We’re First Central Insurance & Technology Group (First Central for short), an innovative, market-leading insurance company. We protect the things customers love so they can get on with what matters to them in life.
Data drives us. It fuels our outstanding distribution, finance, technology and legal services. Our underwriting skills are built on data expertise; it creates the insights we need to give the right cover to the right customers at the right price. But, it’s the people inside and outside our business that power us. They make us stand out, help us succeed. We’re ambitious. We’re growing. We’ve won awards.
Seeking a fresh challenge? Join our innovative Technology and Data team as an Enterprise Architect and take advantage of a flexible hybrid working environment. This exciting opportunity awaits you!
As the Enterprise Architect you’ll proactively and holistically help and guide the enterprise leaders, product managers, product owners and product delivery teams through transformation and optimisation initiatives, supporting the discovery and formulation of business outcomes and the capabilities and strategies required to deliver them. You’ll own the definition of First Central’s Enterprise Architecture, driving an enterprise approach to solutions; acting to remove silos and drive effective, iterative and collaborative delivery towards target states that have been described using a shared language.
Ideally, you'll live a within a commutable distance from our offices in either Salford Quays, Manchester, Haywards Heath, West Sussex or Guernsey. We’re big on flexible working, so you'll spend most of your time working from home with a visit to the office when required, but of course, it’s your choice - if you prefer to be in the office more - that's good with us too.
Core skills we’re looking for to succeed in the role:
- EA in an Agile environment: Experience of creation and maintenance of an Enterprise Architecture within the scope of large organisations leveraging an Agile approach to change
- Leadership Skills: Effective leadership skills with exceptional soft and interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation and negotiation.
- Consulting Skills: Strong consulting skills such as targeted communications, engagement management, stakeholder management and business development.
- Growing an EA Capability: Experience of contribution to the maturation of an Enterprise Architecture capability.
- Horizon Scanning: Good understanding of strategic and emerging technology and business trends, and the practical application of existing and emerging technologies to new and evolving business and operating models.
- Industry Knowledge: Exposure to Insurance and or Financial Services in a regulated environment is highly preferred but not essential.
- Certifications: A formal architectural certification is preferred, but not essential.
Making it happen. Together
What’s involved:
- You’ll lead analysis of the business’ future-state capabilities and technology environment to detect gaps and opportunities and recommend solutions for improvement to drive the business towards its targeted outcomes.
- You’ll assesses disruptive forces affecting the organisation and identify technology-enabled innovation opportunities that enables business strategy. Understands the business’s economic and financial levers to effectively guide technology investment decisions.
- You’ll review emerging technology trends and disruptions and their practical application to enable new and evolving business and operating models
- You’ll determine the relationships between people, processes, information, technology and other components of the enterprise operating model. Leveraging this to inform recommendations across the organisation.
- You’ll develop diagnostic and action-oriented deliverables that help guide investment decisions in support of executing business strategy.
- You’ll proactively lead definition of the Enterprise Architecture through standards, reference models and architecture designs in order to govern/assess the impact of new and ongoing technology investment on the business and enterprise, ensuring alignment to the technology strategy and wider business plans.
- You’ll develop a roadmap for the evolution of the enterprise architecture from current to future state, identifying and defining enablers to that evolution
- You’ll present gap analyses and technology investment roadmaps that reflect the status of the existing enterprise and its ability to contribute to future-state business capabilities, recommending opportunities and solutions for improvement
- You’ll support the organisation in the analysis of future- and current-state business models, leveraging the enterprise architecture as a shared language.
- You’ll facilitate a collaborative relationship across architecture community, business leaders, product management and product delivery teams to ensure consistency with the enterprise architecture, leveraging shared technologies, tools and processes that impact speed to value and time to market.
- You’ll monitor the current-state enterprise to identify deficiencies through aging of the technologies used or misalignment with business and technology strategies
- You’ll comply with the requirements, and act in accordance with, the Group Code of Conduct and Fitness and Propriety policies at all times
- You’ll ensure compliance with Company Policies, Values and guidelines and other relevant standards/ regulations at all times,
- You’ll be responsible for maintaining department risk registers (as applicable), providing evidence and commentary for controls, updates for Mitigation Actions and maintaining control matrices and Attestations.
- You’ll create and present recommendation papers to governance fora
Experience & knowledge
- Experience of management and leadership of Architects
- Significant experience previous enterprise architecture, strategy and planning roles
- Exposure to multiple, diverse technologies, platforms, and processing environments
- Good understanding of strategic and emerging technology trends, and the practical application of existing and emerging technologies to new and evolving business and operating models
- Experience of creation and maintenance of an Enterprise Architecture within the scope of large organisations leveraging an Agile approach to change
- Knowledge of analysis, design, modelling and Enterprise Architecture techniques
- Experience developing architecture blueprints, strategies, and roadmaps, ideally leveraging architectural tooling
- Experience delivering presentations to senior-level executives and technical audience
- Good understanding of business models, operating models, financial models, cost-benefit analysis, budgeting and risk management.
- Understanding of various operating models such as project-centric and product-centric and also different types of agile principles, methodologies and frameworks, especially those designed to be scaled at the enterprise level.
- Awareness of existing, new and emerging technologies, and processing environments.
- Ability to communicate complex and abstract concepts in an easy to understand and follow manner
- Ideally an insurance or financial Services background, although other backgrounds will be considered
- Knowledge of FCA requirements (including TCF)
Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity, apply now, and take your career to new heights with us!
What can we do for you?
People first. Always. We’re passionate about our colleagues and know the best people deserve an extraordinary working environment. We owe it to them so that’s what we offer. Our workplaces are energetic, inspirational, supportive. To get a taste of the advantages you’ll enjoy, take a look at all our perks in full here.
Intrigued? Our Talent team can tell you everything you need to know about what we want and what we’re offering, so feel free to get in touch.
