Applications Architect

Key purpose:

Accountable for the design of software development and application lifecycle principles, frameworks, governance, and technology ecosystem. Assist with the design, delivery, and lifecycle of the application landscape in line with the organisations strategy.

Duties and responsibilities:

- Participate in the development and execution of Enterprise Architect strategies and tactical plans aligned with the corporate strategy.

- Plan and implement an Applications Architect Strategy, principles, framework, policies, and domain processes.

- Deliver a roadmap aligned with set budgets, resource requirements, market, industry, and business trends.

- Assess the application landscape against current and future business requirements, strategic goals, and development requirements.

- Examine market trends and leading best practices in automation and digitisation to drive ICT transformation.

- Research and develop new solutions in support of continuous improvement.

- Propose forward-looking solutions to unmet and unrealized business needs, establishing the company as an industry trailblazer.

- Maintain the latest methodologies for software development, including AI and machine learning tools for improving coding quality and reducing testing and debugging time.

- Collaborate with business to define and compile business application requirements.

- Compile and implement application development plans for new or existing applications.

- Develop, document, make recommendations, and communicate plans for investing in application infrastructure, including analysis of cost reduction opportunities.

- Together with the business, identify and recommend critical success factors for measuring performance.

- Define technical requirements, assist with functional requirements, develop standards that govern system development and implementation, design and develop architectural systems.

- Identify, review, and recommend new software applications or innovations, considering their design, integration, and technical fit with other systems.

- Assess the current application landscape for adequacy of resiliency controls and end-to-end systems design and implementation.

- Develop innovative and sustainable application architecture designs that are future-proof with risk management and controls.

- Support business and Development teams throughout the project lifecycle to help understand designs and refine them as necessary.

- Demonstrate application prototypes and integrate user feedback.

- Perform application integration, maintenance, upgrades, and migration.

- Document application development processes, procedures, and standards.

- Integrate trends in application architecture in application development projects.

- Assure that uniform enterprise-wide application design standards are maintained.

- Analyse risks and threats associated with applications and systems and determine the appropriate action to control and/minimize those risks or threats.

- Manage the application of software security principles during the development, integration and testing of a program or project.

- Maintain clean audit results by conducting monthly self-assessments based on defined internal controls, anticipating and documenting risks, and reporting on gaps and mitigation activities.

- Establish a common understanding of the interventions to resolve audit issues.

- Comply with POPI Act requirements and data management privacy regulations.

- Keep up to date with the latest data protection and security threats within our own area to safeguard company systems and applications.

- Provide weekly, and monthly management and status reports in accordance with the Business Unit metrics and requirements.

- Develop business cases that outline alternative solutions to existing applications and assist the business in making the right choice.

- Facilitate communication across Business Units, identify change management interve