Solution Architect
- Cambridge Assessment
- Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
- Mar 18, 2021
Full time
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Job Description
What it's about
Cambridge Assessment has an exciting opportunity for a Solution Architect to be part of its architecture team. The architecture function provides the designs context, decision making frameworks, guidance and governance that enables Cambridge Assessment to make the best decisions about enterprise and solution architecture to support the business.
What you'll be doing
As a Solution Architect you will work with business, domain and enterprise architects, business analysts, business leaders and other subject matter expert colleagues to advise, analyse, design and document architectural solutions at all levels of detail.
Working as part of the architecture team to develop and enhance the architectural framework, governance processes and architecture repository you will support continual improvement and engagement of the enterprise and solution architecture practice across Cambridge Assessment.
Addressing all the pertinent concerns of project and programme stakeholders, you will produce consistent and relevant artefacts and deliverables to illustrate design and providing collaborative support and guidance to other project and practice team members.
Key responsibilities:
A highly experienced IT professional who can work across various disciplines, business units, and architecture domains to support change initiatives. This role requires a considerable ability to handle complexity; self-management and emotional intelligence skills are crucial, as is the ability to remain objective and to influence and advise others on the strength of excellent evidence-based analysis and communication.
The Solution Architect will need to be comfortable working with partial or assumed information, high levels of change, often fluid requirements and multiple projects concurrently, all of which may have dynamic priorities that the job holder will need to respond to. Communication and collaboration are key factors to the successful role of Solution Architect. The mix of good technical skill and the ability to collaborate are crucial to the job. S/he should be viewed as a trusted advisor in the enterprise by the IT organization, the clients they serve, and senior leaders.
Qualifications (desirable)
At Cambridge Assessment, our purpose is to help learners demonstrate and fulfil their potential. We care about making a difference for every learner.
As a department of the University of Cambridge, we provide education programmes and exams in over 170 countries, offering global recognition. We unlock the power of education for millions of learners of all ages and abilities.
Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a comprehensive package of benefits to help with your life both inside and outside of work:
The closing date for receipt of applications is 29 March 2021 and interviews will be held during April 2021.
To apply, please upload your CV and covering letter on our website by clicking the APPLY button.
If you're successful at interview stage we will ask you to undergo background screening (carried out by Credence Background Screening Ltd), to ensure that all information provided to us is accurate. We wish you all the very best with your application.
The University of Cambridge will be bringing together its publishing and assessment operations to create a single organisation from 1 August 2021. Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment publish and create world-leading content and examinations that are used across more than 170 countries.
The move is in response to a growing desire from learners, teachers and researchers to engage with Cambridge in a joined up digital way, and the demand for innovative products that combine expertise in learning and assessment. The new organisation will have the capabilities to provide world leading assessment, learning and academic research offerings globally, under the Cambridge brand and backed by first class teaching and research departments.
CAMBRIDGE ASSESSMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER
Cambridge Assessment has an exciting opportunity for a Solution Architect to be part of its architecture team. The architecture function provides the designs context, decision making frameworks, guidance and governance that enables Cambridge Assessment to make the best decisions about enterprise and solution architecture to support the business.
What you'll be doing
As a Solution Architect you will work with business, domain and enterprise architects, business analysts, business leaders and other subject matter expert colleagues to advise, analyse, design and document architectural solutions at all levels of detail.
Working as part of the architecture team to develop and enhance the architectural framework, governance processes and architecture repository you will support continual improvement and engagement of the enterprise and solution architecture practice across Cambridge Assessment.
Addressing all the pertinent concerns of project and programme stakeholders, you will produce consistent and relevant artefacts and deliverables to illustrate design and providing collaborative support and guidance to other project and practice team members.
