The solutions architect proactively and holistically leads and supports EA activities that guide the development and management of a portfolio of solutions. Solutions include projects, systems (including applications, technologies, processes and information), shared infrastructure services and shared application services. They understand the concepts of business goals, objectives and business outcomes, business capabilities, value-streams, and business processes and their importance in solution architecture. The solutions architect provides the necessary leadership, analysis and design tasks related to support the development of technology solutions to ensure that solutions meet business needs and align with architectural governance and standards. They create deliverables for managing the organization's portfolio of "to be" and "as is" solutions — including systems (applications, processes, information and technology), shared infrastructure services, and shared application services and components to enable and drive targeted business outcomes.
The role is a direct support and value-add to the Chief EA, ensuring architecture consistency and strategic impact.
Application Close Date
2025-10-09
Engagement Type
Individual Consultant
Job Family
15.Information Management Technology
A. Background Objectives
The solutions architect proactively and holistically leads and supports EA activities that guide the development and management of a portfolio of solutions. Solutions include projects, systems (including applications, technologies, processes and information), shared infrastructure services and shared application services.
They understand the concepts of business goals, objectives and business outcomes, business capabilities, value-streams, and business processes and their importance in solution architecture. The solutions architect provides the necessary leadership, analysis and design tasks related to support the development of technology solutions to ensure that solutions meet business needs and align with architectural governance and standards. They create deliverables for managing the organization's portfolio of "to be" and "as is" solutions — including systems (applications, processes, information and technology), shared infrastructure services, and shared application services and components to enable and drive targeted business outcomes.
The role is a direct support and value-add to the Chief EA, ensuring architecture consistency and strategic impact.
B. Scope of work
Interpret Business Needs
● Translates business and technical requirements into architectural blueprints to achieve business objectives and documents all solution architecture design and analysis work.
● Works closely with the technical leads and business analysts ensure a robust architecture consistency that can support future business requirements
● Understands business drivers and business capabilities (future and current state) and determines corresponding enterprise solution designs and change requirements to drive the organization's targeted business outcomes.
● working with Demand Management Review Group (DMRG) and BRMs in high-impact areas.?
Assess Technology
● Monitors the current-state solution portfolio to identify deficiencies through aging of the technologies used by the application, or misalignment with business requirements.
● Assess and document how applications support current and target-state business capabilities.
● Identify capability gaps, redundancy, or transformation opportunities based on
Application landscape and strategic priorities.
● Support the creation and maintenance of business-application matrices, capability heatmaps and functional coverage dashboards. Participate in EA reviews to assess the impact of demand or project proposals on the Bank’s business capability and application landscape.
● Maintain and evolve the business capability map of the Bank in collaboration with key stakeholders.
● Supports technical leads in end-of-life product decisions to maintain, refresh or retire services or systems, including applications, technologies, processes, and information.
● Understands emerging technology trends and disruptions and their practical application to enable new and evolving business and operating models.
● Analyzes the technology industry, competitors, and market trends, and determines their potential implications for a given solution.
● Analyzes the business-IT environment to detect critical deficiencies, legacy and technical debt, and also recommends solutions for improvement.
● Facilitates the evaluation, selection and TCO of software product standards and services, as well as the design of standard and custom software configurations.
Consults with development teams to ensure systems and infrastructure align with the architecture and recommend design changes when needed.
Apply Technology
● Leads evaluation, design, and analysis for the implementation of solutions architecture across a group of specific business applications or technologies based on enterprise business strategy, business capabilities, value-streams, business requirements and enterprise standards.
● Manages and develops the architecture for a broader scope of projects or products, working closely with application architects that manage and design architecture for a single project or product or initiative.
● Develops a roadmap for the evolution of the enterprise solution portfolio from current to future state, as defined by the solutions architecture.
● Acts as a consultant on a broad range of technologies, platforms, and vendor offerings to drive targeted business outcomes.
