While you’ll have heard our name, there’s a lot you probably don’t know about Next. Like how we create most of our systems ourselves – whether it’s a website, mobile app or application. What’s more, we’re growing. Fast. And it’s the kind of growth and investment that is exciting for everyone in our business.
We are seeking a talented and highly motivated Solution Architect to join our team for a Finance Modernisation assignment.
As a Solution Architect, you will be responsible for designing and documenting robust and scalable integrations that meet the current and future business needs along with managing a team of Application Architects and their responsibilities.
You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify requirements, architect solutions and manage the handover of specifications to ensure the successful implementation of a new Finance system.
This position requires excellent problem-solving skills, technical expertise, and the ability to work unsupervised in a diverse and international environment.
The role aligns closely to the Finance Modernisation Project which is implementing the Oracle Fusion Product into Next, so any previous experience of large finance implementations would be an advantage, especially with Oracle Fusion.
The Role will lead a small Architect Function as part of the wider program; experience of people management would be beneficial along with reporting on a teams priorities and workload.
Responsibilities:
1. Gather and Analyse current systems, integrations and environments to establish the best understanding of “as is”.
2. Ensure knowledge sharing through documentation aligned to the audience.
3. Building and contributing to both High and Low level design documents for teams of varying experience.
4. Collaborate with stakeholders, including business analysts, project managers, and developers, to define and refine requirements.
5. Design and oversee the handover of software specifications, ensuring adherence to best practices and industry standards are highlighted.
6. Ensure application scalability, security, and performance through effective architecture design and practices.
7. Collaborate with cross-functional teams in agile development environments to deliver high-quality solution documents within set timelines.
8. Identify technical risks and provide mitigation strategies to ensure successful application delivery.
9. Conduct research and evaluate emerging technologies, frameworks, and tools to continuously improve application development methodologies.
10. Provide technical guidance and mentoring to developers and more junior architects, fostering their growth and professional development.
11. Support production deployments and troubleshooting of application issues as needed.
12. Stay up-to-date with industry trends, guidelines, and best practices related to application development and architecture.
13. Capable of working autonomously with minimal supervision.
14. Contributing to the development of standardised architectural documentation.
15. Manage the day to day responsibilities of a small Architect function.
16. As per the Finance Modernisation Project, there will be a need to understand and define Data requirements and data management throughout the project.
Requirements
17. Experience of Architecture Frameworks preferable (e.g., BCS, TOGAF)
18. Previous experience working as an Application Architect or equivalent, preferably in a multinational or cross-border environment.
19. Experience of Large Scale system implementation supporting Objective delivery through design.
20. Strong knowledge of application development methodologies, including software design patterns, frameworks, and technologies.
21. Exposure to programming languages such as C#, and SQL.
22. Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., Azure, IOC), containerisation (e.g., Docker), Eventing Practices, and microservices architecture preferable.
23. Proficiency in application integration techniques (e.g., RESTful APIs, message queues).
24. Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
25. Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively in a globally distributed team.
Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements. For further information please see: