Solutions Consultant

Vanguard; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Vanguard is seeking a Solutions Consultant to partner with business stakeholders and IT to translate business problems into strategic technology solutions. The role requires strong commercial acumen, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership to drive change and adoption of new technologies.

The successful candidate will shape 3–5 year technology plans, collaborate with Solution Architects and Product Owners, and work in a hybrid setup.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Broad knowledge of the financial services industry and FinTech industry.
• Strong written, oral communication, workshop facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Exceptional conceptual, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong planning, organisational, stakeholder management, and negotiation skills.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders.
• Proven ability to adapt quickly, learn new business domains, evaluate issues, identify and validate problem areas, and negotiate scope changes.

Responsibilities

• Build productive working relationships with internal clients and IT partners to ensure recommendations are understood and aligned.
• Translate business problems into strategic, cost-effective technology solutions and research emerging technologies.
• Partner with business and IT leaders to align initiatives and roadmaps with strategic plans.
• Influence the organization on product-centric thinking, governance, and value metrics.
• Own and manage the capability blueprint for one or more lines of business, understanding market options and vendor solutions.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication skills

Facilitation

Presentation skills

Education

Undergraduate degree

Job description

The Role

Work as part of the Solutions Consulting Team which partners with business stakeholders to strategically advise how technology and process innovation can help them to meet their business goals. With a high level of IT and business acumen, the Solutions Consultant will be expected to proactively identify opportunities and demonstrate possibilities that technology can enable.

In this role you will

• Build productive working relationships with internal clients, team members, senior management, project teams, and IT partners to ensure recommendations and priorities are understood by all impacted parties. Leverage influencing and negotiation skills to champion optimal solutions. Act as an advocate for change, overcoming resistance by clearly articulating its benefits and promoting acceptance and usage. Ensure IT and Business teams understand proposed enhancements by continually reviewing approved technology capabilities and business solutions. Serve as a change agent for IT and the Business to introduce new technologies and processes to shape the business strategy
• Translate business problems into strategic and cost-effective solution alternatives, along with recommendations, and cost benefits to solve business problems. Leverage broad IT knowledge to research emerging technologies and apply these to business problems. Create blueprint capabilities for software deliverables. Ensure all deliverables comply with IT policies and procedures
• Partner with business and IT leaders to align business initiatives, priorities, and delivery roadmaps based on strategic business and IT plans
• Influence the broad organization to gain maturity in product centric and portfolio planning, IT and value metrics, measurement of metrics aligned to product, owner alignment, capability-oriented thinking etc. by leveraging knowledge of existing technology solutions and options that are already provided to our clients and research possible new options
• Own and manage the capability blueprint for one or more lines of business and its product owners as the business and the industry evolves. Develop deep knowledge of the business area(s) supported and assist the business in driving out their 3-to-5-year technology plan. Develop broad and deep understanding of the competitive landscape, corporate business unit strategies, and vendor products available in the marketplace to provide context for decision-making. Maintain current knowledge of IT development methodologies, architecture and related standards
• Partner with Solution Architects, Product Owners and Engineering leaders to develop implementation approaches and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, governance standards, and strategic objectives
• Participate in special projects and performs other duties as assigned

What It Takes

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience
• Broad knowledge of the financial services industry and FinTech industry
• Strong written, oral communication, workshop facilitation, and presentation skills
• Exceptional conceptual, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Strong planning, organisational, stakeholder management, and negotiation skills
• Proven experience using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to inform recommendations and investment decisions
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders
• Proven ability to adapt quickly, learn new business domains, evaluate issues, identify and validate problem areas, and negotiate scope changes

Special Factors

• Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position
• This is a hybrid position and would require you to work in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday)
• Please note that we review applications on a rolling basis and may close this role early if there is a high level of interest. To avoid missing out, we recommend applying as soon as possible

Why Vanguard?

Vanguard is a different kind of investment company. It was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients.

This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments.

It's what we stand for: value to investors.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.