Solution Architect (Transformation)

Solution Architect (Transformation)

£90K per annum + benefits - 1 day per week from London Office

Our UK wide Education client has an upcoming permanent requirement for a Solution Architect (Transformation). The role will be joining a 3 year roadmap covering process redesign, platform modernisation, digital service improvement, transition form Legacy systems to cloud based to SaaS and aiding the solution design for the new CRM.

We are looking for an experienced Solution Architect, who in an ideal world will have experienced working as part of smaller organisations, demonstrating full ownership, life cycle, and completion across technology driven projects. We are not looking for Solution Architects who have written documents, presented to the TDA.

The Solutions Architect will play a key role in the organisation's transformation programmes, working across strategic initiatives involving CRM, ERP, digital platforms, integration, data and business process improvement.

This is not a purely technical or documentation-driven role. We are looking for someone who can engage confidently with stakeholders at all levels, challenge assumptions, negotiate priorities, and help define requirements where they are incomplete or unclear.

The successful candidate will be comfortable guiding discussions towards pragmatic and effective outcomes. Working closely with architects, project managers, product managers, business stakeholders, suppliers and delivery teams, the Solutions Architect will translate business objectives into coherent solution designs aligned to the Enterprise Architecture principles and technology strategy.

Key accountabilities & tasks for the Solution Architect (Transformation)

• Design end-to-end business and technology solutions across the application landscape.
• Produce high-level and detailed solution designs, integration models, data flows and architectural artefacts where appropriate.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, supportable and aligned with Enterprise Architecture standards.
• Assess solution options and make recommendations based on business value, cost, risk and technical suitability.
• Support major transformation initiatives involving business process redesign, platform modernisation and digital service improvement.
• Contribute to the evolution of target architecture and technology roadmap.
• Help shape future-state business capabilities and supporting technology solutions.
• Support the transition from Legacy systems to modern cloud-based and SaaS platforms.
• Lead solution design across CRM, ERP and related enterprise platforms and capabilities.
• Define integration patterns between core business systems and third-party applications.
• Work with business teams to understand operational processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure data flows and business processes remain coherent across multiple platforms.
• Facilitate workshops, discovery sessions and solution design activities.
• Challenge requirements constructively to ensure underlying business needs are fully understood.
• Influence stakeholders to achieve consensus on solution direction.
• Work effectively when requirements are incomplete, ambiguous or evolving.
• Act as a trusted advisor to both business and technical teams.
• Provide architectural leadership throughout project delivery.
• Support engineering teams during implementation and design review activities.
• Identify technical risks, dependencies and constraints and propose mitigation strategies.
• Review supplier proposals and participate in technology evaluations.
• Participate in architecture review and governance processes.
• Ensure solutions comply with security, compliance and data protection requirements.
• Promote reuse of architectural patterns, standards and best practices.
• Support continuous improvement of architecture methods and ways of working.

Key skills and experience required for the Solution Architect (Transformation)

• Proven experience as a Solutions Architect, Technical Architect or similar senior architecture role.
• Experience supporting large-scale business transformation programmes.
• Strong understanding of enterprise business processes and operating models.
• Experience working with CRM platforms, ERP systems, and SaaS-based business applications.
• Strong knowledge of system integration, APIs, cloud services and data architecture principles.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrable ability to negotiate, influence and challenge constructively.
• Able to facilitate discussions between technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience producing architecture models and design documentation proportionate to project needs.
• Experience with AWS and/or Azure.
• Experience within education, assessment, awarding organisations or regulated industries.
• Experience with enterprise integration platforms and API-led architecture.
• Familiarity with business capability modelling and enterprise architecture practices.
• Understanding of information security, GDPR and governance frameworks.
• Experience of vendor selection and supplier management.