Solution Architect

Join UK’s top-ranking independent school as a Solution Architect with a competitive salary and a generous benefits package including gym membership, free lunch during term time, a BUPA cash plan, 10% employer pension contribution, optional on-site accommodation (subject to availability), free or discounted parking in Wimbledon (space permitting), and school fee remission.

King’s College School is undertaking a critical transformation of its people systems, migrating from a legacy, fragmented estate (School base/Chris
21) to a unified, fully managed HR & Payroll solution. We are seeking a pragmatic and experienced Solution Architect to lead the technical delivery of this migration. This is not just a design role; it is a delivery role. You will bridge the gap between HR requirements and IT operations, ensuring that the new system acts as the “Golden Source” for staff data.

You will lead the data migration strategy, design the integration with our IT estate (Active Directory/Entra ), and retire legacy manual processes.

• Define the “To-Be” architecture for the new HR/ Payroll landscape, ensuring seamless integration with the existing School Management System (School base) and Finance systems.
• Design and document the Joiners, Movers, and Leavers (JML) process, automating the flow of data from HR to IT (Active Directory/Entra ) to eliminate manual account provisioning.
• Create detailed High-Level Designs (HLDs) and Interface Specifications (API/SFTP) for vendor implementation.
• Design secure, well‑structured data flows across School Management System, HR & Payroll System, Active Directory, and other school systems.
• Define integration patterns (API‑based real-time & event‑driven) that support reliability and operational efficiency.
• Design and deliver robust, API‑driven integrations that connect new and existing systems without disrupting mission‑critical school operations, ensuring continuity of workflows, data integrity, and minimal user impact.
• Take responsibility for end‑to‑end design, development, testing, and deployment of integrations for the HR and Payroll system implementation, ensuring accurate data flows, secure interfaces, and alignment with statutory, operational, and audit requirements.
• Provide architectural oversight to ensure data‑migration activities follow agreed standards, align with target architecture.
• Identify structural risks and inconsistencies in the current multi‑system data environment and ensure the future architecture eliminates the root causes of issues.

• Ensure the new architecture adheres to Zero Trust principles, specifically regarding Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and sensitive data handling (GDPR).
• Act as the technical authority in vendor workshops, challenging their technical assumptions and ensuring their solution fits the School’s digital estate.

• Plan the decommissioning of legacy data silos, ensuring historical data is archived or retained in compliance with statutory retention periods.
• Assist the Business Analyst and IT Team in translating complex technical constraints into clear decisions for the Senior Leadership Team.
• Produce comprehensive technical documentation covering integration designs, data mappings, system architectures, and configuration decisions, ensuring a smooth handover for ongoing maintenance, support, and future scalability.

• Proven experience leading HR/Payroll system migrations (e.g., iTrent, Ciphr, Workday) in a complex environment.
• Deep understanding of Identity Management:
  Experience automating user provisioning from HR systems into Active Directory/Azure Entra .
• Strong Data Migration skills:
  Advanced SQL and Excel skills, with the ability to map complex legacy schemas to modern APIs.
• Integration Expertise:
  Experience designing REST API and flat-file (CSV/XML) integrations between SaaS platforms and on-premise systems.
• Pragmatism:
  Ability to balance “perfect architecture” with the constraints of a 12‑month fixed deadline and vendor capabilities.
• Experience with in the Education sector (understanding of…