Senior Solution Architect

NCC Group plc; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Working

Generous Holiday Allowance

Medicash & Critical Illness Scheme

Pension, Life Assurance, and ShareSave

Community & Volunteering

Green Car Scheme

Cycle to Work

Special Time Off

Family Planning

Job summary

NCC Group plc is seeking a Senior Solution Architect to lead architectural governance and the design/implementation of scalable and secure solutions across the technology estate. You will translate business requirements into enterprise architectures and drive consistency through the Design Authority.

You will engage early in projects, provide architectural oversight, and partner with global teams to deliver value while aligning with NCC Group's strategic goals and security standards.

Qualifications

• Analytical with IT infra or systems development background.
• Able to understand business needs and tackle technical challenges.
• Experience as IT Solution Architect or similar role.

Responsibilities

• Deliver architecture documents meeting stakeholder requirements and aligned with strategy.
• Share knowledge with business engineering teams.
• Gather and document functional and technical requirements.
• Align business requirements with long-term planning.
• Present architecture to Data, Integration, Business Partners, Project Members, Stakeholders, Security and TechOps.
• Create long-term roadmaps and strategies.
• Chair technical sessions and translate discussions into written docs.
• Assess the current state across groups’ systems and networks for security concerns.
• Define how new systems or interfaces will be implemented.

Skills

Requirements analysis

Networking

Domains

Public Cloud

OnPrem Infrastructure

O365/AD/AzureAD/SharePoint/PowerBI

HA deployment strategies

AI

Data Governance

IT Architecture

Security principles

Technical documentation

TOGAF (or similar)

Project membership

Security architecture knowledge

IT risk/cyber security

Quick absorption of new tech

Architecture documentation

Tools

TOGAF9/ Zachman/ UAF/ Agile/ FEAF/ MoD AF

BPMN/UML/ArchiMate

AWS certification

Azure certification

Job description

Senior Solution Architect

Department: IT

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: GBR Manchester Hardman Boulevard

Description

The role holder will contribute to the architecture of both business systems and group-wide services. Your primary focus will be on aligning business requirements with NCC Group's long-term IT strategy, ensuring that technology solutions support current and future business objectives.

The Design Authority at NCC Group is a collaborative and enabling function that promotes knowledge sharing, architectural consistency, and alignment across the organization. It acts as a bridge between Global Technical Services teams and business engineering teams, fostering cooperation, standardisation, and the adoption of best practices wherever possible.

You will engage with projects from their earliest stages, providing architectural guidance and ensuring that solutions are designed, developed, and implemented in alignment with NCC Group's strategic goals and enterprise architecture principles.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Solution Architect to lead the review, design, and implementation of solutions across our technology estate. You will be responsible for shaping solution architectures, evaluating technology options, driving architectural governance, and ensuring scalable, secure, and sustainable outcomes that deliver business value.

You will play a key role in supporting internal GTS projects as well as wider business projects with your expertise. You will work in various projects delivering oversight translation to and from business and technical teams and able to work out the final solution together with experts cross the group.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver architecture documents that meet requirements from various stakeholders and are in line with our strategy.
• Delivery your knowledge and skills to the business engineering teams
• Able to gather and document requirements (functional and technical)
• Align business requirements with strategic long-term planning.
• Present overall architecture if needed to various audiences: Data team, Integration team, Business Partners, Project Members, Business unit stakeholders, Security team and TechOps.
• Write long term roadmaps and strategies
• Chair technical sessions with engineering teams and translating those in written technical and functional documentation
• Investigating the 'as is' state currently in place across the groups systems and networks. Produce a picture of company assets and where any security concerns may arise.
• Defining and documenting how the implementation of a new system or new interfaces between systems.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

In this role you will need to be all round analytical with background in both IT infra and/or Systems development. You are a communicative and able to understand business needs and able to work on technical challenges.

• Requirements analysis
• Experience with at least the following:
• Networking
• Domains (and Domain Segregation)
• Public Cloud services
• OnPrem Infrastructure
• Microsoft O365/ActiveDirectory/AzureAD/Sharepoint/PowerBI
• High Availability deployment strategies
• AI
• Data Governance
• IT Architecture
• Security principles
• Written Technical and functional documentation
• Familiar with Togaf (or similar frameworks)
• Proactive project membership and attitude
• Strong in T's and C's
• Proven experience as an IT Solution Architect or similar role.
• Prior knowledge of Security architecture in a number of different technologies.
• Strong working knowledge of IT risks, cyber security, and computer operating software
• The aptitude and ability to quickly absorb technical detail of new or unfamiliar technologies is essential.
• Proven experience with writing architecture documentation.

Frameworks:

• Frameworks: Togaf9 / Zachman / UAF / Agile / FEAF / MoD AF
• Languages: BPMN / UML / ArchiMate

Possible Certifications:

• AWS or Azure Cert Sol. Architecture
• CISSP or Similar Security Qualifications
• Open Group Cert. Architecture

Job Benefits

• Flexible Working: Balance your work and personal life with our flexible working options.
• Generous Holiday Allowance: Enjoy 25 days of holiday, plus bank holidays, with the option to buy up to 5 additional days of annual leave.
• Medicash & Critical Illness Scheme
• Financial & Investment Benefits: Enjoy peace of mind with our Pension, Life Assurance, and Share Save Scheme.
• Community & Volunteering Programmes: Make a difference in your community with our volunteering opportunities.
• Green Car Scheme: Drive green and ;?
• Cycle Scheme: Stay fit and healthy with our cycle-to-work scheme.
• Special Time Off: Take time off for those big moments in life, like getting married/entering into a civil partnership, becoming a grandparent, and welcoming home a new pet.
• Family Planning: Benefit from our generous maternity and paternity leave, as well as time off and support for those undergoing fertility treatments.