Head of Solution Architecture

Great that you're thinking about a career with BSI!

We are recruiting for a new Head of Solution Architecture to lead the development of solution architectures for our global and matrixed organisation. This role will be responsible in handling complex IT solutions, ensuring consistent delivery of designs that exceed the expectations and the needs of both internal & external customers, managing and co-ordinating the solution architecture function within the organization.

You will also build and develop the Solution Architecture Community of Practise and continue to engage and communicate the culture and ways of working. Across business change, your team of internal, external and vendor architects will continually develop the target design, working proactively to maintain a stable, viable architecture and ensure consistency of design across core and extended solution views.

This is a highly flexible hybrid position and will be based in either our London Chiswick or Milton Keynes offices with occasional UK and international travel as required.

More about the role

Responsible for the operation and performance of solution design, you will ensure that design tasks are clear and simple to follow, and that design objectives are met. You will ensure that all proposed changes are managed effectively and subject to appropriate reviews and governance within Solution Architecture and Delivery.

You will also:-

• Monitor customer feedback and engage with lead architects, stakeholders on large programmes of business change to maintain customer satisfaction.
• Co-ordinate design activity, for solution and technical architects within smaller business change activities.
• Provide advice on solution architecture, including solution development methods and tools, security requirements, the operational and maintenance aspects of solutions under development, and non-functional aspects of solution design.
• Assist in the development of service level agreements and any associated service guarantees; Ensure that relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices (including security) are applied correctly
• Advise on appropriate quality standards and quality control processes relating to solution architecture; Attends quality reviews as appropriate and ensure that quality control activities (including testing) are carried out satisfactorily
• Carry out risk assessment within a defined functional or technical area of business; Use consistent processes for identifying potential risk events, quantifying and documenting probability of occurrence and impact on the business
• Assess and document the impacts, threats and opportunities to the organisation of specific technologies, products, services, methods and techniques; Consider their applicability within business and IT strategy, and their potential to influence strategy

To thrive in this role, you are:-

• Good at global and multi-business environments with converged and divergent business strategy, objectives, operating models
• Expert in business and IT product and service capability management
• Expert in solution design and/or software development
• Have practical skills in different application architectures, IT infrastructures and software development and maintenance methods, tools and techniques
• Expert at stakeholder and vendor management
• Good at governance and maintaining risks/standards
• Good at promoting security throughout own area of responsibilities and collectively in the organisation

What we offer

As the leading global business standards company BSI helps 80,000 clients worldwide to improve their businesses. From business continuity to recycling waste, from medical devices to the exploration of space, we help businesses embed the habits of excellence so that they perform better, manage their risks more effectively and achieve sustainable growth and in doing so we touch the lives of many across the globe.

We offer a highly competitive salary with 27 days annual leave with the opportunity to increase this to 32 days, company-paid private medical insurance, an excellent company-contributed pension scheme, and a wide range of flexible benefits that you can tailor to suit your lifestyle. Plus, as we're situated just above Gunnersbury Tube station in London it makes for a really easy commute (when you need to be in office), or you can use the free on-site parking if you'd prefer to drive, available for both our London & Milton Keynes offices.

Our Excellence Behaviours: Client-centric, Agile, Collaborative. These three behaviours represent how we do things at BSI. They help us ensure that BSI is a great place to work and a highly successful business.

BSI is conducting face-to-face interviews where appropriate and possible. If you are invited to a face-to-face interview but feel more comfortable with conducting the interview virtually, please speak to a member of our recruitment team.