Position Focus:

• The Cross Application Platforms team, within the Enterprise Application Team of Yale’s central ITS organization, is responsible for many of the cross application integration platforms and enterprise services. This team is to provide solution architecture services for several key initiatives across the enterprise application team. This includes documenting architectures for current state, future state, and any gap assessments along the way. Additional support and recommendations would also be provided around the use and adoption of strategic tools and platforms in support of business requirements and needs.
• Reporting to the Director of the Cross Application Platform team, the Solution Architecture is a new role that will be responsible for establishing the strategic direction, in accordance with business needs and ITS standards, of the tools and applications within the Enterprise Application Team. This position will be responsible for supporting application areas in their roadmaps for several critical applications in the portfolio. Responsibilities include ownership and creation for overall landscape and reference architectures for applications in the portfolio. 

This position will also involve representation in Yale’s Technology Architecture Committee (TAC) group. Drawing upon direct experience leading solution architecture efforts:

• Leverage experience with key systems areas (e.g., HR, Finance, Payroll, Student, Alumni, Research Enterprise, etc.) to define the current and target landscape of the application portfolio.
• Form a clear understanding of client needs (including central and decentralized stakeholders) and design the application portfolio to meet those needs.
• Become familiar with Yale’s business intelligence environment in support of the business functions within the portfolio, as well as many other key data sources. Establish interim and target architectural states as necessary, inclusive of tools, canonical data sources, and integration of systems and data.
• Study the market for emerging trends and bring ideas for future application portfolio advancement.
• In conjunction with the Solution Analysis & Design teams, assess the fit/gap of various products for various business functions.
• Form a point of view on the future direction and overall integration of data and business functions across the application portfolio.
• Make recommendations to modernize and simplify the application portfolio by reducing the number of applications, tools and integration types.
• Incorporate SOA principles into the overall application architecture, where applicable.
• Establish efficient and high performing processes, standards and techniques to improve the efficiency, consistency and quality of the solution architecture effort.
• Participate in the process to evaluate, estimate, and plan incoming development requests. Establish a point of view on how incoming requests fit with the strategic direction of the application portfolio.
• Help to document or support application teams in the documentation needed for TAC approval. Collaborate with technical leads in serving as a representative and on the TAC during architectural reviews.
• Work collaboratively with others across teams, especially those representing the Enterprise Architecture Team.
• Train, mentor, educate others on the best practices to model application architecture. 
• Build trust-based relationships and develop strong partnership with other teams and organizations within ITS and the supported client areas

 
The following Essential Duties are generic in nature; the information contained in this Position Focus is most relevant to this position.

Essential Duties

1. Partners with functional team(s) to define, translate business strategies into technical visions and assists in operationalizing.
2. Develops a deep level of understanding of business processes supported by the defined set of applications, leverages (where appropriate) unused capabilities of current applications, considers consolidation opportunities and presents options for new technology solutions in support of business needs and/or processes.
3. Utilizes knowledge of business process/function and associated needs to propose/provide opportunities to increase functional effectiveness and recommends appropriate technology solutions
4. Leverages technology solutions to improve end user experience and drives customer satisfaction. Evaluates current systems and propose opportunities to consolidate where appropriate.
5. Collaborates with functional teams to develop plans that guide the business to a future state model through the creation and execution of a business strategy roadmap using technology as an accelerator. Develops and aligns strategic objectives with and around tactical demands.
6. Develops and maintains relationships with business & IT leaders, developers, architects and other stakeholders as required to define and plan integrated solutions as well as for operational support.
7. Performs research on relevant technology trends, technical tools and platforms, and emerging/evolving vendor software.
8. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor's Degree in a related field and ten years of related work experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Required Skill/Ability 1:

Proven track record and experience working with functional and technical staff with competing priorities, in particular, conflict resolution, mediating opposing viewpoints and solution negotiation.

Required Skill/Ability 2:

Proven experience in the design, development, implementation, support and administration of major information and technical systems including software development life cycle (SDLC) experience and adhering to best practices and standards.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills in business analysis, systems design, technical design and specification and implementation of major information and technical systems.

Required Skill/Ability 4:

Demonstrated broad knowledge of new technologies, development practices, architecture methodologies and software quality practices along with introducing innovation and new ideas.

Required Skill/Ability 5:

Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a variety of senior business clients in written or verbal form, in particular, the ability to write clear and concise technical documentation.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or other relevant subject area. Experience in Higher Education, ERP and Student Systems, Integration Platforms, and Web Services.

Preferred Licenses or Certifications:

TOGAF Certification. Cloud Certification.

Weekend Hours Required? Occasional

Evening Hours Required? Occasional

Drug Screen: No

Health Screening: No

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. Please visit www.yale.edu/hronline/careers/screening/faqs.html for additional information on the background check requirements and process.

Posting Disclaimer

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

Affirmative Action Statement:

Yale University considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, an individual’s sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does Yale discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from sex discrimination in educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal financial assistance. Questions regarding Title IX may be referred to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, at TitleIX@yale.edu, or to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 8th Floor, Five Post Office Square, Boston MA 02109-3921. Telephone: 617.289.0111, Fax: 617.289.0150, TDD: 800.877.8339, or Email: ocr.boston@ed.gov.

Note: Yale University is a tobacco-free campus