Senior Architect

About Law Debenture

Law Debenture is an Investment Trust supported by a wholly owned professional services business. LawDeb is an unusual and exciting proposition; on a day-to-day basis we are nimble, ambitious and small enough to know everyone by name whilst also benefiting from the profile and credibility of a listed business. This is thanks to our 135-year-old FTSE250 investment trust and our fast-growing independent professional services business of over 300 colleagues across 6 business lines. At LawDeb, doing work that has a positive impact is important to us. We need the very best people to be the custodians of our business for the next stage of our proud history and growth. We’re ambitious to innovate, collaborate and push forward in providing peace of mind and excellence for our clients and each other. We’re on a journey to shape a culture we’re all proud to be part of. One where everyone feels trusted, supported and empowered to own their success. Working at LawDeb, you will have access to our enviable network of clients and innovative projects as well as brilliant colleagues to learn from and collaborate with.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Head of Architecture and Platform Engineering to lead the technical architecture strategy and platform engineering capabilities across Law Debenture’s Independent Professional Services division ensuring our technology foundations support business growth and operational excellence. You will be responsible for defining and implementing enterprise architecture standards, overseeing platform engineering operations and providing technical leadership that enables our development teams to deliver secure, scalable and efficient solutions. Working closely with the Head of Software Engineering, you will establish architectural governance whilst fostering a collaborative environment that enhances our Microsoft-centric Azure-native technology estate.

Main Responsibilities

• Establish our first enterprise architecture function to provide strategic technology leadership for our Microsoft-centric Azure-native estate.
• Greenfield opportunity to define architecture strategy, governance frameworks and drive transformation.
• Define data architecture strategy for disparate legacy systems across 6 business lines.
• Maximise 200k annual Microsoft E5 licensing investment.
• Design CSS portal multi-tenancy architecture enabling US enterprise expansion.
• Establish architecture governance appropriate for our scale.
• Optimise Azure spend and modernise infrastructure.

Essential Requirements

• Proven EA experience in financial services or professional services.
• Established architecture governance in mid-sized organisations (250-1500 employees).
• Architecture strategies, standards and roadmaps experience.
• Financial services regulatory understanding (FCA compliance).
• Deep Azure expertise: Landing Zones, Hub-Spoke networking, PaaS, Entra ID, M365 ecosystem governance, Power Platform E5 optimisation, Azure integration services (Logic Apps, Service Bus, Event Grid, API Management), Cloud cost management and FinOps practices.
• Data architecture strategy development in complex multi-system environments.
• Master data management and data governance frameworks.
• Azure data platforms (Synapse, Databricks, Fabric, Power BI).
• Data integration patterns for disparate systems.

Integration Stakeholder Skills

• Integration patterns, API architecture, event-driven architecture, ERP/CRM system integration strategies.
• Excellent communication skills presenting to C-suite and translating technical to business value.
• Proven ability to chair architecture forums and influence senior leadership.

Highly Desirable

• Professional Services industry experience.
• Certifications: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, TOGAF, M365 Enterprise Administrator, Fabric Analytics Engineer, AI/ML architecture with Azure AI services, Multi-tenancy and SaaS platform design, Integration platforms experience (Workato, Azure Integration Services).

First 12 Months Deliverables

• Enterprise architecture strategy and roadmap approved by ExCo.
• Data architecture strategy addressing system fragmentation.
• Azure governance delivering 15-20% cloud cost reduction.
• Architecture review process embedded.
• CSS portal multi-tenancy architecture defined.
• E5 licence optimisation plan implemented.

Your Reward

Competitive salary with performance bonus scheme, generous pension contribution, full healthcare cover, health cash plan, life assurance, buy/sell annual leave scheme.

Additional Information

People who thrive at LawDeb make the most of this foundation to grow themselves, help us improve and have fun playing their part in building the culture that’s fuelling our growth. LawDeb hires people based on personal merit and qualifications regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or any other protected attribute. We celebrate the diversity of our colleagues and provide an inclusive environment so you can bring your true self to work. We recognise that our people are our strength and the diverse talents they bring to our global workforce are directly linked to our success. If you feel that you require any reasonable adjustments to be able to participate in this recruitment process please provide further details where prompted. Please note that we have a thorough referencing process which includes credit and criminal record checks.