Senior Solution Architect
WORLD CHANGERS TOGETHER
- Strategic Leadership: Set and drive the adoption of key strategic areas of the university’s technology provision.
- Visionary Guidance: Lead and inspire teams with clear direction, open collaboration, and innovative strategies.
- Platform Architecture: Architect and design key business platforms ensuring scalability and alignment with the university’s strategic aims.
- Advocacy: Act as an advocate for the Technology Strategy directorate and Information Services across the university.
- Supplier Management: Maintain effective relationships with suppliers, ensuring value for money and appropriate contractual arrangements.
- Design Solutions: Design and implement robust, scalable, and secure IT solutions that align with the university’s strategic goals
- Collaborate: Partner with cross-functional teams and senior members of the University community to understand requirements and drive impactful change.
- Innovate: Stay ahead of industry trends and leverage emerging technologies to drive continuous innovation
- Lead: Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior team members, fostering an open culture of collaboration, support, and excellence.
- Innovative Environment: Be at the cutting edge of technology in a vibrant and collaborative setting.
- Impactful Work: Drive the future of education and research with your groundbreaking solutions.
- Career Growth: Enjoy unparalleled opportunities for professional development and career progression.
- Vibrant Community: Work alongside brilliant minds in a supportive and inclusive community.
- Experience: Proven track record as a Solutions Architect with extensive experience in designing and implementing complex IT systems.
- Skills: Expertise in cloud computing, enterprise architecture, and software development.
- Attributes: Strong problem-solving skills, excellent communication abilities, and a passion for innovation.
How to apply
Full details of the role and how to apply can be found by visiting our website:
The closing date for applications is Sunday 6th October 2024
Informal enquiries should be directed via email to Neil McChrystal Neil.McChrystal@glasgow.ac.uk
Terms & Conditions
Salary will be Grade 9, £58,596 - £65,814 per annum
This post is full time (35 hours per week) and open ended (permanent)
As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
- A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.
- An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension, benefits and discount packages.
- A flexible approach to working.
- A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University here.
We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community here.
We endorse the principles of Athena Swan and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.
We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.
Job purpose
The Senior Solution Architect is responsible for ensuring that the organisation's business initiatives achieve their goals through the proper architecture of its technology systems and processes.
The postholder will bring a broad expertise across the domains of business, applications, data and infrastructure and be able to manage and balance change and impact across these domains, whilst growing the overall enterprise in a managed and controlled way, delivering on the strategic and tactical needs of the University.
This role is responsible for setting the strategic direction and driving the roadmap for key aspects of the University's technology provision, and ensuring projects deliver in line with that strategy.
Main duties & responsibilities
- [OWN] Set, own and drive adoption of key strategic areas of the University's technology provision by bringing enterprise architecture (EA) knowledge and insight. Ensure that senior leaders across the University understand the value of EA standards and that these standards are adopted by the business in their technology initiatives.
- [INSPIRE] Bring vision and leadership to the University's mission critical technology initiatives. Lead and inspire the team with clear direction, open collaboration, innovative strategies and engaging communications.
- [GOVERN] Lead on the architecture and design of key business platforms, ensuring technology proposals are reviewed thoroughly but pragmatically, augmented and enhanced by the Technology Strategy team against the strategies of the University.
- [GOVERN] Ensure key technology platforms are scalable, expandable, and will deliver on the strategic aims of the university for the future.
- [ADVOCATE] Act as the advocate for the services of the Technology Strategy directorate and Information Services across the University, ensuring success by working with senior colleagues to gain support, sponsorship and commitment for their work.
- [LEAD] Provide inspiring leadership around technology wherever it is used, delivered or required by engaging with teams across the University.
- [LEAD] Act as line manager for junior members of an expanding team.
- [RELATIONSHIPS] Maintain effective relationships with suppliers, ensuring value for money and appropriate contractual arrangements, working with the University's procurement office and the IS/WCG Project Management Office.
- [RESPONSIBILITY] Report to the Information Services Senior Management Team or other groups as required to give briefings, recommendations on strategic direction and change.
