Head of Architecture vacancy at the University of Birmingham
Salary up to £87,500 with potential to reach £105,000 with a market supplement, 40 days leave inclusive of bank holidays and university closure days, generous pension scheme and many other generous benefits
Hays Technology and The University of Birmingham are working in partnership to recruit a Head of Architecture on a permanent basis.
About the University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham has been part of the city for over 100 years and is proud to be recognised as a world-class Russell Group institution. It supports the growth and development of its staff via work/life balance-orientated hybrid and flexible working schemes, and initiatives such as the sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme, offering career development opportunities to help individuals reach their full potential. The university holds a firm commitment to diversity and inclusion and welcomes individuals from all backgrounds, fostering a collaborative environment where different perspectives drive innovation and progress.
Set in leafy Edgbaston, the campus offers excellent transport links and a vibrant atmosphere, with a sports centre, shops, cafés, an art gallery, museum, and botanical gardens.
About the role
The Head of Architecture plays a key role in structuring the supporting the university in terms of its business, data, application and technical architectures. They report to the CIO to align technical solutions with business needs.
The post has supervisory responsibility of the wider architecture team, including specialist in data and process skills, and involves coaching, mentoring and management. In addition, the Head of Architecture will work with others at all levels of the organisation analysing strategic imperatives from senior leaders and supporting managers as they develop and deliver business plans. The Head of Architecture also provides direct input into the governance cycle that supports the achievement of key goals, planning and execution of strategic initiatives or programmes, and delivery of bottom-line business value.
What you will be doing
- Develop and maintain the enterprise architecture roadmap in alignment with the university's strategic plan. Support this with more detailed architecture analysis and solutions in each of the separate domain areas.
- Work closely with academic and administrative departments to understand their needs and ensure technology solutions support their goals.
- Oversee the selection and integration of new technologies into the existing IT infrastructure, ensuring compatibility and efficiency.
- Ensure that plans and roadmaps across all domains align and are compatible with the overall roadmap. Identify issues and propose solutions where needed.
- Identify and evaluate emerging technologies that could benefit the university, and lead pilot projects to assess their feasibility.
- Maintain comprehensive documentation of the enterprise architecture, including system diagrams, data models, and process flows.
- Ensure that projects and services have suitable solution designs developed and maintained.
- Work closely with Information Security to ensure solutions are designed with security in mind.
- Oversee and manage the work across the architecture function.
- Provide guidance and mentorship to the architecture team and the wider IT staff, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.
What we are looking for
- Previous experience as a Head of Architecture leading a team within a complex organisation or equivalent role/experience.
- Experienced Enterprise Architect with background in developing technology architect solutions for systems, infrastructure, security and wider enterprises.
- Experienced in using and qualified in suitable architecture frameworks and qualifications e.g. TOGAF, CISSP etc.
- Broad, enterprise-wide understanding of Applications, Infrastructure, Project Management, Service Design and Governance.
- Understanding of organisational business systems, processes and their infrastructure needs.
- The ability to recognise structural issues within an organisation, functional interdependencies and cross-silo redundancies.
- The ability to apply architectural principles to business solutions.
- Understanding of the legal and purchasing requirements of delivering IT projects and the need for infrastructure input to these processes to ensure compliance.
- Ability to examine technologies and trends to identify the benefits the University can leverage from adopting those in the future in addition to the immediate usages.
- Able to clearly articulate complex technical concepts in plain language.
- The ability to assimilate and correlate disconnected documentation and drawings, and articulate their collective relevance to the organisation and to high-priority business issues.
- Experience using model-based representations that can be adjusted as required to collect, aggregate or disaggregate complex and conflicting information about the business.
- The ability to visualise and create high-level models that can be used in future analysis to extend and mature the business architecture.
- A solution orientated, big picture thinker, broadly aware of multiple technologies, capable of learning.
- Able to dive into detail as needed for specific situations or to support particular people or projects.
- Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area.
- Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied.
What you will get in return
- A salary of up to £87,500
- Market rate supplement – enquire for details
- A hybrid arrangement of 3 days in office and 2 days per week from home
- Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension of 22% (9% personal, 13% UofB contribution)
- 40 days leave inclusive of bank holidays and university closure days
- Volunteering leave
- Occupational sick pay
- Access to three subsidised nurseries
- Access to the Birmingham Professional programme
Closing date: 27th May
Hays Technology have been retained by the University of Birmingham to manage the recruitment of this role. For all enquiries, please contact Daney Bowen at Hays Technology.
If you have the relevant experience and would like to apply, please submit your CV.
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