Grade GResponsible for delivering strategy architecture and planning activities for the specialism, supporting related operating practices and processes and effective implementation of relevant standards, liaising with stakeholders and providing advanced knowledge and advice to support wider business goals. Specialisms: Segment Architecture; Enterprise Architecture; Solution Architecture; Strategy.Entity:
Innovation & Engineering

Job Family Group:
IT&S Group

Job Description:

Job Summary:

BP's architecture teams address sophisticated problems by using innovative technologies, fusing business insights, product management proficiency, and technical competence to propel bp towards balanced, lower carbon future. Our architects knit together the diverse digital worlds, partners, and technology procurers to formulate a unified, agile, and robust digital architecture for bp.

bp is in search of a guide and hardworking Retail Solutions Architect to influence the design, governance, and progression of our Customers and Products (C&P) portfolio.

Job Description:

This position is responsible for integrating, implementing, and optimizing connectivity through our C&P and into our existing organization. Building patterns that allow independent infrastructure to use existing systems and applications with minimal onsite infrastructure footprint. They will be pivotal in ensuring that our infrastructure wide solutions are reliable, scalable, and integrate seamlessly with other technologies within the organization. This role will be at the forefront of the company's efforts to use powerful technologies for enhanced communication, collaboration, and efficiency.

The individual will be adept at simplifying sophisticated technical language and concepts, ensuring that business partners who are not IT-focused can clearly articulate their requirements as well as understand and align with the technology strategies and implementations across disparate organisations. As the Solutions Architect, you will:

Your Accountabilities:

• Team: Directly influence product and service design. You are the solutions architect and design authority building scalable and performant connectivity solutions using modern technologies and approaches. You will not just lead, but you will "do". Our culture is exploring, thinking and doing, and you will live this every single day.
• Architecture: Like most large enterprises, some elements of our platform portfolio contain the most sophisticated technologies readily available. Other elements represent legacy investments. You will develop the C&P connectivity strategy, reference architectures, and roadmaps that will enable us to continually evolve and innovate our C&P opportunities.
• Relationships: You will understand the business drivers, challenges and emerging use cases that will influence our network strategy and trigger change in network products and capabilities. You will continuously scan the external market for relevant technologies, and you will recommend and introduce those technologies at scale and with pace. In addition to technical proficiency, you will collaborate with architects and partners in adjacent teams, to collect requirements and build them into future product releases.
• Technology: You have a passion for learning and leading by example, and enjoy crafting and building automated, virtualized, and secure communication networks. You possess broad knowledge of network and security products, solutions and vendors and an ability to rapidly adapt new technologies to improve and optimize services.
• Safety and Compliance: You will advocate and help ensure our architectures, designs and processes enhance a culture of operational safety and improve our digital security.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Infrastructure Planning
• Collaborate with partners across various groups to understand connectivity requirements, assess current capabilities, map those against our TRM and strategy, and resolve future needs.
• Develop strategic plans for scalable, secure, and robust architectures that support the diverse needs of a global organization.
• Design & Deployment
• Design integrations infrastructure solutions, ensuring they are resilient, scalable, and aligned with industry best practices and company standards.
• Oversee the integration of our C&P to existing infrastructure.
• Develop templated standards for C&P integration in the bp landscape.
• Integration with Other Systems
• Ensure that PoS systems (Hardware and applications) and associated retail hardware are fully integrated with other IT infrastructure components, such as data networks, cloud platforms, and security systems.
• Collaborate with other teams to provide flawless communication experiences.
• Performance & Quality
• Monitor system performance, ensuring high availability and minimal disruption.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to elevate quality, reduce latency, and enhance the end-user experience.
• Integrate operational platforms and teams into the bp portfolio of applications and services.
• Security & Compliance
• Ensure that all infrastructure components are secure, aligned with data privacy laws, and protected against potential threats.
• Collaborate with the cybersecurity team to establish standard methodologies and regular audits.
• Align C&P strategies into bp's existing TRM, influencing any future amendments to enable smoother C&P integration.
• Vendor Management & Procurement
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with vendors, ensuring that the organization gets the best value and highest quality services and products.
• Be responsible for procurement processes related to solution architecture technologies.
• Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
• Maintain comprehensive documentation for our C&P opportunities, ensure that the strategy for integration is well communicated and understood.
• Conduct training sessions and workshops for internal teams to ensure smooth operations.

About you

Your experience and expertise will include:

• A robust background in solution architecture, with a specific emphasis on transition and integration technologies and blueprints. A highly developed understanding of the intricacies involved in integrating and migrating these systems and companies together.
• Extensive knowledge of network principles and how they interact with application solutions, ensuring flawless communication across platforms.
• Proven real-world experience in modern network strategies, design, and deployment, ensuring compatibility and scalability with enterprise-level demands.
• Practical experience with interoperability between various systems, ensuring smooth transitions during upgrades or system changes.
• Confirmed knowledge of security protocols and standard processes related to connectivity, ensuring that all transmissions are secure and aligned with enterprise and regulatory standards.
• A proven track record in using your technical knowledge to design and implement connectivity strategies, while also developing platform roadmaps for future merger and acquisitions.
• Familiarity with automation frameworks, especially those relevant to connectivity solutions, ensuring optimal performance and resource utilization.
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to translate sophisticated business requirements, and architecture topics into comprehensible and accessible language for a diverse audience.
• Experience in leading and guiding teams in through a merger/acquisition, fostering a culture of mutual respect, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Ability to work both independently with minimal direction and collaboratively as part of a team, adjusting seamlessly to the needs of projects and organizational goals.
• A Bachelor's or equivalent experience (or higher) degree from a recognized institute of higher learning, ideally focused in Computer Science/IT, Network Engineering, or a related field.

Travel Requirement
Negligible travel should be expected with this role

Relocation Assistance:
This role is eligible for relocation within country

Remote Type:
This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills:
Agility core practices, Business modelling, Creativity and Innovation, Data Analysis, Data design, Digital Analytics, Emerging technology monitoring, Information Assurance, Integration, IT Management, IT strategy and planning, Network Design, Requirements definition and management, Risk Management, Service operations and resiliency, Solution Architecture, Systems Development Management, Technical specialism, User Experience Analysis

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, neurodiversity/neurocognitive functioning, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation related to bp's recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us to request accommodations.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.