- [REPRESENT] Represent the University at internal and external committees, events and meetings.
- [LEAD] Lead and/or support the development of system integration requirements and integration technical designs, ensuring that solutions integrate effectively with existing systems and align with the University's integration strategy.
- [LEAD] Lead and/or support the development and scoring of requirements in line with procurement and appropriate technology strategy.
- [RELATIONSHIPS] Work with our suppliers, to design robust end-to-end solutions that our objectives, considering factors such as scalability, security, performance, and cost- effectiveness.
- [LEAD] Provide technical leadership and guidance throughout any development, as required.
Knowledge and qualifications
Essential
- Ability to demonstrate the necessary strategic competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post, having acquired the necessary technical and professional knowledge OR Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 9, 10, 11 (Degree, Post Graduate Qualification, Masters Degree, or equivalent), including being professionally qualified in relevant discipline.
- Demonstrable understanding of Enterprise and Solution Architecture as a discipline and its application to real world challenges.
- A grounding in all areas of technology provision, extensive knowledge across a range of areas of technology and an awareness of current trends.
- Appreciation of technology and data governance and security considerations.
Desirable
- Accreditation in Enterprise Architecture either generally (e.g. ISEB/BCS or similar) or in a specific framework such as TOGAF or Zachman.
- Awareness of the ITIL service management framework
Skills
Essential
- Leadership, mentorship and the ability to establish, lead, mentor and develop a team.
- The ability to balance short term and long term needs with pragmatism, clarity and transparency.
- Interpersonal skills: ability to communicate and liaise effectively with other technical specialists, business stakeholders and senior academics on complex problems and to provide clear and informative explanations.
- Excellent communication skills in all of: face to face, e-mail, telephone and written in order to understand problems and negotiate the action required.
- Ability to author and maintain substantial and critical deliverables and architectural artefacts.
- Lateral thinking to propose innovative and practical solutions.
- Extensive analytical skills.
- Problem solving particularly in complex heterogeneous environments in which solutions need to be identified and enacted quickly whilst under pressure.
Experience
Essential
- Experience working in both traditional and agile delivery environments.
- Experience pragmatically applying architecture frameworks to real world challenges.
- Experience engaging stakeholders across the whole range from students to senior academics and University management.
- Experience of supplier and contract management.
- Experience of making informed decisions whilst under pressure.
- Experience of taking responsibility for actions that can have considerable impact on a very significant number of the University community.
- Experience of solutions architecture design for complex IT projects such as enterprise CRM, ERP or Product Management.
Campus development plan
Our Vision
Over the next 10 years, the major investment will expand our campus footprint by 25%, creating a new urban quarter with the University at the heart of a revitalised west end. This is the largest development since the creation of the original campus in 1870.
This is a unique opportunity for a University to extend the boundaries of its historic core in a central city location. It will create:
- New learning and teaching facilities
- Refurbishment and repurposing of existing iconic buildings for specialist uses
- Identification and design of social spaces that support the student and community experience.
The expansion of our Gilmorehill campus into the 14 acre, former Western Infirmary site will transform the West End of Glasgow. The Masterplan for the site will incorporate:
- New learning and teaching facilities supporting our students and making sure they get the best in modern teaching and learning styles and approaches
- Creation of a Research Hub, housing large-scale multidisciplinary projects and incubator space for spin out collaborations with industry. This will encourage further innovation development
- New public cycle and pedestrian routes and a new central square which will link Byres Road to the up-and-coming cultural quarter for the West End, with new links to Kelvingrove and the newly-refurbished Kelvin Hall
- Refurbishment of five listed buildings: The Chapel, the Outpatients building, the Macgregor building, the Tennent Institute and Anderson College
- Commercial opportunities, including a hotel, restaurant, bars and cafes
- The state of the art Learning and Teaching Hub adjacent to the Boyd Orr building on University Avenue will be completed next year.
Find out more
Living in Glasgow
A UNESCO City of Music, a vibrant arts and culture scene, a food-lover’s delight, and a shopper’s paradise. Just some of the highlights of the ‘friendliest city in the world’. As well as that accolade by the Rough Guides poll, Glasgow has also been named a must visit destination by publications including the New York Times, The Guardian, and Wanderlust.
