Head: Architecture

About Sanlam Corporate
Our vision is to be the preferred partner to Corporate and Public Sector by providing an awesome client experience and comprehensive solutions that enable the financial resilience and prosperity of those entities and their employees. We tap into over 100 years of expertise to provide cost-effective Employee Benefits and Healthcare Solutions that enable financial confidence for our members. We enable our clients to make better retirement and risk decisions today through determined and passionate thought leadership and best-in-class people, innovative products and proven processes all designed to help people live a better life tomorrow.
We believe in creating and cultivating a positive, energised working environment that gives every individual the opportunity to achieve success, embracing diversity and committed to transformation. We do this through living our values of having the courage to be bold, care, collaboration and an intolerance for mediocrity. We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future - your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth The overall purpose of the role
To drive and guide Key Strategic Initiatives from an architectural perspective, that provides thought leadership or strategic direction by liaising with and aligning (when required) Technology to provide technical and non-technical guidance for a Sanlam Corporate. To develop Architecture Principles and Specifications based on industry standards, best practices, and strategic objectives, and ensure their implementation through effective Architecture Governance in all technical domains. To define technical Target Architectures for technical domains in order to facilitate business requirements and/or technical optimization/evolution of relevant technologies within those domains, and to lead the creation of Strategic Architecture Roadmaps that guide such technical domains to evolve their current platforms & systems towards their Target Architecture based on relevant industry standards, market trends, and relevant business needs. To conceptualize strategic guidance and architectural leadership as well as to drive and execute the technical input for the Procurement of new technologies and systems through various Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes.
The overall purpose of the role
Provides solution architecture for agile release train delivery across the cluster. To Communicate effectively and maintain sound Relationships at all levels within the Company in accordance with agreed strategies with Line Management. This includes: To work closely with the Group Architecture office and Group Technology Strategy in defining and supporting the Sanlam Group Technology Strategy from an architectural perspective. To lead and coach Technology Architects and Platform owners in requesting and providing peer review and guidance on initiatives and deliverables. Key responsibilities
Work with group IT to ensure cluster specific adoption and customization on all aspects of technology initiatives
Ensure that architecture principals and standards are reviewed at the required intervals - reporting of compliance there of
Managing cross-functional teams undertaking numerous simultaneous complex technology projects, and ensuring that such projects are completed with associated architecture guidelines.
Qualification and Experience B.Sc Degree in Computer Science, Software Development, or relevant IT certifications 15 years hands on IT experience spread across technical and architecture domains
Cloud & Platform technologies, including virtualization & containerization, API definition & management, microservice development, CI/CD pipelines & DevOps tools, and hyper scale cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure. Knowledge and Skills
Delivery Excellence - Ability to plan and execute a project to deliver a superior client experience Ability to establish governance frameworks, meeting legislative and regulatory requirements. Ability to read and interpret regulatory, policy and related acquisition guidance. Knowledge of sound business judgement. Ability to communicate internal controls concepts clear in a business context. Personal qualities Flexible and Adaptable - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations. Courage - Stepping up to address difficult issues, saying what needs to be said. Manages Complexity - Demonstrated ability and proven record to make complex decisions. Ensures Accountability - Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments. Plans and Aligns - Planning and prioritising work to meet commitments aligned to organisational goals Core Competencies Cultivates Innovation by creating new and better ways for the organisation to be successful. Client Focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions