Lead Architect - Technology Platform Team

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.
Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.
Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.
What we're building
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Lead Architect to join our dynamic team. In this role, you will be responsible for leading the design and development of complex, multi-system initiatives, ensuring that our solutions are robust, scalable, and meet the needs of our clients. Working alongside our product teams within an organization that is transitioning to Agile, the Technology Platform team is responsible for implementing a mixed portfolio of strategic initiatives, creating a wide variety of shared platform capabilities across the CLUK landscape and supporting many of our core business areas (such HR, Legal, Internal Comms, Supplier, etc.).
Job summary
As a Lead Architect, you will work closely with our development engineering teams, providing technical guidance and direction and ensuring that our solutions are aligned with our overall technical strategy. You will continuously collaborate with our Principal Architects and other domain specialists to assure alignment with the overall enterprise architecture and business ecosystem whilst evolving and elaborating the solution vision, roadmap, and capabilities. You will also work closely with our clients and business stakeholders, understanding their needs and requirements, and ensuring that our solutions meet their expectations.
The successful candidate will have a strong background in solution architecture and design, with experience in leading the development of complex software systems within an Agile environment. You will have excellent communication and collaboration skills, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
In this role, you will help to drive the reuse of platform components and services, owning their roadmaps and their ongoing health and vitality whilst communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. You will also set and help lead wider best practice by defining reference architectures, standards, and design patterns for these components, and ensuring that platform delivery and product teams are working to these standards.
The successful candidate will have significant relevant experience in leading the definition of platform solutions and work packages, delivering change initiatives, and achieving strategic objectives. You will share overall responsibility with the Technology Platform delivery teams for all aspects of project activities and deliverables.
If you are a highly skilled and experienced Lead Architect, with a passion for delivering high-quality platform and system solutions and the ability to lead and drive change, we want to hear from you. Apply now and take the first step towards an exciting and rewarding career with our company.
Duties/Responsibilities

• Be responsible for end-to-end solution architectures for the Technology Platform team - taking initiatives from inception, through architecture, design, coding and delivery through into ongoing operational ownership and change management.
• Create opportunities to collaborate and drive reuse of platform components and services, communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Set platform, component and application related reference architectures, standards and design patterns and ensure platform and portfolio delivery teams are working to these.
• Help mature the application of agile principles and ways or working in our delivery organisation, championing the use of DevSecOps and test automation.
• Provide oversight and advice to other Lead Architects and/or SMEs who are undertaking the design of solutions leveraging the shared platform components and related services and capabilities; support the management of a service cataloge.
• Work with Data Architect(s), Principal Architects and other Lead Architects to make sure that organisation's systems are designed in accordance with the appropriate data and technology architecture.
• Undertake structured analysis of technical issues, translating this analysis into technical designs that describe a solution for resolution - evolving new components, capabilities and patterns as required.
• Provide Peer Reviews - participate in design and code walkthroughs and be consulted on general design, design patterns and technical issues as part of the wider Architecture practice.
• Maintain a leading-edge view of the overall delivery technology landscape looking for opportunities for improvement of the platform ecosystem.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Significant relevant Solution Architecture experience leading solution architecture definition and implementation using Cloud Native design.
• Demonstrable track record of implementation within an agile delivery environment
• Strong understanding of modern agile and DevSecOps practices and their application when developing cloud, application and data solutions.
• The ability to work with business and technology stakeholders to translate business problems into technical designs.
• Creates an optimal design through an iterative process, aligning the user need with the system requirements and organisational objectives.
• Capable of producing strategies for platform technology that meets business needs. Able to create, refine and challenge patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements.
• Understand the importance of technical governance and is able to participate in and deliver the assurance of platforms and services within an agile delivery environment.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience in I.T.
• TOGAF or BCS Certification (Desirable)

Benefits of working at Canada Life
We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that's regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generou