Solution Architect

About the role

KCB Group is hiring a Solution Architect in Nairobi (Westlands), reporting to the Senior Manager Solutions Architecture. The role develops solution designs, reviews designs and completed implementations, recommends the best technology options and analyses their impact on business goals. The main deliverable is a set of technological solutions and an implementation strategy that minimizes technical debt.

Key responsibilities

• Analyze enterprise specifics and identify the bank's business drivers to deliver business, information, technical and solution architecture requirements.
• Design end-to-end solutions and architectures for projects and initiatives, aligning them with stakeholders before implementation.
• Elicit and document business requirements through interviews, workshops, surveys, site visits, use cases and workflow analysis.
• Liaise with business subject matter experts to build clear roadmaps of business solutions.
• Analyze the technology environment and propose the best path to solve business problems, including process improvement.
• Take part in solution development so technical and business requirements are met; document deviations as exceptions for tracking and remediating technical debt.
• Provide architectural oversight of projects and ensure alignment with business strategy and the architecture roadmap.
• Build and maintain a repository of deliverables, methodologies and business development documents.
• Facilitate discussions with diverse stakeholders, manage conflicting interests and help find win-win resolutions.
• Promote the adoption of design patterns to standardize enterprise solution components.
• Support the quality assurance team with performance and non-functional testing, and lead capacity management for current and future solutions.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology or a related field (required).
• 7+ years of progressive experience in Information Technology (required).
• Experience in at least two IT disciplines such as business architecture, application architecture, application development, middleware, microservices and SOA (5+ years required).
• Prior experience with a formal enterprise architecture framework (3+ years required).
• Knowledge of holistic enterprise architecture (4+ years required).

Required skills

• Exposure to multiple technologies, cloud computing and containerization (3+ years, essential).
• Understanding of DevOps and software delivery methods (waterfall, agile, hybrid) (3+ years, essential).
• Advantageous: CBAP, TOGAF, ITIL Foundation, Design Thinking and Innovation certifications.
• Advantageous: PRINCE II, PMP, MSP, SMC, CSM, PMI-ACP.