What are the responsibilities and job description for the Solutions Architect position at The University of Manchester?
Solution Architect
Grade : 8
Contract Duration : Permanent
Directorate : IT Services
Division : Applications, Data, and Strategy
About IT Services
IT Services at the University of Manchester is a vibrant and fast-moving department, we focus on delivering excellent customer service and quality services for our staff, students and researchers.
The Team
The Architecture team within ITS Strategy & Architecture plays a pivotal role in shaping the University's IT landscape. We are responsible for translating ITS strategy into clear design principles, standards, and guidance, ensuring these are applied consistently across the University’s IT estate. Our team is highly specialized, covering enterprise, solution, and domain architecture. We work closely with the business to define and meet its IT needs, driving innovation and continuous improvement.
The Role
As a Solution Architect, you will be instrumental in translating business requirements and ITS strategy into quality designs. Your key responsibility will be overseeing design quality by guiding projects and programmes from conception to implementation, creating and maintaining high and low-level designs, and working with our Technical Design Authority to ensure good governance. You'll be working across a breadth of IT disciplines, ensuring diverse challenges are met with innovative, adaptable solutions. Collaborating with Engineering teams, suppliers, and stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle, you’ll use structured processes and governance to evolve and refine designs, ensuring they are fit for purpose and deliver the best outcomes for the University.
The Person
We are looking for a highly engaging and customer-focused professional who possesses an enthusiasm for working within the largest University in the UK. Good engagement, collaboration and influencing skills are a must to ensure alignment with the business, and gain support from stakeholders across the university for our strategic solutions. You’ll have good technical skills, knowledge and experience gained across a range of applications, technologies and data. As a great communicator, you’ll be able to use your experience to help others, giving guidance and support to a diverse range of people in realizing and implementing solutions. You’ll be comfortable working within a complex, heavily integrated system landscape. Experience with TOGAF, SAFe or other architectural frameworks would also be desirable.
What can you expect in return
Our diverse job opportunities all include a top benefits package that includes many features that are hard to find in the private sector :
Generous annual leave allowance, including Christmas / New Year closure;
Pension scheme membership to provide benefits for you and your family;
Well-being programme with counselling, fitness and leading sports facilities;
Learning and development opportunities;
Season ticket loans for public transport;
Cycle to Work Scheme;
Workplace nursery scheme;
Staff recognition schemes;
Staff discounts on a range of products and services including travel and high street savings.
You can see more of the many benefits available by clicking
Find out more about our organisation and values :
When completing the additional information section of your application, please ensure you make reference to the job description and person specification above, as this will form an integral part of the shortlisting process.
As an equal-opportunity employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
Our University is positive about flexible working
