Technical Architect

Job description

Who we are and what we do

Hodder Education is the home of accessible, future-proofed educational resources where we put students, teachers and parents at the heart of everything we do. Our goal is to help every teacher and learner across the globe to succeed by creating and delivering high-quality content and support.

Hodder Education is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 12 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

As a leading digital education publishing organization, we are dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that empower learners and educators worldwide. We're committed to leveraging technology to enhance educational experiences and drive positive outcomes. Our products encompass various forms of educational materials, such as books, curriculum series, educational videos, and other teaching materials, all designed to facilitate learning within a curriculum framework.

Our company culture, the environment in which we work, and our company values are central to the way we work with each other and with our authors.

Our values, created by the people that work here, are practical characteristics and ideals that underpin our activities. They enable us to evolve and develop as a business and as individuals.

Combined with the Hachette UK Pillars* (our parent company in the UK) our values shape our day-to-day conversations, decisions, and behaviours around what and how we publish.

Our values:

• All teachers and students at the heart of what we do
• Quality: in everything from our practices to our products
• Trustworthy: in what we publish and how we interact
• Collaboration: key to how we work, internally and externally

What you'll be doing

As the Technical Architect, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our technological landscape and driving the integration, security, and scalability of our digital education platforms. Reporting directly to the Director of Technology, you will be responsible for orchestrating all technology integration efforts internally and externally, implementing robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems, devising comprehensive data and security strategies, and future-proofing our organization for continued growth and innovation. This role requires a visionary leader with exceptional technical expertise, strategic thinking, and collaboration skills to align technology initiatives with our business objectives and foster synergistic relationships with other organizations within our group.

You'll ensure stable and optimized service delivery, enabling the repurposing of existing services when feasible. Lead on the design and development of new services or off-the-shelf solutions where appropriate, in line with evolving digital strategies and technological developments.

You will ensure the relevant best development practices, documentation and transparency can be put in place with external partners in collaboration with internal service delivery, the project management team and the Group IT team to support digital change, growth and scale as well as provide practices and technical foundations for innovation.

Our technical environments

Our platforms are largely built on a Microsoft services technology stack, currently hosted on premises with Hachette-IT hosting facilities and our footprint on Azure is growing; some of our strategic inflight projects and upcoming projects are built with cloud first or cloud native approach on Azure.

Our platforms are a mix of recent and legacy technologies, which may need updating to current technology stacks and practices. Security and safeguarding play a considerable part in ensuring delivery to institutions in the UK as well as internationally. All our platforms are external user/customer-facing, supporting education in and outside of schools and institutions.

Technologies currently in use includes (and not limited to) Microsoft Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, ASP.NET, MS SQL Server, Cosmos DB, Containers, Azure API Gateway, Azure Frontdoor, Windows server VMware virtualised environment, Silverline, CloudFlare etc.

Our services rely on API architecture and integrations to support purchase fulfilment, user/customer registration and authorisation/authentication as well as institution and classroom management.

Who we are looking for

Key Responsibilities:

Technology Integration:

• Lead all efforts related to technology integration across our digital education platforms, ensuring seamless connectivity and interoperability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify integration opportunities and streamline workflows.
• Evaluate and select appropriate integration tools and technologies to optimize efficiency and performance.

Identity and Access Management (IAM):

• Design and implement robust IAM frameworks to safeguard sensitive data and ensure secure access control.
• Develop policies and procedures for user authentication, authorization, and identity governance.
• Stay abreast of emerging IAM trends and best practices to continuously enhance our security posture.

Data Strategy & Governance:

• Define and implement data strategies to effectively manage, analyse, and leverage vast amounts of educational content and user data.
• Establish data governance frameworks to ensure data quality, compliance, and privacy protection.
• Drive initiatives to harness data insights for personalized learning experiences and actionable insights.
• Design and implement a data warehouse/lake solution to facilitate data analysis and reporting.

Security Strategy:

• Develop comprehensive security strategies to safeguard our digital assets, infrastructure, and applications against evolving threats.
• Conduct risk assessments and vulnerability analyses to identify security gaps and prioritize mitigation efforts.
• Implement robust security controls, encryption mechanisms, and incident response procedures to mitigate security risks proactively.

Future Readiness:

• Anticipate future technological trends and industry developments to proactively adapt our technology roadmap and infrastructure.
• Champion innovation initiatives and pilot emerging technologies to enhance our competitive advantage and drive digital transformation.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing to empower teams to embrace new technologies and methodologies.

Collaboration and Leadership:

• Work closely with counterparts from other organizations within our group to align technology strategies, share best practices, and drive synergies.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to articulate the technology vision, garner support for strategic initiatives, and drive organizational alignment.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to technical teams, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation.

Qualifications:

• Advanced certifications (e.g., CISSP, CISM, TOGAF). Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field preferred.
• Significant experience as a technical architect or similar role.
• Microsoft Services Architecture and Tech Stack expertise and Azure and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• In-depth knowledge of enterprise integration patterns, API management, and microservices architecture.
• Expertise in Infrastructure architecture design and documenting them professionally.
• Expertise in designing and implementing IAM solutions using industry-standard protocols (e.g., OAuth, SAML, LDAP).
• Strong understanding of data management principles, including data governance, data modelling, and data analytics.
• Extensive experience in developing and implementing cybersecurity strategies, including threat modelling, vulnerability management, and security incident response.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to inspire and influence cross-functional teams to achieve common goals.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to think critically, anticipate future trends, and formulate innovative solutions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail.

What we offer

Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:

• 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• Generous pension schemes
• Rent deposit loans
• 2 community days per year
• Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
• Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Eye care vouchers
• Wide-ranging training library
• Development programmes (including mentoring)
• Up to 70% off book purchases
• A charity bookshelf
• 12 Staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Our commitment

Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.

If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.

The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org