Music
The city hosts an average of 130 music events a week catering for every taste; from rock to rap, and classical to country. Glasgow also has a world class club scene playing host to some of the world’s top DJs.
Shopping
Outside of London’s West End, Glasgow is frequently voted the best place for shopping in the UK. A must-visit destination for any shop-a-holic, it houses high street chains, international designers, and independent retailers. The West End, home to the University of Glasgow, is bustling with vintage fashion, vinyl stores, and second-hand bookshops.
Arts and Culture
Glasgow’s arts scene has gone from strength to strength, and is the base for five internationally renowned performing arts companies including the National Theatre of Scotland and Scottish Ballet. The city has several world-class museums, which are free to the public, and the city’s architecture is a work of art in itself.
Food and drink
You can be in Glasgow and taste the world with its many diverse restaurants, cafes, and bars. And if you’ve yet to sample the delights of haggis and whisky, Glasgow is the place to be.
The City and Beyond
Glasgow has all the opportunities and excitement of a big city but its compact size means you can quickly travel from one vibrant district to the next. You could be relaxing in one of its many parks, before shopping in the quirky West End, and then dancing until the wee small hours in the Merchant City.
And when you fancy getting out of the city you can reach the stunning Loch Lomond in just 30 minutes, climb one of our many breath-taking Munros, play golf at one of Scotland’s many world-class courses, visit one of our ancient castles, or go further North and search for Nessie! Scotland has also just been named the world’s most beautiful country by Rough Guides.
Relocating to Glasgow
Choosing to relocate to Glasgow is a big decision. There are numerous things to be considered, such as the costs of moving, the cost of living, and where exactly to relocate to. We have created two guides to aide you in the decision making process.
Find out more on relocating to Glasgow at the below link:
WORLD CHANGERS TOGETHER
WORLD CHANGING GLASGOW 2025
Our outstanding disciplinary breadth and expertise has enabled us to make world-changing advances in fields as diverse as medicine, physics, linguistics, public policy and global development.
The key to our success is our talented staff and students pushing back at the boundaries of knowledge and understanding together.
Our World Changers Together strategy recognises the fundamental importance of a culture of open cooperation: not just as colleagues and mentors or students and teachers, but as a community of discovery that reaches beyond its walls and draws inspiration and strength from its connections and partnerships worldwide: excellence that's part of something bigger. The strategy is articulated across three themes:
COMMUNITY
- People centred, globally engaged
CONNECTIVITY
- Collaboratively minded, digitally enhanced
CHALLENGES
- Solution focused, impact oriented
Find out more
It is the University of Glasgow’s mission to foster an inclusive climate, which ensures equality in our working, learning, research and teaching environment. We strongly endorse the principles of Athena SWAN, including a supportive and flexible working environment, with commitment from all levels of the organisation in promoting gender equity.
Our values
The future holds innumerable challenges for our sector, our society, and our world. We will have to adapt and change what we do and what we offer if we are to navigate these successfully. Our strategy and approach may evolve as the landscape changes, but our values will remain constant: a fixed point of certainty in uncertain times.
We have identified our values in consultation and partnership with our staff and student community. Living and upholding these values will ensure that we remain true to the spirit of our community and ourselves:
Ambition and Excellence
- We strive for excellence through our work
- We defend academic freedom globally
- We recognise and celebrate shared success
- We have an unrelenting focus on development
Curiosity and Discovery
- We innovate and solve problems together
- We lead by influence and example
- We engage with lifelong learning and personal development
- We learn from our mistakes
Integrity and Truth
- We uphold honesty, integrity and fairness
- We share our work widely and generously
- We do the right thing, not the easy thing - or we don’t do it
- We take responsibility
An Inclusive Community
- We are one Glasgow team, and we care for and respect one another
- We advocate for diversity and believe in variety as a vital part of a healthy university
- We champion education as an engine for social progress
- We practise and advance sustainability