(YOU WILL BE HIRED AS AN EMPLOYEE OF OPB)

The Ontario Pension Board (OPB) administers the Public Service Pension Plan (the PSPP), a major defined benefit pension plan sponsored by the Government of Ontario. With 100,000 members and $34 billion in assets, the PSPP is one of Canada’s largest pension plans. It is also one of the country’s oldest, successfully delivering the pension promise since the early 1920s. Learn more about OPB.
OPB is looking for a highly qualified Solutions Architect to lead the definition of OPB’s architectural vision for all in-scope business areas and projects in support of OPB’s business strategy and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). A key aspect of the role is to lead analysis of impacts to, and the maintenance of, business architecture artifacts in support of business process improvement initiatives and/or strategic business change projects.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, system analysis or a related study, or equivalent combination of education and experience. TOGAF certification is a definite asset.
• Minimum of 5-7 years of hands-on system design, development, and implementation experience in IT, with exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments, and knowledge in application development, middleware, database management, development tools (XML etc.) and applicable laws, standards and practices (application security, data and privacy, accessibility).
• Experience with solution architecture in support of projects/initiatives. Pension plan administration solution architecture is an asset. Working knowledge of other architectural disciplines including information, business capabilities, and technology architecture.
• Proven experience with business and technical requirements and analyses, elicitation, modeling, verification, and methodology development. Experience using application development methodologies, especially Agile or Agile-like, and value/business case methodologies.
• Exceptional analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving skills combined with a strong technology research skillset to perform market research, define and assess emerging tools, techniques and technologies, and architect technology solutions based on scope-level business concepts.
• Excellent written communication skills to translate business needs into solution architecture requirements and options that are responsive to current and future business priorities/activities and integrate technical with the business for complete solutions. Sound knowledge of financial models, budgeting and business case development.
• Excellent advisory, facilitation and negotiation skills to recommend, guide and influence stakeholders on the benefits of the architecture solutions and achieve informed support from the business management and executives, and market enterprise solutions services to the business.
• Strong leadership, relationship management and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work well with others to establish and maintain healthy working relationships, work collaboratively and promote teamwork with client users, management, vendors and other staff of OPB.

As the successful candidate, your key responsibilities shall include:

• Partnering closely with the business to elicit business details to define principles and models and develop current and future state road maps to guide the solution decisions for assigned initiatives.
• Ensuring compliance and successful integration of architecture standards within strategic, tactical and operational solutions while also continuing to support business application processing, data, compliance, and internal control needs.
• Working closely with the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and consulting with various stakeholders to ensure alignment of plans, including migration plans and road maps, with the projects being delivered and assessing overall change impacts and identifying gaps with the future infrastructure requirements, with specific attention to performance, security, privacy, records management, and accessibility laws and standards.
• Executing and managing the integration of new applications into existing systems and software while ensuring all individual solution architecture design and analysis work is documented.
• Proactively researching, analyzing and recommending appropriate technical adjustments and reviews as required to provide for a robust architectural framework.