Summary
As an integral member of the M&S Architecture team, you'll be joining a well-loved, historic brand with technology solutions that serve millions of customers and empower thousands of colleagues every year. M&S is transforming its approach to technology, growing its architecture capability in recognition of the value it provides, ensuring the business continues to differentiate through strategic technology investments.
As a Tribe Architect supporting our Food business, you are accountable for the target architecture for the Plan, Design, Buy, Make tribes and ensure the full realisation of that target into implementation. You will ensure enterprise and system capabilities are aligned with the needs of your product Tribe and enact business-outcome driven enterprise architecture. You will oversee all architecture solutions within the tribe, working closely with a team of solution architects and Principal Engineers. You will collaborate to technical strategies and facilitate & assist with the prioritisation of delivery.
What you'll do
* Own and drive the architecture direction and roadmap for the Tribe, working closely with Enterprise Architects and Tribe leadership to align enterprise models, platform strategies, standards, and business objectives.
* Set clear target architectures and transition states over a 1–3 year horizon, making strategic technology and vendor decisions that simplify the landscape, optimise total cost of ownership, and enable scalable, data-centric, event-driven solutions.
* Lead and govern architectural delivery across the Tribe, ensuring product and solution designs meet agreed principles, standards, security, regulatory, and quality requirements, with clear, executable roadmaps through to implementation.
* Act as a senior technical advisor and thought leader, mentoring architects and engineers, fostering a strong architecture community, and partnering with business, product, engineering, and data leaders to deliver measurable outcomes.
* Build strong internal and external partnerships, influencing vendors and partners, supporting commercial decisions, driving continuous improvement, and creating a collaborative environment that increases productivity, innovation, and stakeholder satisfaction.
Who you are
* Extensive experience in solution and enterprise architecture within Agile environments, with a strong track record of delivering large-scale digital transformation using modern platforms, architectural patterns, and engineering practices.
* Deep understanding of current and emerging technologies, integration approaches, and enterprise architecture frameworks, with the ability to assess new technologies and align solutions to long-term business strategy.
* Proven ability to operate at enterprise scale, balancing compliance, risk management, architectural governance, and commercial considerations while analysing risks, benefits, and opportunities.
* Recognised as a trusted thought leader and senior partner to business and technology leaders, with experience leading and influencing cross-functional architectural teams to deliver tangible business outcomes.
* Strong communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and change leadership skills, with hands-on experience driving Agile transformation initiatives (food retail experience advantageous but not essential).
What's in it for you?
Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We're inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.
Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:
* 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you've completed your probation
* Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
* Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
* Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
* Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
* Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
* Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
* 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
* One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you
Everyone's welcome
We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.
We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.
If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.
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