Architecture Systems Analyst in London

Who are we? First Rail is part of FirstGroup, the largest rail operator in the UK and second largest bus operator in the UK outside London. FirstGroup operates services throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 30,000 employees providing services that make travel smoother and life easier. FirstGroup works hard to reduce its impact on the environment, introducing cleaner and more environmentally responsible methods of transport.

About the job The First Group is a complex organisation of largely independent transport and associated businesses. We are currently looking for an Architecture Systems Analyst to help bridge the gap between business needs and technology solutions. As a key part of the Strategy & Architecture Team, this role will support the assessment of new technology initiatives ensuring that requirements are well understood whilst embracing innovation and new technologies such as artificial intelligence. This role will report to the Group Lead Enterprise Architect. This is a hybrid role, with a mix of remote and office presence required.

The purpose of the role is to work with the Group Strategy and Architecture Team and project stakeholders to:

• Develop and manage an internal consulting approach/process for assessing technology initiatives and requests from business and IT stakeholders with particular focus on productivity enhancements and leveraging AI.
• Embed Technology governance processes by supporting the various governance boards led by the S&A team and the development of High-Level Architecture Impact Assessments and business cases.
• Contribute to the maintenance of the Enterprise Architecture Repository. This will include engaging with business and technical owners to update the repository content (through Power BI configuration updates) and to resolve business queries based on the information held. Additionally, it will involve working with the S&A team to identify opportunities for change in the Technology portfolio and develop target architectures and roadmaps.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• IT Business Request Pipeline and Governance support
  • Support the IT governance process by managing and prioritising IT business requests in collaboration with architecture and business teams.
  • Ensure compliance with established IT governance policies and contribute to continuous improvement of governance frameworks.
  • Document and track the progress of IT requests, providing status updates and managing expectations with stakeholders.
  • Assist in the preparation of governance reports, dashboards, and presentations for leadership review.
• AI Adoption Support
  • Collaborate with the architecture team to define and advance the AI adoption agenda, including AI training programs, use-case assessments, and trend analysis.
  • Conduct evaluations of emerging AI tools and technologies, performing hands-on testing and analysis to provide informed recommendations for adoption.
  • Research and present insights on AI market developments and their potential impact on business processes and strategies.
  • Develop and maintain AI assessment frameworks to objectively evaluate AI solutions for various business needs.
• Technical Power BI Development
  • Design, develop, and maintain Power BI dashboards and reports to support data-driven decision-making across the organization.
  • Collaborate with business users to gather requirements, validate data sources, and ensure accurate and meaningful insights are delivered.
  • Optimize and enhance existing Power BI reports to improve performance and usability.
• Innovation and Continuous Learning
  • Stay current with new features and capabilities of Microsoft technologies, especially within the Power Platform and Azure ecosystems.
  • Lead or contribute to proof-of-concept (POC) initiatives to demonstrate the value of emerging technologies.
  • Promote a test-and-learn culture by sharing findings, best practices, and lessons learned from technology assessments.
• Collaboration and Communication
  • Work closely with architects, developers, data scientists, and business analysts to align AI and analytics initiatives with business strategies.
  • Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Prepare and deliver presentations, training sessions, and documentation to promote understanding and adoption of AI and analytics solutions.
• Technical Design Governance
  • Support suppliers and vendors in preparing solution designs for review at the Group Technical Design Authority.
  • Attend the Technical Design Authority and manage follow-on actions and issues through to resolution.

You'll need to be:

• Working knowledge of IT Governance and Architecture.
• Working knowledge of Power BI development and use.
• Application development to be able to test and where required build POC involving AI technologies and vendor solutions.
• Workshop support, data analysis, business analysis, process definition.
• Can resolve complex requirements conflicts through effective stakeholder engagement.
• The ability to assimilate and correlate disconnected documentation and drawings, and articulate their collective relevance.
• A broad, enterprise-wide view of the business and varying degrees of appreciation for processes and capabilities, enabling technologies, and governance.
• Effective interpersonal, influencing and engagement skills at Senior management level.
• Excellent demonstrable stakeholder management.
• Excellent verbal and written presentation skills to develop Senior management level communications and documentation.
• Inquisitive mind, endless curiosity and passion for learning about new approaches to doing things.
• Excellent situational awareness – must be comfortable with dynamic environments and enthusiastically present our team.
• Evidence of continuous learning in emerging technologies such as MIT, Coursera, IBM Certifications.

Qualifications (Preferred)

• AI Certifications (MS Azure AI Engineer Associate).
• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP).
• Business Analysis Certifications (ISEB, CBAP).
• Evidence of continuous learning in emerging technologies such as MIT, Coursera, IBM Certifications.

We all belong at First Rail. FirstGroup's vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment. We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent. We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive. We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details. If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.