Business Unit: Core Banking and Payments Systems, COO
Salary Range: £49,600 - circa £62,000 depending on experience 
Location: UK Remote – with some travel to a Hub location (Glasgow or Newcastle) when required
Contract Type:  Permanent 

Live to challenge the status quo. Live a life more Virgin.

Our Team

At Virgin Money, we design critical solutions that ensure that the Bank continues to operate smoothly, remains compliant with regulatory standards and has an innovative edge. We’ve a fantastic opportunity for someone who is passionate about solutions architecture and design. We're seeking a Solutions Architect who can craft strategic, innovative and cost-effective solutions to meet a variety of business needs taking into account our 'Red Stack', industry direction and deliverability of solutions.

What you’ll be doing

• Collaborating closely with Enterprise Architects in CTO to determine the future direction and deliver holistic designs that take us closer to our target technologies for the mortgage estate.
• Partnering with Business and Technology colleagues to ensure that design options are effectively evaluated and that robust recommendations are made.
• Leading design forums and workshops with developers, operational teams and business colleagues, often involving third-party vendors.
• Distributing designs for approval and presenting at formal clinics.
• Working alongside Lead Solution Architects and with other Architects within the Solutions Architecture competency to support the bank's business projects.
• Engaging in technical communities of interest to support and enhance Virgin Money software development policies and standards.
• Providing solution design estimates for input to Business Cases.

We need you to have

• Significant experience and expertise in solution architecture
• Strong practical application of a range of technologies including Messaging & Middleware, Microservices, Cloud and Data Streaming
• Understanding and experience of design governance
• A track record of collaborating with both Business and Technology stakeholders to build personal credibility in shaping of solutions to business problems
• A natural flair of managing and resolving design risks and issues
• Experience of working in both waterfall and agile environments during the Software Development Life Cycle
• Previous experience within the banking industry.

It’s a bonus if you have but not essential

• Experience in the following areas of business: Payments, Fraud & Financial Crime; Debit & Credit Cards; ATM & POS; Payments (FPS, SWIFT, CHAPS, BACS); Core banking processing; Treasury Systems and Mortgages.
• Experience of data migration projects.

Red Hot Rewards

• Generous holidays - 38.5 days annual leave (including bank holidays and prorated if part-time)​ plus the option to buy more.
• Up to five extra paid well-being days per year​. 
• 20 weeks paid, gender-neutral family leave (52 weeks in total) for expectant parents and those looking to adopt. 
• Market-leading pension.
• Free private medical cover, income protection and life assurance.
• Flexible benefits include Cycle to Work, wellness and health assessments, and critical illness. 

And there's no waiting around, you'll enjoy these benefits from day one.

Feeling insatiably curious about this role? If we’re lucky to receive a lot of interest, we may close the advert early and would hate you to miss out.

We're all about helping you Live a Life More Virgin, so happy to talk flexible working with you.

Say hello to Virgin Money
We’re making great strides towards achieving our ambition of becoming the UK’s best digital bank.  As a full-service digital bank with a heritage stretching back over 180 years, we’re a workforce to be reckoned with, and we're putting the full power of our experience behind disruptive ideas that reinvent the role a bank plays in people's lives. We're customer-obsessed and work tirelessly to deliver on our purpose, ‘Making You Happier About Money.’ This means we're able to do banking differently, and by innovating and working together we can make a real difference by creating memorable moments and red-hot experiences for our millions of customers. Join us and Live a Life More Virgin that empowers you with choice and flexibility in how you work. 

Be yourself at Virgin Money
Our purpose is to make people happier about money, this means seeing and feeling the world as our customers do by creating a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our customers and communities.  We’re committed to creating an inclusive culture where colleagues feel safe and inspired to contribute, speak up and be heard.  

As a Disability Confident Leader, we're committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion.  If you need any reasonable adjustments or support making your application, contact our Talent Acquisition team careers@virginmoney.com

It’s important to note that there may be occasions where it’s not possible to interview all candidates declaring a disability who meet the essential criteria for the job. In certain recruitment situations such as receiving a high-volume of applications, we may need to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants. 

Now the legal bit
Living A Life More Virgin allows our colleagues to be based anywhere in the UK (if the role allows it), but we'll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK.

If you're successful in securing a role with us, there are some checks you need to complete before starting. These include credit and criminal record checks and three years' worth of satisfactory references. If the role is part of the Senior Manager Regime and Certification Regime, it requires enhanced pre-employment checks – we'll ask for six years of regulatory references, and once in the role, you'll be subject to periodic employment checks.