Solutions Architect

We’re a values-driven, charitable organisation on a mission to make a real difference in Sunderland. Every day, we provide more than 60,000 people with a place they’re proud to call home.

Our vision is clear: everyone deserves a good-quality home they can afford. We invest millions of pounds each year to keep our homes safe and decent, while also playing a part in tackling the UK housing crisis by building hundreds of modern, energy-efficient homes for rent right here in Sunderland.

If you share our passion for creating thriving communities and want to be part of something that truly matters, we’d love for you to join us and help achieve our vision.

If you have any accessibility needs or require adjustments, please let us know—we’re here to support you.

We may close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if we receive a large number of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.

Job title: Solutions Architect

Working hours:  Mon – Fri 36 hours per week – 12.30 pm on Friday

Salary: £ 70,00

Hybrid working – requires a minimum of 3 days per week working from our Doxford Park, Sunderland head office.  Due to the collaborative nature of the role and organisation, we are unable to offer remote working.

We are recruiting an experienced Solutions Architect to join the IT Architecture team based at our head office in Doxford Park, Sunderland. We believe in creating a dynamic and collaborative office environment, and our hybrid working arrangement offers a balance of home and office-based working. You will be required to work from the office for part of the week, helping you remain connected to our collaborative team culture. You will also need to be flexible and attend the office for on-site meetings when required. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer remote working for this position.

The IT Architecture team is focused on realising the business strategy by tailoring the organisation's IT strategy and enterprise architecture. The Solutions Architect is responsible for designing and delivering solutions that align with enterprise architecture standards and advance the architecture towards its target state.

As Solutions Architect, you will proactively and holistically lead and support enterprise architecture activities, guiding the development and management of a portfolio of solutions. These solutions include projects, products and systems, such as applications, technologies, processes and information, as well as shared infrastructure and application services. You will understand our goals, objectives, outcomes, capabilities, value streams and processes, and their importance to solution architecture. In this role, you will provide leadership, analysis and design expertise to support the development of technology solutions.

The role is subject to a basic DBS funded by Gentoo.

What you will be doing:

Interpret Business Needs

Translate business and technical requirements into an architectural blueprint that supports business objectives, documenting all solution architecture, design and analysis work.

Work closely with product owners and systems owners to ensure a robust architectural runway to support future business requirements throughout the product life cycle.

Understand current and future business drivers and capabilities and determine the corresponding enterprise solution designs and change requirements needed to achieve the organisation's target outcomes.

Assess Technology

Monitor the current-state solution portfolio to identify deficiencies caused by ageing application technologies or misalignment with business requirements.

Monitor micro- and macro-level trends in enterprise architecture, including global economic, political, sociocultural, environmental, regulatory, legal and technological developments and disruptions, to support effective decision-making.

Support product owners and systems owners in end-of-life product decisions to maintain, refresh or retire services or systems, including applications, technologies, processes and information.

Understand emerging technology trends and disruptions and assess their practical application to enable new and evolving business and operating models.

Apply Technology

Lead the evaluation, design and analysis of solution architectures for specific business applications or technologies, ensuring alignment with the enterprise business strategy, capabilities, value streams, requirements and standards.

Work closely with the Enterprise Architect to develop a roadmap for evolving the enterprise solution portfolio from its current state to the future state defined in the broader solution roadmap.

Act as a consultant on a broad range of technologies, platforms and vendor offerings to drive targeted business outcomes.

Create architectural designs, standards and patterns to guide and contextualise solution development across products, services, projects and systems, including applications, integrations, technologies, processes and information.

Provide Enterprise Guidance

Provide deliverables such as standard definitions, reference models and architecture designs to support architectural governance and assess the impact of new and ongoing technology investments on the business and IT estate.

Support a community of practice (CoP), guiding and helping teams, product owners and system owners to align with the overall enterprise architecture governance and assurance framework.

Design and direct governance activities to ensure solution architecture assurance and compliance.

Define the principles, guidelines, standards and solution patterns to ensure solution decisions are aligned with the enterprise's future-state architecture vision.

What you will bring:

A bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, engineering, systems analysis or a related subject, or equivalent experience in a role at the same level.

Extensive experience in at least two IT solution development disciplines, including technical or infrastructure architecture, application development, middleware and integrations, network management, database management or cloud development.

Experience developing architecture blueprints, strategies and roadmaps

Experience creating and driving technical solutions through to delivery.

Experience delivering presentations to senior-level executives and technical audiences

Exposure to multiple diverse technologies, platforms and processing environments

Good understanding of strategic and emerging technology trends and the practical application of existing and emerging technologies to new and evolving business and operating models

A good understanding of product and system management, agile principles and development methodologies, with the ability to support agile teams by providing advice and guidance on opportunities, impacts and risks while taking account of technical and architectural debt.

Experience working in a relevant industry is desirable but not essential.

Some of our great benefits include:

• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with an option to purchase up to 5 additional days per year.

• Early finish on Fridays

• Flexible and hybrid working.

• Free Health Cash Plan, with cashback for dental, optical, physio, wellbeing therapies and more, with some free child cover.

• Access to private healthcare through the Health Cash Plan.

• Competitive Aviva pension scheme - Gentoo will contribute up to 10% based on your personal contribution.

• Salary sacrifice electric vehicle scheme

• Enhanced family-friendly leave

• Car mileage allowance if you use your personal vehicle for business purposes.

• Life assurance cover to the value of 3 times your annual salary