Applications Architect

SUMMARY:
Design of software development, application lifecycle principles, frameworks, etc.

POSITION INFO:

One of our clients in the financial industry has a vacancy available for an Application Architect to join their dynamic team. The successful candidate will be accountable for the design of software development and application lifecycle principles, frameworks, governance, and technology ecosystem. Assist with the design, delivery, and lifecycle of the application landscape in line with the organisation's strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Technology Strategy & Innovations:

• Participate in the development and execution of Enterprise Architect strategies and tactical plans aligned with the corporate strategy.
• Plan and implement an Applications Architect Strategy, principles, framework, policies, and domain processes.
• Deliver a roadmap aligned with set budgets, resourcing requirements, market, industry, and business trends.
• Assess the application landscape against current and future business requirements, strategic goals, and development requirements.
• Examine market trends and leading best practices in automation and digitisation to drive ICT transformation.
• Research and develop new solutions in support of continuous improvement.
• Propose forward-looking solutions to unmet and unrealised business needs.
• Maintain the latest methodologies for software development, including AI and machine learning tools for improving coding quality and reducing testing and debugging time.

Planning and Organisation:

• Collaborate with business to define and compile business application requirements.
• Compile and implement application development plans for new or existing applications.
• Develop, document, make recommendations, and communicate plans for investing in application infrastructure, including analysis of cost reduction opportunities.
• Together with the business, identify and recommend critical success factors for measuring performance.
• Define technical requirements, assist with functional requirements, develop standards that govern system development and implementation, design and develop architectural systems.
• Identify, review, and recommend new software applications or innovations, considering their design, integration, and technical fit with other systems.

Execute Analysis and Design Activities:

• Assess the current application landscape for adequacy of resiliency controls and end-to-end systems design and implementation.
• Develop innovative and sustainable application architecture designs that are future-proof with risk management and controls.
• Support Business and Development teams throughout the project lifecycle to help understand designs and refine them as necessary.

Technical implementation within own area:

• Demonstrate application prototypes and integrate user feedback.
• Perform application integration, maintenance, upgrades, and migration.
• Document application development processes, procedures, and standards.
• Integrate trends in application architecture in application development projects.
• Ensure that uniform enterprise-wide application design standards are maintained.

Risk Management:

• Analyse risks and threats associated with applications and systems and determine the appropriate action to control and/or minimise those risks or threats.
• Manage the application of software security principles during the development, integration and testing of a program or project.
• Maintain clean audit results by conducting monthly self-assessments based on defined internal controls, anticipating and documenting risks, and reporting on gaps and mitigation activities.
• Establish a common understanding of the interventions to resolve audit issues.
• Comply with POPI Act requirements and data management privacy regulations.
• Keep up to date with the latest data protection and security threats within own area to safeguard SBV systems and applications.

Reporting:

• Provide weekly, and monthly management and status reports in accordance with the Business Unit metrics and requirements.
• Develop business cases that outline alternative solutions to existing applications and assist the business in making the right choice.
• Facilitate communication across Business Units, identify change management interventions and timelines from the project's perspective, and present the project status to the steering committee.

Vendor Management:

• Work with external software vendors on designs for new features or feature enhancements.
• Manage the integration of vendor deliverables by tracking and reviewing vendor performance.
• Implement good governance by confirming that SLAs with clients and service providers are in place, including contracts for information technology resources, i.e., hardware, software, human resources etc.

Stakeholder and Customer Management:

• Work with internal and external stakeholders to understand the needs for the various software applications.
• Coordinate with Enterprise and Data Architecture to ensure a broader understanding and define the architectural components for application design.
• Engage with business intelligence (BI), Data