Lead Solution Architect - Enterprise Risk Management platform - Leeds

End Date

Thursday 21 November 2024

Salary Range

£86,964 - £102,310

We support flexible working – click here for more information on flexible working options

Flexible Working Options

Hybrid Working, Job Share

Job Description Summary

WORKING PATTERN: Hybrid, 40% in an office site

About us

We’re on an exciting journey to transform our Group and the way we’re shaping finance for good. We’re focusing on the future, investing in our technologies, workplaces, and colleagues to make our Group a great place for everyone. Including you!

Job Description

We are seeking a highly skilled Software Platform Lead Solution Architect to lead the solution architect team, to be responsible for the design and development of scalable, secure, and innovative technology solutions in Enterprise Risk Management platform.

The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in architecting platforms that support credit risk, operational risk, and market risk functions, ensuring robust systems and compliance with banking regulations. The role will collaborate closely with risk data scientists, software and data engineers, and external vendors to build solutions that drive efficiency, security, and regulatory compliance, while also defining and documenting comprehensive technical requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Platform Solution Architecture Design:

• Lead the solution architecture design for software platforms supporting risk management regulation requirements.
• Design systems that integrate risk data from various sources, ensuring data availability, quality for risk modelling and reporting.
• Ensure the scalability, performance, and resilience of risk platforms to handle large-scale, complex risk analytics.

1. Technology and Framework Selection:

• Evaluate and recommend appropriate technologies (cloud, on-premises, hybrid) for the risk platform.
• Leverage industry best practices for microservices architecture, API management, and integration strategies to build flexible and modular systems.
• Ensure platforms are built using secure, scalable, and future-proofed technologies, incorporating DevOps practices for continuous deployment.

1. Technical Requirements Writing:

• Develop and document **technical requirements** that define the system's architecture, integration points, and data processing needs, aligning them with business and regulatory goals.
• Functional Requirements: Outline system capabilities, including real-time risk reporting, data integration, and model execution.
• Non-Functional Requirements: Define performance, scalability, security, and resilience standards.
• Data Requirements: Document data flows, storage, protection (encryption, masking), and access control measures.
• Integration and API Requirements: Specify API structures and integration details with internal and external systems.
• Security Requirements: Outline authentication, authorization, encryption, and audit logging mechanisms.
• Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Ensure the platform adheres to relevant banking regulations (e.g., Basel III/IV, GDPR).

1. Risk Analytics and Data Integration:

• Collaborate with risk officers, quantitative analysts, and data scientists to integrate sophisticated risk models into the platform.
• Develop data integration solutions for real-time and batch risk data processing across various sources (e.g., credit systems, market data feeds, external vendors).
• Ensure platforms support advanced analytics, stress testing, scenario analysis, and regulatory reporting (e.g., Basel III/IV, IFRS 9, CCAR).

1. Security, Governance, and Compliance:

• Ensure compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS, Basel Accords) for data protection, security, and audit trails.
• Implement architecture governance frameworks that align with enterprise risk management (ERM) and IT policies.
• Collaborate with security teams to ensure platforms are protected from emerging threats and vulnerabilities.

1. Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Engage with cross-functional teams including risk management, finance, product owners and external vendors to gather requirements and deliver technical solutions.
• Communicate complex technical solutions to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Support and mentor development teams, ensuring architecture principles are followed throughout the development lifecycle.

1. Continuous Improvement and Innovation:

• Keep up to date with the latest technological advancements in banking risk platforms, data management, and security.
• Drive innovation by incorporating modern technology for predictive risk analytics, fraud detection, and automation of risk reporting.
• Collaborate with other architects and engineers to continuously refine platform architecture for performance, scalability, and security improvements.

Key Qualifications:

1. Technical Expertise:

• Proven experience as a software architect, ideally within banking or financial services, with exposure to risk management platforms.
• Strong knowledge of cloud technologies (GCP) and on-premises systems.
• Expertise in designing microservices, distributed systems, and APIs for high-volume data integration.
• Proficiency with databases (SQL, NoSQL) and data pipelines (ETL/ELT) for large datasets.

1. Risk Management Understanding:

• Familiarity with risk functions in banking (e.g., credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, operational risk).
• Understanding of key risk frameworks (Basel II/III/IV, IFRS 9, CCAR, Dodd-Frank Act) and regulatory requirements for risk platforms.

1. Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical teams.
• Experience in guiding development teams through architecture decisions and ensuring alignment with business and regulatory needs.

1. Security and Compliance:

• Deep understanding of security best practices and regulatory requirements in banking (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS).
• Experience in implementing security protocols, data encryption, and secure access control measures.

Desired Expe