About this role
Position Overview
The Solution Architect plays a critical leadership role in the design, planning, and execution of enterprise digital transformation initiatives. Reporting to the Project Manager, the Solution Architect is responsible for translating business requirements into scalable, secure, and integrated technology solutions. This role requires strategic technical thinking combined with exceptional stakeholder management and governance oversight across complex, multi-workstream implementations.
Experience Requirements
Minimum 10-12 years of enterprise software implementation experience, with:
- Minimum 8+ years with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, or Business Central technologies
- Minimum 6+ years in a Solutions Architect, Enterprise Architect, or equivalent senior technical delivery role
- Minimum 4+ years leading complex system integrations or data migration initiatives
- Track record of successful delivery on projects with budgets exceeding £300k and durations of 6+ months
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing security frameworks for enterprise systems
Primary Responsibilities
Technical Strategy and Architecture Design
- Define enterprise-grade system architecture for cloud-native transformations, specifically Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, Copilot Studio), Business Central, and integrated ecosystems
- Design comprehensive integration strategies connecting multiple systems in real-time (CRM, ERP, payment processors, portal systems) with a focus on data consistency, scalability, and performance
- Develop detailed technical specifications for system components, including Dataverse schema design, Power Automate workflow frameworks, custom API architectures, and Power BI semantic models
- Create security architecture and governance frameworks, including field-level security (RLS), role-based access control, compliance requirements, and audit trail design
- Establish non-functional requirements, including performance targets (latency, throughput, availability), scalability parameters, disaster recovery, and backup strategies
Project Planning and Governance
- Conduct comprehensive discovery sessions with business stakeholders to understand current state systems (legacy Dynamics CRM 9.2, Sage 200), business processes, and future state requirements
- Lead fit-gap analysis to identify misalignments between business requirements and platform capabilities, documenting impact and mitigation strategies
- Produce Business Requirements Documents, Architecture Integration Design Specifications, and Security Compliance Frameworks that serve as blueprints for delivery teams
- Develop detailed project roadmaps and resource plans across three parallel workstreams (CRM Modernisation, Portal Development, Financial System Migration)
- Establish environment strategy, including development, test/staging, and production infrastructure provisioning with appropriate security controls
Integration Planning and Technical Governance
- Design real-time and batch integration patterns for critical business flows (payment matching with SumUp, financial synchronisation between Business Central and Dataverse, portal data workflows)
- Specify integration technical requirements, including API contracts, error handling, retry logic, data reconciliation, and monitoring
- Create detailed API specifications for custom integrations with external systems and third-party services
- Define data migration strategy, including test load procedures (TL1, TL2), data cleansing rules, validation logic, cutover procedures, and rollback plans
- Oversee integration testing coordination with QA teams, ensuring all systems function correctly together with defined success criteria
Stakeholder Management and Communication
- Lead stakeholder engagement throughout discovery and planning phases, including executive steering committee meetings, product owner workshops, and SME interviews
- Present technical concepts and architectural decisions to non-technical audiences, translating complex technology into business value propositions
- Facilitate workshops on business process design, requirements prioritisation, and scope definition with Product Owner and subject matter experts
- Maintain executive-level communication on technical risks, dependencies, and architectural decisions; provide escalation support when critical issues arise
- Partner with project management on governance processes, decision logs, risk registers, and architectural change control
Quality and Risk Mitigation
- Establish quality gates and architectural standards for code modernisation (JavaScript/TypeScript), workflow conversion, and custom development
- Develop risk mitigation strategies for technically complex areas (large data migrations with 100% integrity requirements, high-volume payment processing with 95% match accuracy targets)
- Define testing strategies aligned to technical architecture, including unit testing, integration testing, UAT approaches, and performance validation
- Ensure compliance with security standards and regulatory requirements relevant to charity sector operations (audit controls, data privacy, financial controls)
Knowledge Transfer and Documentation
- Produce comprehensive technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, design specifications, API documentation, and security runbooks
- Lead technical knowledge transfer sessions with client IT teams to build internal capability
- Develop go-live support playbooks and hypercare runbooks, ensuring operational teams can support the system post-launch
- Document lessons learned and architectural decisions for future reference and organisational knowledge base
Required Technical Skills
Microsoft Ecosystem Expertise
- Dynamics 365 & Dataverse: Advanced knowledge of Dynamics CRM architecture, Dataverse data model, security framework, field-level security (RLS), custom fields, relationships, and form design
- Power Platform: Expert-level understanding of Power Apps (canvas and model-driven), Power Automate cloud flows (instant, automated, scheduled), workflow design patterns, and integration approaches
- Power Pages: Experience designing and architecting customer-facing portals with Power Pages, including authentication integration with Microsoft Entra External ID, external user management, and data access controls
- Power BI: Semantic model design, row-level security implementation, performance optimisation, and real-time/scheduled refresh architecture
- Business Central: Functional and technical understanding of ERP configuration, GL posting, payment processing, inter-company processes, and financial controls
- Azure: Knowledge of Azure infrastructure, App Service hosting, API Management, security services, authentication (Entra ID), and cloud deployment patterns
Copilot Studio: Skilled in designing, deploying, and managing conversational AI with Copilot Studio, integrating with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, and ensuring secure, compliant AI automation.
