Senior Data Solution Architect - VP

SMBC: A trusted partner for the long term

Here at SMBC Group, we want to help you find the next step in your career so read on to discover if this opportunity is the one for you. We like to recognise potential in our people, so we welcome your application even when your experience doesn't perfectly align with the job description. Whilst we'll always strive to be better, we're proud of our inclusive culture, and encourage our applicants and colleagues to be their authentic, unique selves.

Who we are

United by a sense of purpose towards our customers - to be a trusted partner for the long-term - and our universal banking platform in EMEA, SMBC Group has an international growth agenda and award-winning products, meaning we provide exciting opportunities to work on a diverse range of projects and initiatives. We deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers as well as investment banking and advisory services, and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets. Read on to find out how you could enhance your skills and gain valuable experience, by joining us to support our clients transition to a sustainable future.

Purpose of the Role

The successful candidate will formulate and design the solutions to deliver to the requirements coming from different business lines and operational departments that have data provision, reporting, and analytics use cases. This is to keep us aligned with the longer term agreed strategies at a business, data, and technical level.

• The role is an important bridge to translate business department and data office requirements into technically deliverable solutions that are performant, robust, reliable, and manageable in the long term.
• Is a key mechanism to drive consistency of design across deliveries and projects.
• Set and promote the strategy for the Data and Analytics technical platform.
• This role will be primarily focused on our Global HR program for the first 12 months. With its needs around data distribution and reporting.
• Critical to keep the enterprise up to date with newer techniques and technologies around data.

The anticipated salary range for this role is £89,000 - £135,000, with the final offer determined based on the candidate's skills, experience, role scope, location, and relevant market factors. In addition to base salary, the role may be eligible for a discretionary incentive award and a competitive benefits package, including core benefits such as pension provision.

Background and Organizational Context

The growing Data & Analytics Technology EMEA team has been put in place to deliver data integration, reporting, and analytics services to the SMBC EMEA business. It exists within the wider ITSD department that is responsible for all IT delivery to the SMBC EMEA enterprise.

The team deliver data and analytics solutions to FO P&L business lines, cross business line departments (eg Finance, Risk, Operations, etc), and the Data Office as a key client. This is within a complex systems environment which has been built over several years and is looking to be re-architected for the next phase of growth of the SMBC EMEA business.

Scale and Scope

• Will be working in a EMEA Data & Analytics Platforms team of circa 70 IT staff spread across onshore, near shore, and offshore locations. This is within a wider ITSD department of 450+ staff.
• Comfortable leading and working within a complex technology landscape, supporting technology initiatives with varying levels of scale, criticality, and regulatory visibility.
• Ability to design and drive the architectural direction of complex and large-scale projects and programs that relate to the bank's Midterm strategy.
• Partner with multiple technology teams, other internal functions, external and technology vendors as part of the technology delivery process.

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities

The Technical Data Architect is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the data architecture of the organization. This role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure data is organized, accessible, and secure, aligning with business goals and compliance requirements.

• Role will be responsible for developing solution designs for a portfolio of projects across the SMBC EMEA entity and overseeing solution designs developed by others. With a focus on data solutions to be delivered by the EMEA Data and Analytics technology team.
• Collaborating with colleagues in other entities across the global group to share thinking, define technical strategy and drive its consist application where possible.
• Engage with other departments across IT and the business, including Data Office, to understand use cases for setting the technical strategy and developing solution designs.
• Communicate and explain solutions to technical delivery teams.
• Escalate any issues to Lead Data Solution Architect and Head of Data and Analytics Technology for EMEA.
• Stay updated on emerging data technologies and trends to make informed recommendations.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Deep and broad experience of developing technical data solutions in large or medium sized enterprises in a similar role.
• Defining technical strategy and roadmaps for delivery in medium to large enterprises.
• Strong knowledge of database systems, data modeling, and data integration technologies
• Event driven architectures.
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills. Strong experience of different data architectures including hub and spoke, data lakes, data fabrics, lakehouses.
• Detailed understanding of Databricks eco system.
• Strong experience of Data reporting solutions from data warehousing (Kimble and Inmon), ETL, reporting tools, and document stores.
• Exceptional communication skills to explain concepts and solution designs to any stakeholders across the enterprise.
• Clear formal communication skills to document ideas and solutions.
• Collaborative and curious practices to develop strong well thought through solutions.
• Taking the initiative to determine the best solutions to meet the requirements and understand all the different aspects of the solution.

Desirable

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Capital markets, asset management, or corporate banking financial institutions.
• Familiarity with data governance and compliance regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, DORA, BCBS239).
• Strong experience of Agile practises and especially scrum of scrums and Atlassian tooling.
• Proficiency in database management systems (e.g., SQL, NoSQL).
• Data modelling tooling such as Power Designer.
• Experience of BI tools.
• Experience of working Data Office departments.
• Experience working with other data modellers and solutions architects.
• Experience of HR systems, such as Success Factors.

Challenges

The candidate will be working in an environment where our business stakeholders and IT SMEs need support in defining requirements as they can be incomplete and/or vague. Being able to operate with some level of ambiguity will be important.

Working with peers across different regions will also be required and operating within different time zones for calls is likely.

Competencies

• Customer Focus
• Driving Change
• Driving Results
• Embraces Diversity
• Enterprise Leadership
• Judgement and Decision Making
• Risk Management
• Strategic and Visionary
• Trust and Integrity

What we offer

For all the expertise and experience you bring to help us make a difference, it's only sustainable if we support you to build your career and be your best self so we offer competitive company benefits, centred around promoting positive well-bring and work-life balance. We also believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, where all team members perspectives and contributions are valued. Initiatives in place which promote a diverse and inclusive culture and healthy work life balance include hybrid working, Sport & Social Clubs and Diversity and Inclusion networks.

• Hybrid and flexible working
• Competitive paid leave days
• Benefits to support your physical wellbeing, including private medical insurance and life and invalidity insurance
• Various policies to support your mental wellbeing, including a robust behavioural health network with counselling and coaching services
• Access a wide range of learning and development opportunities and career progression opportunities
• Ambitious remuneration package

We recognise our role as a bank to support social change and welcome all applications, including those from groups often under-represented in financial services. We value the uniqueness of professional and personal, backgrounds and perspectives as they play a vital role in continuing the sustainable growth of our organisation. We'll ensure reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process are offered due to a disability or long-term condition whenever requested.

We are committed to transparent and equitable pay practices. Compensation is determined using objective criteria, including skills, experience, and role responsibilities, and applied consistently throughout our recruitment processes. We do not request candidates' pay history and are committed to preventing unjustified pay disparities.

About SMBC

A trusted partner for the long term United by a sense of purpose towards our customers - to be a trusted partner for the long-term - and our universal banking platform in EMEA, we deliver a full suite of corporate finance products and solutions to our customers, including corporate, structured and trade finance, leveraged finance, loan market and treasury products. We can also provide investment banking and advisory services and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets.

Find out more about what we do and who we are at

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