Integration Solution Architect

• Join our well-established Solution and Integration Architecture team.
• Based at our Stratford Upon Avon office with excellent facilities and surroundings.
• Hybrid working with the option to work 80% of your hours from home.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for an Integration Solution Architect to support the development of the IT integration architecture for NFU Mutual. This role will be working within the IT Architecture team, which includes specialists in different architecture and business domains whilst working for the Senior Integration Solution Architect. The primary responsibility will be to support the Senior Solution Architect, liaising with other specialists from within the team as appropriate, to develop and maintain the integration architecture for NFU Mutual. The role will also be responsible for contributing to and authoring strategic architecture assets, such as roadmaps, option papers, solutions, standards, and patterns under the guidance and with the support of the Senior Solution Architect.

You’ll also provide support for architectural governance over solution delivery and engage with IT and Business representatives to enable architectural change as well as acting as an escalation point for technical and design issues. With a mindset of continuous improvement, you’ll contribute to the development of standards and strategy for architecture, consulting with other members of the Architecture team and our third-party suppliers.

The Integration Solution Architect role is known internally as an IT Architect.

About you

As an Integration Solution Architect, you’ll be a confident communicator with excellent presentation skills and a collaborative approach. Having the ability to work effectively with Business and IT stakeholders, both internal and partners, displaying effective stakeholder management and influencing skills. Maintaining an understanding and interest in the IT Integration technology landscape, including keeping up to date with the latest industry trends and developments. Using your up-to-date knowledge, you’ll understand market leading IT Integration technologies and architectures including but not limited to APIs, Microservices, Messaging, and bulk data transfer, along with having in-depth IT integration experience, including awareness of the latest techniques, standards, and best practices. You’ll be well-acquainted with IT architecture governance best practices and have the capability of effectively working with agile teams in a collaborative manner within a commercial environment.

You’ll have the ability to identify and quantify key risks, including familiarity with risk management frameworks and have experience of translating business requirements into IT solutions as well as an ability to define the necessary NFRs to meet required business outcomes. You’ll also have familiarity with IT security best practice for IT integration and software development.

To be successful in this role, you’ll also have:

• Awareness of best practice in enterprise integration, microservices, API development, security, and scalability - ideally with experience/certification in one or more integration technologies.
• Ideally previous integration development experience with a track record of developing and delivering APIs and messaging solutions. Any experience of IBM Integration technologies and MS Azure Integration services would be advantageous.
• Experience and knowledge of software, system, and integration testing, including best practice and automation.
• Experience of developing and delivering integrations across hybrid hosting environments including on-premises, cloud platforms (MS Azure and ideally AWS as-well) and SaaS, with good familiarity with both on-premises and cloud native integration technologies and solutions.
• Experience of DevOps - including Configuration Management, Environment Management, Continuous Integration/Deployment and Release Management.

The successful candidate will be ideally holding qualifications or have exposure to following standards or equivalent:

• TOGAF 9 Foundation
• ITIL V4 Foundation
• DevOps Fundamentals
• Agile development frameworks

At NFU Mutual, we support an inclusive workplace and value all the differences that make us unique. We celebrate the creativity and innovation that comes from diverse perspectives and experiences and share a common vision of doing the right thing for our customers and employees.

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Race at Work and Women in Finance Charter signatory and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

Benefits and Rewards

When you join our team, you can expect a supportive culture and an attractive range of rewards and benefits including:

• £55,000 - £65,000 annual salary (depending on experience)
• Annual bonus (up to 17.5% of salary)
• Contributory pension scheme, up to 20%, including your 8% contribution
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + buy/sell/save holiday trading scheme
• A Family Friendly policy that helps you balance your work and family responsibilities
• Access to savings at High Street brands, travel and supermarkets
• £20 contribution to a monthly gym membership - subject to T&Cs
• Health and wellbeing plan - cashback for dentist, opticians, physio and more
• Access to voluntary benefits, including health assessments, private medical insurance and dental insurance
• Employee Volunteering - volunteer in the community for one day each year
• Unlimited access to Refer a Friend £500 bonus scheme
• Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary
• Employee discounts of 15% on a range of NFU Mutual insurance policies.