Cloud Solution Architect

The Cloud Solution Architect position will report to the Architecture Manager and will work within the IS directorate based in any of the following office locations - London, Crawley or Ipswich. You will be a permanent employee.

You will attract a salary of £80,000 and a bonus of 7.5%.

This role can also offer blended working after probationary period (6 months) - 3 days in the office and 2 remote.

Close Date: 05/03/2025

We also provide the following additional benefits:

• Reservist Leave - Additional 18 days full pay and 22 unpaid
• Personal Pension Plan - Personal contribution rates of 4% or 5% (UK Power Networks will make a corresponding contribution of 8% or 10%)
• Tax efficient benefits: cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Occupational Health support
• Switched On - scheme providing discount on hundreds of retailer's products
• Discounted access to sports and social clubs
• Employee Assistance Programme.

JOB PURPOSE:

UK Power Networks Hybrid Cloud strategy is evolving, and Microsoft Azure is key to our Technology Strategy. Working within the team is an excellent opportunity to help shape this and to lead on the delivery of key capabilities whilst gaining experience of implementing cloud solutions at scale in a regulated environment.

As a Cloud Solution Architect, you'll be defining and communicating the current and target state architectures across the enterprise and wider architecture teams. You'll ensure that the solutions link to, and are informed by, our overall strategy and architecture, and support the business goals.

You will be enabling application modernisation/rationalisation projects to deliver at pace where you will be expected to provide subject matter expertise or lead on delivering the Cloud Architecture; leveraging existing and forming new patterns as required.

You will help drive the adoption of an Enterprise Architecture Repository and support the updates to Architecture templates & policies.

DIMENSIONS:

Direct reports: none

Budget: none directly, influencing £10m

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Leading on definition of Cloud and Infrastructure architectures and roadmaps for transitioning from legacy technologies to Azure and M365.
• Translating roadmaps into packages of work that allow frequent incremental delivery of value to be included in change programmes.
• Perform architecture assessments of existing infrastructure to identify any gaps that may exist and provide recommendations on remediation.
• Ensure solutions compliant with the Architecture Roadmap are delivered across Microsoft Azure and other SaaS Cloud offerings.
• Working closely with business stakeholders, programme and projects managers as well as product owners to define technical solutions designs.
• Track, analyse and monitor technology performance metrics of managed products.
• Leading complex and technically challenging architectural transformations, coordinating technical SMEs across multiple vendors.
• Seeking out and utilising continuous feedback, fostering adaptive design and engineering practices to drive the collaboration of programmes and teams around a common technical vision.
• Supporting Architecture review governance and Enterprise Architecture Repository management.
• Ensuring Architecture principles & standards are kept up to date with best practice and technology changes.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

For someone with a passion for the Cloud Solution Architecture and defining roadmaps for complex enterprises, you'll be defining adoption paths for Cloud and own the solution design authority to ensure it best supports the enterprise and UKPN's long-term strategy.

With valuable exposure, you'll be building and leveraging relationships with colleagues across the UK Power Networks and suppliers to ensure commercially focused decisions that create long term value.

SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

To succeed in this role, you'll need:

• A broad knowledge of the Microsoft Azure and Data Centre infrastructures.
• You will translate complex technical concepts to colleagues, up to senior leadership level.
• An understanding of Agile methodologies with experience working in an Agile team.
• Excellent collaboration and partner management skills.
• Experience of developing, updating and communicating architectures, designs and proposals for action.
• Experience working with business solution vendors, technology vendors and products within the market.
• An understanding of industry architecture frameworks, such as TOGAF, BPMN or ArchiMate.
• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience, in a STEM field.
• Experience as a Solution Architect or similar role in a large IT environment.

Health & Safety Responsibilities:

Managers and supervisors carry both legal and company responsibilities for ensuring the health and safety of their employees, those under their control and those who might be affected by the work undertaken, i.e. public, visitors and employees of other organisations. This includes briefing individuals working for them and ensuring there is the necessary understanding, competence and application of requirements to work safely and without harming the environment.

Employees will ensure they understand the health and safety risks involved in their work activities and their responsibility to apply the controls needed to manage those risks to acceptable levels. Similarly, where work activities can have an adverse impact upon the environment, and where there are legal requirements, employees will understand those impacts and the controls they must ensure are applied.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.