Integration and API Architecture
- Design and specification of REST and custom APIs for system-to-system communication
- Real-time data synchronisation patterns and bidirectional sync implementation
- Payment processor integrations (experience with SumUp or similar payment gateways)
- Data mapping and transformation logic for complex migrations
- Error handling, retry logic, dead-letter queues, and exception management
- ETL/ELT patterns for data migration and ongoing synchronisation
- Understanding of API security, throttling, rate limiting, and monitoring
Enterprise Architecture and Design
- Cloud migration architecture (on-premises to cloud transformation)
- System integration patterns and event-driven architecture
- Database schema design for enterprise applications
- Security architecture including authentication, authorisation, encryption, and audit controls
- Scalability and performance architecture for high-transaction systems
- Disaster recovery and business continuity planning
- Infrastructure-as-Code concepts and cloud deployment patterns
Data Management and Migration
- Data governance frameworks and master data management (MDM) concepts
- Data mapping, cleansing, and validation strategies
- Large-scale data migration planning and execution oversight (handling millions of records)
- Data reconciliation and audit approaches
- Metadata management and data quality assurance
Development and Coding (Secondary)
- Proficiency in TypeScript/JavaScript for application code modernisation
- Understanding of software development lifecycle and code quality standards
- Plugin development and custom API development in Dynamics 365/Dataverse
- No-code/low-code platform extensibility and customisation patterns
Required Non-Technical Skills
Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving
- Ability to translate abstract business challenges into concrete technical solutions
- Proactive identification of risks and development of mitigation strategies
- Creative problem-solving in complex, ambiguous environments with competing priorities
- Analytical mindset to evaluate trade-offs between functionality, cost, performance, and timeline
- Systems thinking to understand interdependencies across parallel workstreams and technical domains
Communication and Presentation
- Excellent written communication skills for producing specifications, design documents, and technical reports
- Compelling presentation abilities for stakeholder briefings, executive reporting, and technical walkthroughs
- Ability to adapt communication style to audience (C-suite, technical teams, business SMEs, non-technical stakeholders)
- Clear explanation of technical concepts in business language
- Strong active listening skills to elicit requirements and understand stakeholder concerns
Stakeholder and Relationship Management
- Proven ability to build trust with senior executives, project sponsors, and cross-functional teams
- Facilitation skills for workshops, design sessions, and collaborative problem-solving
- Conflict resolution and consensus-building abilities
- Stakeholder influence and persuasion without direct authority
- Customer-centric mindset with genuine interest in understanding business needs and delivering value
Project and Programme Management
- Ownership of project deliverables and accountability for timely, quality output
- Ability to manage multiple workstreams and competing priorities simultaneously
- Strong organisational skills with attention to detail in complex documentation
- Understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies and iterative delivery approaches
- Experience with project management tools (Azure DevOps, Jira, or similar)
Leadership and Mentoring
- Natural ability to provide technical leadership without formal management authority
- Mentoring capability to develop junior architects and technical staff
- Ability to set technical standards and drive quality across teams
- Collaborative approach fostering psychological safety and open communication
- Initiative in identifying and addressing gaps proactively
Business Acumen
- Understanding of digital transformation principles and business value realisation
- Knowledge of charity/non-profit sector operations (beneficial but not required)
- Understanding of financial systems, payment processing, and regulatory compliance
- Ability to evaluate architectural decisions based on business impact and ROI
- Awareness of licensing, infrastructure cost drivers, and total cost of ownership
Desirable Skills and Experience
- Previous experience on enterprise transformation projects involving multiple parallel workstreams
- Successful delivery of large data migrations (5+ million records) with 100% data integrity
- Experience designing and implementing payment processor integrations (SumUp, Stripe, Square, or similar)
- Existing relationships and certifications with Microsoft (Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Solutions Architect)
- Experience across multi-sector digital transformations
- Background in user experience design and customer journey mapping
- Knowledge of compliance frameworks (GDPR, audit controls, financial regulations)
- Experience with performance optimisation and database tuning for high-volume transaction systems
- Previous hypercare support or post-go-live stabilisation support leadership
Technical Strategy and Architecture Design
- Define enterprise-grade system architecture for cloud-native transformations, specifically Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, Copilot Studio), Business Central, and integrated ecosystems
- Design comprehensive integration strategies connecting multiple systems in real-time (CRM, ERP, payment processors, portal systems) with a focus on data consistency, scalability, and performance
- Develop detailed technical specifications for system components, including Dataverse schema design, Power Automate workflow frameworks, custom API architectures, and Power BI semantic models
- Create security architecture and governance frameworks, including field-level security (RLS), role-based access control, compliance requirements, and audit trail design
- Establish non-functional requirements, including performance targets (latency, throughput, availability), scalability parameters, disaster recovery, and backup strategies
Minimum 10-12 years of enterprise software implementation experience, with:
- Minimum 8+ years with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, or Business Central technologies
- Minimum 6+ years in a Solutions Architect, Enterprise Architect, or equivalent senior technical delivery role
- Minimum 4+ years leading complex system integrations or data migration initiatives
- Track record of successful delivery on projects with budgets exceeding £300k and durations of 6+ months
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing security frameworks for enterprise systems
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We believe the best work happens when individuality is celebrated, growth is encouraged, and well-being is prioritized. We are an equal employment opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action employer, committed to creating an inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, family medical leave status, or protected veteran status.