Interviews will be held on:                                                     5th August 2020

A great opportunity has arisen for an experienced Solution Architect to join L&Q at a very exciting time where we are beginning an unique journey to transform the way we manage information about our buildings not only to provide a better service to customers old and new, but also to demonstrate that we manage our buildings safely. This will work will be sector-leading.

The Solution Architect will help ensure that the solutions we adopt will support Building Information Management standards (ISO 19650) and other relevant construction data frameworks and standards and enable the information to be collected and managed across the whole lifecycle of the building (construction, in use, disposal), and for that information to be easily accessible and usable for needs such as:

·       building information procurement during construction

·       compliance with forthcoming building safety and fire safety regulations

·       lifecycle cost prediction and monitoring

·       master data management of building asset information

The Solution Architect will report directly into the Manager of Architecture.

The Solution Architect will be responsible for three primary aspects:

• The technical architecture that underpins the solutions within the Building and Asset Information programme. These solutions are predominantly COTS applications exchanging data within a common data environment, but some in-house local applications are also required.
• Determine the most suitable technical environments for the procurement and building of those solutions in conjunction with the Architecture group and ensuring this is clear in any software tender needed to procure 3^rd party software
• Ensure adherence to standards of technical best practice

The Solution Architect will be involved in:

• Designing the solution in collaboration with the developers, data modellers, product management and the business
• Ensuring each user story is looked at from multiple technical perspectives: data, UI, middleware, application and other non-functional needs
• Identifying and managing technical risk and technical debt
• Controlling the technical configuration of the solution
• Leading on specific sessions around key design or technical issues, listening to stakeholder feedback to learn the customer's real needs and how to adapt the evolving product.
• Owning the ongoing assessment of the technical and operational feasibility of the solution and manage the technical aspects of the solution’s transition into live use
• Provide coaching on agile software development and oversee agile principles and values in order to help the team identify, interpret and deliver the customer requirements.
• Promoting the use of short, informal requirements modelling sessions throughout each iteration to identify the feature-driven detail (Given/When/Then) 
• Supporting relevant story refinement and sprint planning workshops.
• Supporting the wider Group Architecture Review Board on wider technical strategy and decision making

Skills and Experience:

• Must have direct experience working as a Solutions Architect, and familiar with standard industry methods tools and processes to support an architecture function
• Must be able to demonstrate good solution design and documentation abilities
• Experience of solutioning across Cloud and hybrid Cloud / On-Prem architecture
• Must have direct experience of translating business strategies into architectural requirements; collaborating with the business to improve options        
• Knowledge of application development architectures, tools, technology frameworks and security principles;
• Specialist technical knowledge in some of the following areas:
  • MS Azure, .Net, C#, Microsoft tool set
  • Systems integration & interfaces (APIs/SOA/ ESB/XML/Java/J2EE or similar
  • Common data & Shared services environments
  • Familiarity with DevOps and Test environment
• Certified scrum master/scrum practitioner is desirable
• Experience of software procurement is highly desirable, particularly OJEU
• Business knowledge of Building Information Modelling, Building Information Management, Enterprise Asset Management is highly desirable

If you believe you have the qualities we are after and are interested in working for an organisation that can really make a difference to people’s lives and will set a new standard for managing housing property, then please apply without delay.

COVID 19: L&Q have a dedicated pandemic response team reacting to the current situation. The safety of our staff and our candidates is of the utmost importance. Every effort will be taken to ensure that safe ways of working are adopted throughout the Recruitment and Selection process. We are introducing extra precautions in line with UK Government Guidelines. Our recruitment processes will follow social distancing and COVID-19 Safe requirements. This will include the use of various technologies to support the interview process. Should candidates have any questions regarding this, or if you require additional support please let us know at the interview planning stage.

Our commitments:

At L&Q, people are at the heart of our business and our success depends on employing the best people and getting the best from them.  This is why we are committed to developing our people. It's only by investing in a well-trained and motivated workforce that we can continue to prosper and sustain business success.

In addition to our support and training, the successful candidate will have access to our full suite of benefits including 26 days holiday rising to 31 days with length of service, annual bonus subject to group performance, excellent Pension scheme, an employee assistance programme and non-contributory life assurance.

We are committed to supporting your work-life balance and recognise the changing demands and circumstances in life.  Please let us know during the recruitment process if you’re interested in part time working or job sharing.  In addition, should your circumstances change once you have joined L&Q, you can also request flexible working arrangements, e.g. a change to working hours - if it’s feasible then we’ll make it happen.

We are recognised externally for our commitment to inclusion.  We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Disability Confident (Committed) employer and have signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge to demonstrate our commitment to end mental health discrimination in the workplace.

We expect all of our employees to support our environmental policy and social responsibility work. We are an employer committed to environmental and social responsibility