Head of Cloud Strategy and Architecture

Recruitment Partner: Akash Karia

Location: Nottingham

Contract: Perm

The Boots Cloud Centre of Excellence team (CCoE) is looking for an experienced Head of Cloud Strategy and Architecture to join our growing International IT and Advanced Analytics (IT2A) function. We are looking for people who want to challenge the ‘norm’; we want to change how we use the Cloud and help our companies who have some awesome ideas on how we help our patients and customers and the Cloud Centre of Excellence is important to help our colleagues across IT and the wider business to make the most of the Cloud.

About our team – Cloud Centre of Excellence

WBA is the world’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer. With over 2,500 stores in the UK, approaching 10,000 stores in the US and thousands more internationally, our purpose is to help our customers look and feel better than they ever thought possible. WBA is continuing the journey we started a couple of years ago with the Cloud. We are now embarking on establishing our International (Boots UK, No 7 Beauty Company, Boots Opticians and International Retail) Cloud Centre of Excellence which will support and develop the services we look after today.

You will help set up the Cloud Centre of Excellence from the start, so you can influence how we set ourselves up for success. This is an exciting time for us as we look to build a super team of people who can help our companies maximise the opportunities the Cloud brings to organisations. From setting up the FinOps function, through to working in Architecture to develop our strategies, to developing our Engineering capability around automation and AI, to all the way to supporting the services we have and making these even better.

About the role:

Main responsibilities:

• Develop well architected cloud solutions, optimized for cost, operations, performance, reliability and security.
• Develop the cloud strategy along with the introduction of new technologies and public cloud services, cloud adoption plans, cloud application design, and cloud management and monitoring strategies
• Design target state Cloud Architecture, partnering with other areas, such as Cloud Network Architects, Cloud Solution Architects, Cloud Security Architects, and Cloud Engineering and Development teams.
• Build Reusable Patterns for application development in the public cloud to deploy and modernise applications, provide governance around adoption, and influence application development teams on roadmaps and designs
• Ensure all technical leaders have architected resilient systems. May oversee technology assessments, technology strategy reviews, and provide internal consulting to ensure all areas are practicing sound architecture hygiene.
• Translate complex ideas, technology, and programs into language senior management can relate to and perform as a necessary influencer on technical decisions that affect the business on a long-term basis.
• Lead the Development of metrics and scorecards to influence the technology teams on industry best practices for cloud development.
• Direct Architecture and Cloud Engineering teams in defining cloud technology strategy and roadmaps.
• Develop short- and long-range product and service strategies and plans.
• Oversee the execution of operating plans for specified area of responsibility.
• Review the competitive marketplace and make adjustments to operational activities based upon identified information.
• Lead and produce high-quality work
• Mentor and work with both senior and junior developers and architects to bring them up to speed on cloud architectures, including modern programming languages, micro services and container-based deployments.
• Lead a team of architects that develop the right Cloud solutions for our business, working with other part of IT, our CCoE Engineering function and our Delivery Teams to find the right, cost optimised solution.

What you’ll need to have:

• Experience in Azure Cloud, strategy and architecture
• Experience with Azure public cloud architecture, Cloud strategy, networking, security, compliance workload types, migration patterns/tools and/or experience re-architecting applications for cloud platforms.
• Experience of leading Enterprise Cloud Strategies to ensure the Cloud CoE develops the right services to support the wider IT agenda and the business strategy
• Experience with different enterprise applications and IT services, and software development, compliance and security, and IT operations disciplines.
• Experience with application and infrastructure cloud migrations, from on-premises-to-cloud, and from cloud-to-cloud.
• Knowledge of cloud design patterns, cloud operations and cloud cost models with experience implementing best practices or suggested improvements.
• Experience suggesting innovative technical decisions, obtaining client support and delivering on commitments.
• Great presentational skills
• Challenge the norm way of traditional on-prem thinking for deliver our services
• Be seen by peers and seniors are a leader in Cloud technology
• experience contributing to financial business decisions in the workplace.
• Experience of direct leadership, indirect leadership, and/or cross functional team leadership.

It would be great if you also had:

• Develop Infrastructure and Architecture plans around, Hardware Roadmap (Cloud services from Azure bare metal and Virtual Machines) , Software Roadmap (OS and Applications), and develop recommendations for Performance Engineering now and in the future.
• Certification: Solution Architect Expert.

Our benefits

• Retirement Savings Plan
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Generous employee discounts
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave pay and gift card for anyone expecting or adopting a child
• Flexible benefits scheme including holiday buying, discounted gym membership, life assurance, activity passes and more.
• Access to free, 24/7 counselling and support through TELUS Health, our Employee Assistance Programme.

We have a great range of benefits in addition to the above that offer flexibility to suit you - find out more at rewards. Please note, any salary estimates given on third-party sites are not provided or endorsed by WBA and may not be accurate.

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