● Creates architectural designs to guide and contextualize solution development across products, services, projects, and systems, including applications, technologies, processes, and information.
● Provides consulting support to application architects or technical leads within agile teams to ensure the project or product is aligned with the overall enterprise architecture.
Provide Enterprise Guidance
● Provides deliverables like standard definitions, reference models and architecture designs to support architectural governance to assess the impact of new and ongoing technology investment on the business and IT estate.
● Supports a community of practice (CoP), guiding and helping agile teams, product owners to align with the overall enterprise architecture governance and assurance.
● Defines the principles, guidel
C. Deliverables Expected
1. Business & Application Capability Heatmaps (Quarterly): Visual tools mapping applications against business capabilities to identify overlaps, redundancies, gaps, and investment opportunities.
2. Application Rationalization report (Semi-annual): Periodic assessment of the application portfolio, recommending applications to retain, replace, retire, or rehost.
3. Capability-Driven Assessment of New Demands & Projects (Per demand/Project request): Formal evaluation of new project or demand requests against capability maps and IT landscape to ensure alignment and avoid duplication
4. Technology capability and lifecycle management report (Annually, with quarterly updates on critical technologies): Overview of technology platforms and products, their lifecycle stage, maintaining technology standards, lifecycle decisions (adopt/renew/retire), and capability maturity dashboards.
5. Solution Architecture Designs & Recommendations (Per IT Project/Design Phase): Architecture design documents that describe solution structure, integration, security, compliance, and fit to EA roadmaps, principles and guidelines
6. Contribution to EA Repository Content (Continuous, with mandatory quarterly reviews): Updates to the central EA repository (models, diagrams, standards, and roadmaps), ensuring accuracy and institutional memory.
7. Governance & Committee Participation Outputs (At each committee session): Inputs, approvals, and recommendations provided in Architecture Design Authority (ADA), Change Advisory Board (CAB), and Security Committee meetings.
D. Duration and Timetable for the Assignment
The assignment period is 12 months. The start date is expected for 1 December 2025.
E. Bank Contribution and Institutional Arrangement
Business requirements
F. Duty Station
The work will be carried in the Bank’s Headquarters in ABIDJAN, Cote d’Ivoire.
G. Essential Specialized Skills/Knowledge/Competencies
Education & Experience
• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, information systems, software engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive IT experience across solution development, architecture, or related disciplines
Technical Expertise
• Strong exposure to diverse technologies, platforms, and environments, with solid knowledge of SAP S/4HANA and/or Microsoft ecosystems.
• Proficiency in backend development (Java, Go, Python), databases (MySQL, MongoDB, Oracle), and frontend technologies (JavaScript, HTML, CSS).
• Solid understanding of technology architecture components: integration, infrastructure, network, and security.
• Knowledge of information management principles, IT standards and controls, and modern infrastructure & application architecture.
Enterprise Architecture & Gouvernance
• Proven ability to manage and advise on a portfolio of applications, systems, and projects, working directly with Business Relationship Managers (BRMs).
• Strong knowledge of EA tools and visualizations (capability heatmaps, rationalization reports, landscape maps).
• Experience contributing to enterprise governance forums (architecture boards, change management boards, and security committees).
• Ability to work intensively with business analysts and domain architects to ensure best-fit solution choices aligned with EA roadmaps and principles.
• Experience providing strategic guidance on IT investment, rationalization, and portfolio optimization.
Methodologies & Frameworks
• Strong understanding of system development life cycle (SDLC) methodologies (waterfall, agile, DevOps, prototyping, incremental approaches).
• Knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM), ITIL practices, and enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF).
• Familiarity with modeling languages (UML, ArchiMate) and enterprise modeling practices.
Professional Competencies
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, planning, and organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written), with ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with developers and vendors in outsourced or hybrid delivery environments.
H. Supervisor
The Consultant will work under the supervision of the Lead IT Governance, Program Management Office and Enterprise Architecture
