Senior Solution Architect

Job Introduction

As a Senior Solution Architect within the Asset and Offerings Incubation (AOI) Team, you will be responsible for the architecture of the technical assets the team builds to help accelerate digital adoption for government clients.

Joining a new team at TBI consisting of developers, designers, architects and researchers, giving you the opportunity to help shape our culture, practices, and the way that we engage with our clients.

The ideal candidate is passionate about technology and innovation, and is not afraid to get their hands dirty, e.g., writing ansible playbooks. We will be focused on building short term MVPs, so it is key that you can design architectures with the right balance of flexibility and future-proofing vs simplicity and ease of deployment.

We are looking to recruit a candidate who understands the trade-offs between build vs buy vs open source, and can help governments navigate these decisions to build cost-effective and sustainable solutions. As well as the AOI team, you may need to work with stakeholders from inside government, the TBI in-country teams, and partners who are co-developing assets with us.

The AOI team is part of the Global Innovation Unit within TBI’s Strategy and Partnership Division.

Key Responsibilities

Tasks will include but are not limited to:

• Design and implement scalable, secure, observable and maintainable IT systems for government clients
• Work closely within an agile team to ensure that solutions are delivered on time and with high quality
• Collaborate closely with stakeholders from governments to understand their needs and develop solutions that meet their requirements
• Lead workshops to identify requirements and draft technical solutions
• Define and own the non-functional requirements of a solution
• Design automation such that an asset can be readily deployed to multiple governments
• Provide technical guidance and support to developers within TBI and partners
• Stay up to date with the latest technology trends and best practices in the field
• Participate in all phases of the software development lifecycle, including requirements gathering, MVP definition, development, testing, and deployment
• Support agile delivery ceremonies included in day-to-day engagement execution including stand-ups and playbacks

Person Specification

This post would be a fit for an architect with broad experience in agile software development, cloud computing and innovation. This post should have these skills and experience:

• Broad and comprehensive experience as a Solution Architect or similar role
• Strong knowledge of agile methodologies
• Experience with cloud computing, virtualization, network security and HA/DR
• Experience working with government IT systems is a plus
• Familiarity with using Open source Software and Libraries
• Ability to learn on the job and rapidly understand new technologies
• The ability to operate in rapidly changing and growth business environment
• Background of delivering digital solutions with a positive impact and measurable outcomes
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A proven self-starter and is entrepreneurial in spirit
• Fluency in English
• Able to travel up to 25%
• Bachelor’s or postgraduate degree or equivalent practical experience
• Keenly interested in the work of TBI and share in our mission and values

Please submit your application asap, interviews will be taking place from Monday 6^th February 2023
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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.