Head of Cloud and Security Architecture | London, UK

M&G plc.; London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job description

At M&G our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. As an international savings and investments business with roots stretching back more than 170 years, we offer a range of financial products and services through Asset Management, Life and Wealth. All three operating segments work together to deliver attractive financial outcomes for our clients and superior shareholder returns.

Through our behaviours of telling it like it is, owning it now, and moving it forward together with care and integrity; we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent.

We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and also offer workplace accommodations to ensure you have what you need to effectively deliver in your role.

The Head of Cloud and Security Architecture leads and shapes the strategic direction for cloud and security architecture within M&G plc. Working closely with senior stakeholders across M&G's technology function, this role ensures that the organisation has well-defined and appropriate cloud and security architectures that are driving and informing investment planning decisions through architectural roadmaps that meet both immediate and long-term business goals while also delivering against M&G's wider simplification and cost reduction targets. The Head of Cloud and Security Architecture is the lead "Enterprise Architecture Partner" to M&G's CISO and CTO teams. This pivotal role demands an experienced professional with a robust understanding of cloud technologies, security practices, and enterprise architecture principles.

Key Responsibilities
The Head of Cloud and Security Architecture is accountable for the following:

• Strategic Leadership: develop and implement the cloud and security architecture strategy aligned with M&G's business objectives and technology vision.
• Cloud Architecture: oversee the design, implementation, and management of scalable, secure, and resilient cloud infrastructure solutions.
• Security Architecture: ensure robust security measures are integrated into all architectural solutions, mitigating risks and protecting M&G's customers and data assets.
• Enterprise Collaboration: work closely with key stakeholders to ensure seamless integration and alignment of cloud and security solutions with overall M&G enterprise architecture.
• Innovation and Best Practices: keep abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies, recommending and implementing best practices to enhance efficiency and security.
• Risk Management: identify potential security threats, develop risk mitigation strategies, and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
• Team Leadership: lead, mentor, and develop a team of enterprise architects, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development.
• Vendor Management: manage relationships with external vendors and service providers to ensure high-quality delivery of cloud and security solutions.
• Commercial: lead architecture input to the investment planning processes for cloud and security, providing the link between long-term strategic architecture and shorter-term delivery planning and design;
• Collaboration: work collaboratively with delivery teams to shape, define and agree high-level solution architectures that are aligned with the target architecture.
• Governance: ensure architecture alignment of change delivery activity, through implementation and running of appropriate design governance processes.
• Communication: manage stakeholder expectations through effective communication and education for both technical and non-technical colleagues at all levels across business and technology.

Knowledge Statements:
The role requires the role-holder to be a confident and experienced practitioner in the following:

• Close collaboration with senior technology and business stakeholders as well as colleagues in the Enterprise Architecture team and wider Technology function;
• Understanding business and technology drivers and being able to translate that understanding into valued input to strategic planning;
• Defining, evolving and applying EA best practices, including alignment of target architectures with business strategy, gap analysis, roadmaps, architecture principles, policies, patterns and standards;
• Ability to communicate business strategy, technology strategy and technology architecture to team and colleagues;
• Ensuring that architectures satisfy not only functional needs, but non-functional requirements, such as system resilience, performance, scalability and security;
• Ability to consider various architecture/design options and present reasoned comparisons and recommendations;
• Deep experience in development of an architecture strategy relating to cloud and hybrid security reference architecture on zero trust, perimeter security, data security and identity management.
• Experience in scale cloud migrations to Azure IaaS, PaaS and serverless architectures.
• Proven experience in leading enterprise architecture strategy (Cloud Adoption, Landing Zone design, Cloud Migration, etc.).
• Strong background in on-premises infrastructure, virtualization technologies, or applications.
• Extensive experience with Azure IaaS, Backup & Recovery Services, Governance, SQL Databases, Security, Serverless, Containers, and Active Directory.
• Proficiency with Windows Server/Linux OS and Infrastructure as Code (ARM, Bicep, Terraform, PowerShell).
• Experience with Solution Architecture (Cloud, Security, Hybrid) and Microsoft 365.
• Defining, evolving, and running an effective, collaborative architecture governance framework;
• Assessing risks associated with the IT architecture, identifying and recommending appropriate controls and mitigating actions;
• Ability to understand industry trends and practices and how these will impact M&G.
• Line management, relationship management and influencing.