutions • Work in collaboration with delivery teams to independently analyse customer requirements & varying business capabilities & leverage analysis to identify & accurately spec / frame ‘the complex business problems we are aiming to solve’ with each solution design or solution evolution • Through the above processes, leverage emotional, social & business / commercial quotient to understand consumers and the broader range of stakeholders, their opinions & perspectives and reconcile these within the solution designs (negotiation skills and dealing with complex and divergent stakeholder opinions are a must) • Leverage expertise in analytical & creative problem solving to synthesise a solution design (build a solution from its components) beyond the analysis of the problem • Lead design thinking processes to successfully deliver solution blueprints & associated roadmaps • Create end to end solution blueprints & ensure these can be implemented across all phases of the initiative life-cycle (ideation through to product launch & commercialization) • Design & or contribute to the design & implementation of detailed feasibilities & business cases • Leverage a strong engineering background to make the right choices in solution design – this knowledge includes but is not limited to: domain driven design, loosely coupled integration, microservices and other modern software design practices • The above extends to identifying the best fit tools to be used for a particular solution, understanding those that would not be a good choice and leveraging researching skills to pivot towards something better • Assume ‘one stop’ shop accountability for solution blueprint design & delivery decisions within an organization based on the above • Work with project / program management teams to design solution roadmaps aligned to the strategic requirements of an organization and through which the solution can be implemented across all phases of the initiative life-cycle (ideation through to product launch and commercialization) • Work embedded, as part of a delivery team, to ensure the successful design & implementation of solution blueprints • Ensure that the detail of the solution (across all architecture domains) is accurate to the implementation of the initiative, true to the bank’s architectural principles/preferences, implementable by the different teams involved in the solution • Work as part of embedded delivery teams to conduct solution reviews, code reviews, testing and other disciplines associated with solution design & delivery • Attend various Group & Business specific architectural design forums and present solution designs and detailed business cases for approval • Leverage synthesis & creative problem skills to identify risk (impending danger & challenges) and work with a cross functional group of stakeholders across the value chain for support & direction • Conduct solution reviews against defined customer metrics and ensure the ongoing achievement of business results through solution implementation • Ensure a solid understanding of emerging & evolving architectural principles and hold one stop shop accountability for the evolution of solutions in alignment with these principles (where it makes sense to do so) • Build architectural capability across delivery teams in a business to ensure ongoing evolution of skills in solution delivery • Contribute to the architecture body of knowledge • Contribute to the design & evolution of architectural principles and preferences People • Participate in peer reviews (code, solution, testing etc.) and transfer knowledge and capability across delivery teams for improved solutioning & evolving architectural practices • Set & Cascade solution direction across technology delivery teams • Build & evolve the architectural capability of Delivery teams across the business – through active coaching & information / knowledge sharing <l