Key responsibilities:
- Advise, analyse, design and document architecture solutions meeting functional and non-functional requirements; take ownership of the end to end architectural designs; ensure compliance of solutions to architectural standards
- Collaborate with Information/Data, Security, Infrastructure architecture to produce optimal designs
- Use architectural expertise to propose designs and work with key stake holders as necessary to support approval of architectural output
- Support key stakeholders in decision making process
- Offer advice and support for technical and business colleagues when required
- Provide thought leadership in digital trends and technologies
- Design data management processes following principles and contribute to data principles and information modelling
A highly experienced IT professional who can work across various disciplines, business units, and architecture domains to support change initiatives. This role requires a considerable ability to handle complexity; self-management and emotional intelligence skills are crucial, as is the ability to remain objective and to influence and advise others on the strength of excellent evidence-based analysis and communication.
The Solution Architect will need to be comfortable working with partial or assumed information, high levels of change, often fluid requirements and multiple projects concurrently, all of which may have dynamic priorities that the job holder will need to respond to. Communication and collaboration are key factors to the successful role of Solution Architect. The mix of good technical skill and the ability to collaborate are crucial to the job. S/he should be viewed as a trusted advisor in the enterprise by the IT organization, the clients they serve, and senior leaders.
Qualifications (desirable)
- Enterprise Architecture framework certification
- Degree or higher degree
- Supporting industry recognised certifications such as ITIL, Prince etc.
- BCS Membership
- Industry recognised technical certifications
- Any data engineering or data architecture related certification
- The candidate will be an all-rounder with broad knowledge across all technical and non-technical aspects of solution architecture and design, including maintaining an awareness of wider industry trends
- Suitable candidates are likely to have senior software design, engineering or systems analysis backgrounds, possibly in a leadership role, and be able to demonstrate significant customer-facing experience and architecture/design responsibility in their recent career
- The successful candidate will have wide ranging experience of solutions design in a broad range of technical environments together with skills in requirements validation, process modelling, systems analysis, and in-depth knowledge of common architectural styles and patterns. We are seeking expertise in service-oriented and event-driven architectures and designing for security and scalability
- Ability to communicate with technical and non-technical audience; ability to communicate contextual narrative using story telling techniques
- Passionate about driving innovation, provide thought leadership, hunger for learning and critical thinking skills to find innovative solutions
- Experience in data management, data modelling and model-based insights to create value and drive effective decision making
- Good experience working in an enterprise architecture & design team
- Good experience working in heterogeneous technology environments
- Good experience working with business stakeholders understanding and helping them to develop their needs
- Ability to work creatively and analytically to solve business problems
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment and lead cross-functional teams
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation and negotiation with the ability to communicate very technical issues plainly to non-technical audience.
At Cambridge Assessment, our purpose is to help learners demonstrate and fulfil their potential. We care about making a difference for every learner.
As a department of the University of Cambridge, we provide education programmes and exams in over 170 countries, offering global recognition. We unlock the power of education for millions of learners of all ages and abilities.
Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a comprehensive package of benefits to help with your life both inside and outside of work:
- Generous contributory pension
- 28 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
- Annual performance related bonus and increases (discretionary)
- Enhanced maternity/paternity pay#
- Employee discount and cash back scheme at 2,500 retailers
- Cycle scheme
- Season Ticket Loan
- Subsidised staff restaurants
- Support for professional qualifications
- Discounted access to the University of Cambridge Sport Centre, along with various other local gyms.
The closing date for receipt of applications is 29 March 2021 and interviews will be held during April 2021.
To apply, please upload your CV and covering letter on our website by clicking the APPLY button.
If you're successful at interview stage we will ask you to undergo background screening (carried out by Credence Background Screening Ltd), to ensure that all information provided to us is accurate. We wish you all the very best with your application.
The University of Cambridge will be bringing together its publishing and assessment operations to create a single organisation from 1 August 2021. Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment publish and create world-leading content and examinations that are used across more than 170 countries.
The move is in response to a growing desire from learners, teachers and researchers to engage with Cambridge in a joined up digital way, and the demand for innovative products that combine expertise in learning and assessment. The new organisation will have the capabilities to provide world leading assessment, learning and academic research offerings globally, under the Cambridge brand and backed by first class teaching and research departments.
CAMBRIDGE ASSESSMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER
About Cambridge Assessment