Cloud Architect

A great career opportunity exists for a junior cloud architect at Santam’s Technology Services (STS) in the Western Cape or Gauteng.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The purpose of an enterprise architect is to align Santam’s business strategy and objectives with its information technology infrastructure.

Being involved in the complete Santam landscape, the enterprise architect ensures that Santam’s systems, processes, and resources are effectively designed, implemented, and managed to support the overall business goals.

In effect, the enterprise architect bridges the gap between business and technology allowing Santam to achieve its long-term goals by leveraging appropriate solutions.

PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES INCLUDE:

Architecture functions

• Analyse Santam business strategy and translate it into an IT strategy that supports the business vision.
• Design and develop enterprise-wide technology architectures that encompass various aspects, including business processes, applications, infrastructure, and security, but with a focus on cloud solutions.
• Establish and enforce architecture and design governance processes, principles and standards to ensure consistency, interoperability, and compliance across IT projects and systems.
• Oversee the alignment of IT initiatives with the enterprise architecture and facilitate decision-making regarding technology investments.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, including business leaders, project managers, developers, and other architects, to understand their requirements and constraints.
• Understand how the business requirements can be met using the available cloud solutions or define what additional solutions are needed.
• Evaluate cloud solutions, emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices to inform decision-making regarding technology adoption, modernization, and retirement.
• Assess the impact of new cloud business solutions on the information technology landscape.
• Work as a team member with Development Managers and other technical staff, to ensure the application is implemented according to requirements.
• Identify potential risks/issues and provide input into risk plans.
• Engage with technology partners to deliver an integrated solution across platforms and cloud solution partners.

Generic functions

• Ensure that solution implementations are coherent and consistent with technology strategies, governance and architecture.
• Provide advice and consultancy across the Santam Group on enterprise architecture matters.
• Participate in reviews and provide guidance to teams to ensure that the principles, architecture and strategies are followed.
• Establish and participate in design reviews, regular architectural reviews and technical issue management meetings.
• Ensure that design is optimised for use on the specific cloud infrastructure.
• Provide support to other members of the development team and business management team as required.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of cloud architectures, solutions and packages.
• Work effectively in a team with other Enterprise Architects, Solution Architects, Business Architects and Lead developers to consider design alternatives and agree on appropriate design decisions.

Cloud functions

• Establish and maintain Santam Group cloud architecture principles.
• Develop and maintain specific cloud architectures for each of the major cloud providers – AWS, Azure and any other future providers.
• Calculate total cost of ownership options and advise on best and most cost-effective implementations.
• Accountable to establish and maintain Santam Group Logical cloud architecture.
• Accountable to establish and maintain Santam Group Cloud Platform architecture.
• Maintain and mature the architecture capability as per the Zachman framework.

Quality Assurance

• Ensure alignment of initiatives to the target cloud architecture and standards with Santam and the Sanlam Group.
• Design and improve the Santam STS Enterprise Architecture Governance framework.
• Regulate and enforce adherence to the above framework, with a specific focus on cloud aspects.
• Review agreed implementation, to ensure correct interpretation of the requirements and architecture and strategies.
• Facilitate and lead the quality assurance processes for design and development to ensure the ongoing integrity of the end-to-end systems landscape.

QUALIFICATION

• BSc / BCom / BTech / BEng/ Honours with Information Systems or Business as a major.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect (preferred) or Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 8 years of experience in technology roles.
• 3 years in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, systems design, operating at enterprise level.
• 3 years of experience in the application of IT architecture governance principles.
• 2 years of experience in cloud architecture, designs, and implementation on AWS (preferred), Azure, or both.
• Experience in cloud security concepts such as virtual private cloud, subnets, routing, firewalls, VPN connections, identity and access management.
• Experience in cloud concepts such as infrastructure as code, continuous integration and continuous deployment, containers, and serverless computing.
• Experience in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Experience in providing cost estimates for cloud solutions, and designing alternative solutions in the event of cloud cost increases.
• Understanding of Santam systems and software development experience is a benefit.

SKILLS

• Strong leadership and influencing skills.
• Ability to negotiate and positively influence others.
• Ability to effectively deal with conflict situations and complexity.
• High level of emotional intelligence.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent facilitation skills.
• Analytical in nature.
• Problem resolution.
• Team player.

COMPETENCIES

• Client Focus.
• Flexible and adaptable.
• Building and maintaining relationships.
• Strategic alignment.
• Data Security.
• IT Policies, standards, industry regulations and best practices.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Santam is the market leader in the general insurance industry in Southern Africa. We are a large, diversified, expanding and transforming company and whilst based in South Africa, we are rapidly moving into a number of emerging markets, both in Africa and Asia.

Our success is rooted in our passion for our clients and everything we do is centered on our delivery of Insurance Good and Proper. We’re about people. People drive our business so it follows that we want to recruit the best people possible.

At Santam we are committed to transformation and embracing diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse workplace with employment equity as a key goal to create an inclusive workforce, representative of the demographics of our society.

Qualified applicants are invited to submit their cover letter, CV, and salary requirements in MS Word format online at www.santam.co.za / careers.