Solutions Architect - Defined Benefit

We’re a FTSE 250 Financial Services company who specialise in retirement solutions and right now, our world is moving pretty quickly. With the defined benefit buy in / buy out space growing each year, Just continues to annually grow its business by over £4bn of assets.

We are a purpose driven company with compelling and credible goals. Quite simply, we help people achieve a better later life. We achieve this by providing competitive and innovative products, services, financial advice and guidance to help our customers achieve security, certainty and provide them with peace of mind in retirement.

That’s who we are. We’re a company on a mission: to become a beacon for the entire retirement industry. Because we believe everyone deserves a fair, secure, and fulfilling retirement.

Purpose:

To design and assist in delivering technical solutions in line with the company’s business and systems strategies, digital transformation objectives, standards and policies.

To contribute to the creation and maintenance of technology roadmaps and overall system strategy.

To work closely with the business community to identify new opportunities of how & where technology can be used to provide business benefit.

Key Accountabilities

1. Ensure roadmaps and strategy are understood in both technical teams and the wider business.
2. Design solutions to meet non-functional Requirements (NFRs).
3. Lead the design for change initiatives within the company’s agile framework and ensure the design is safeguarded throughout the change lifecycle.
4. Define design iterations aligned to business MVP and encourage and promote evolutionary design.
5. Increase business awareness of new technologies and existing system capabilities.
6. Evaluate and recommend tools, patterns and practices.
7. Maintain an up to date knowledge of technology, industry and the business.
8. Help the business-led development teams with some hands-on engineering/PoCs.

Qualifications:

Degree educated.

Technical Certifications.

Skills and Knowledge:

1. Ability to engage with business SMEs to understand complex requirements and ask the right questions.
2. Flexible, adaptable and pragmatic approach to design options to facilitate decision making.
3. Architecting solutions using Microsoft Azure.
4. Integrating solutions with 3rd party platforms and services.
5. Architecting applications using Python, .Net, React, micro services and APIs.
6. SQL Server and other cloud storage technologies (NoSQL/Blob etc.).
7. Knowledge of cloud infrastructure and networking.
8. Knowledge of traditional server infrastructure and networking.
9. Microsoft 365 products and capabilities.
10. Knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Power Platform beneficial but not essential.

Experience:

1. Significant commercial experience working in technology, within Financial Services is essential.
2. Commercial experience of Solution Architecture in an agile framework.
3. Self-Motivated and driven, able to work with little supervision, with a demonstrable track record in delivering large-scale and/or complex solutions.
4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and appropriately to a technical and non-technical audience.
5. A demonstrable personal interest in technology.
6. In-depth knowledge of the Microsoft development technology stack and a demonstrable record in developing and architecting Microsoft-based applications.
7. A demonstrable ability to handle multiple concurrent initiatives.
8. Proven ability to work in a collaborative agile environment and to coach and mentor others.
9. Experience of actuarial and finance systems.
10. Experience of working with regulated financial services companies.
11. Experience of integrating with and/or migrating solutions to a cloud environment.

Company Benefits

1. A Competitive Salary, Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
2. Along with 25 Days Annual Leave plus an Additional Day on us for your Birthday.
3. Private Medical Cover and Income Protection, just in case.
4. A generous and highly achievable bonus scheme – paid annually based on individual and company performance against targets.
5. Opportunity to progress within your career both in-role and within the company.
6. FREE access to the Headspace App, a 24/7 Employee Assistance Helpline and Trained Physical & Mental Health First Aiders (On-Site).
7. A variety of Employee Funded Benefits available to you via our Online Benefits Portal.
8. Plus, several additional purchase options available for you and your loved ones.

Why Just?

We are committed to building a more sustainable business and have publicly committed to reduce our scope 3 emissions to Net Zero by 2050 and our scope 1 and 2 emissions to Net Zero by 2025. We’ve made good progress so far and encourage our people to make small and meaningful changes in their everyday lives, so that we can protect our planet for future generations.

Diversity, Equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority for Just as part of our overall strategy and ensuring all of our people feel proud to work at Just. We have joined a number of initiatives including the Race at Work Charter, designed to improve outcomes for employees from underrepresented backgrounds. We also run a Reciprocal Mentoring scheme for employees from a BAME background, those with a disability and those who identify as LGBTQ+. There are multiple employee network groups, which champion issues including race, gender, social mobility and neurodiversity.

What’s clear about working at Just is that we care. We care about our customers, our purpose, our environment, inclusivity, wellbeing and most importantly – each other.

At Just we encourage a flexible and agile working environment for the majority of our opportunities. Get in touch with us to discuss in more detail.

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