Cloud Solution Architect

Focus of the Role

Are you excited by the prospect of transforming developing and emerging nations in Africa through the application of technology and innovations across public services? Do you have experience of consulting or working in the tech field and delivering projects that drive systemic and transformative change in an emerging or developing country?

The Tomorrow Partnership is the Tony Blair Institute’s work with political leaders and governments to bring tech and digital solutions to their biggest challenges, because we believe tomorrow will belong to those who responsibly harness the power of technology for the good of all people, and to leave no one behind. Through The Tomorrow Partnership, we broker strategic partnerships between governments and leading tech organisations and innovators to help foster environments that enable tech to deliver practical change in people’s lives.

Job Introduction

As part of TBI’s Tech work in Senegal, an exciting opportunity exists to work with relevant ministries to deliver on an ambitious strategy supporting presidential priorities outlined in Senegal’s digital development plan - Sénégal Numrique 2025.  TBI Tech Teams have been working closely with the Government of Senegal in support of eHealth projects, initiatives around eGovernment, optimisation of digital infrastructure, and key areas of Tech Policy including Cloud strategy, Artificial Intelligence.

Driving this collaboration forward, TBI is seeking an exceptional Cloud Solutions Architect, to support the delivery of a transformative technology agenda, which is increasingly centering around a Cloud-first doctrine.

This role requires an exceptional candidate with relevant expertise and deep subject matter knowledge. The postholder should have strong experience deploying complex solutions on Cloud, understanding prerequisites and roadmap for Cloud solutions.

Key Responsibilities

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Key outcomes of the role

• Understand the current state of digital solutions deployed within public agencies, and identify, scope, assess and support the rollout of Cloud-based digital civil service solutions prioritised by the Government of Senegal
• Working with the relevant Ministries and agencies, as well as tech providers, lead the development of blueprints, product requirement documents, wireframes and other relevant documents for the identified Cloud-based solutions
• Assess the workload for the migration of existing systems and datasets onto government cloud infrastructure (Lift and Shift) and develop a clear roadmap for the deployment of both existing and new systems, taking into account interdependencies and predicting major blockers
• Own and deliver Cloud Migration Assessments and Cloud Solutions across a range of industries. You will be given opportunities to gain exposure to wider Cloud offerings, develop an interoperability framework, facilitating an all-of-government approach to integration, building on ongoing work led by the Government of Senegal through sectorial ministries
• Contribute to the development of a framework for data exchange between government and the private sector, addressing current impediments and facilitating improved data transfer.

Responsibilities

• Strategy and Planning: (i) Design Data Architecture plans; (ii) integrate plans with the overall relevant client strategy; and (iii) integrate the blueprints with existing solution sets to create a harmonious data guided view of the client’s place within the government framework; (iv) define data governance structure.
• Implementation: Oversee implementations, prepare training plans, coordinate across Ministries data architecture needs.
• Government Relations: Establish effective and trusted relationships with key stakeholders across the government of Senegal and other relevant ministries and agencies in the tech sector. 
• Execution and Monitoring: Establish, review and maintain project goals and plans. Serve as the focal point and expert for development and deployment of Cloud solutions. Report and engage with the Head of Tech and the Country Director to drive delivery, ideate, troubleshoot and manage initiatives.
• One TBI: The post holder will formally report into the Head of Tech Senegal and form part of the wider team and country programme, working with colleagues in Dakar and across the organisation to realise the stated objectives in keeping with the Government’s vision.

Person Specification

We are looking for an experienced candidate:

• With experience in business operations, technology, consulting or advisory functions
• With demonstrable experience and expertise in cloud computing, analytics, security, web services, open-source software technology stacks, strategy development and enterprise solutions, preferably with public sector experience. Experience with solution design for low resource environments is valuable.
• With demonstrable expertise in data architecture frameworks, interoperability standards, digital governance interoperability frameworks and enterprise application integration.
• Who is an effective communicator and influencer, from board level through to technical level and is adept at managing up and beyond hierarchy
• Who is strategic and can challenge the status-quo and develop plans for successful delivery of challenging objectives
• Who has worked or consulted in developing and emerging economies and is sensitive to a diverse range of cultural and regional norms, and will foster a positive spirit of collaboration between our countries and our tech transformation offer
• With a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience
• With certification in Enterprise Architecture
• With a minimum of 5 years’ experience in IT design
• Experience with SQL, data sourcing, enterprise data management, modelling, auditing and compliance would be advantageous, as would experience with public sector implementations

About The Institute

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people  

We do this within two connected divisions: 

 Government Advisory 

Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It works with a variety of partners and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia.

 Policy Futures 

Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas: 

• Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics; 
• Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and 
• Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world. 

As an organisation, the core beliefs we all embrace are: 

• Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork 
• Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity 
• Optimistic Changemaker: you’ll be focused on results 

TBI believes embracing diversity and inclusion make us a better place to work.  It’s our goal to reflect everyone in society and we actively welcome applications from individuals and groups who are under-represented in the workplace. We celebrate difference be it ethnicity, religion, age, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. We will only ever assess you on your abilities and fit for a role. We’re happy to discuss any adjustments you need to ensure a level playing field during recruitment and, if you\'re successful, discuss any adjustments you might need to thrive in your role.