Find More Than 10K+
United Kingdom Jobs

job description:

About us

As an international specialist insurer, we are far removed from the world of mass insurance products, selectively focusing on key areas of expertise and strength, all of which is underpinned by a culture that encourages us to challenge convention and always look for a better way.

Defined by our strong moral fibre we prioritise primarily the principle of doing what we say we will. Insuring the unique and interesting, our search for talent is the same. We empower our people to think creatively, challenge the status quo and approach things with a solution focused lens. This resulted in us being able to provide the type of insurance solutions which are often too complex for other insurance companies; we find a way where others give up.

Trust is integral to how we operate and it allows us to work in an environment where every role has a high level of autonomy; freedom to forge your path and help set the wider agenda is evident in all parts of the organisation. Through embracing an environment that brings together people who are unique and interesting we are ensuring we build a company where teams don’t all think the same – this, combined with a culture where the courage to say what you think is not only actively encouraged but is central to our business model has defined our success.

If you thrive in a challenging and collaborative environment where you are trusted to work instinctively and know the company will stretch you to your full potential look no further.

Hiscox UK IT

IT at Hiscox operates as a strategic business partner as opposed to a more traditional support function and is central to the Hiscox strategy, driving the agenda in the UK Business Unit. We are made up of people who push the organization to think differently and therefore look to attract / recruit people who are not afraid to challenge how things are done and approach their work with a pioneering mindset. IT is not a home for the faint hearted. We are trusted for our track record of delivery and respected for our commercial thinking and have earned our place at the table.

The Role:

At a high level, this is a multi-faceted role encompassing many areas of expertise, part application architect, part hands on engineer and part line manager and, as such, will require both technical and strong people skills.

The successful candidate will lead a small chapter of data engineers and have overall responsibility to ensure that applications are designed and built to the highest standards utilising patterns and coding principles that they will also have overall responsibility for defining and maintaining.

You will be able to take those strategies and standards and convert into actual tangible delivery pieces of work, which will then be delivered by the agile delivery teams. You will help with improving the working practices within the development and technology teams, suggesting new ways of working and continual improvement of our agile methods. Work with our tier 1 vendors to help develop and ensure alignment between their roadmaps and our internal direction.

Close liaison with the Solutions Architects, DevOps Lead and Head of Engineering as well as a collaborative approach to the skilled engineering team will be key to success.

Key Responsibilities:

• 
  Interact with a range of people, from highly technical software developers to Senior IT stakeholders. This means the ability to change style/approach is essential. Identifying what a particular stakeholder needs to know or is concerned about is critical to ensuring that projects address the major stakeholder concerns on an on-going basis.
• Technical, architectural, functional and impact and risk elements of the design need to be conveyed to technical and non-technical members. Presenting options, risks, recommendations in a language and a way that shows understanding and technical leadership is essential.
• Interact with business/change partners where necessary and be comfortable acquiring and using business domain language and knowledge to convey concepts and recommendations.
• Lead and assist technical teams in delivering solutions from understanding testing requirements to being involved with the development of solution using a variety of technologies such as Microsoft .NET and native MS-Azure functions the technical direction whilst also understanding the delivery mechanism of the agile team.
• Be able to engage and operate across a broad range of technologies including the MS Azure stack, relational database systems (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server), integration platforms, application containers, web servers and basic infrastructure such as networking (firewalls, protocols).
• Work with our 3rd parties to engage and align on technical roadmaps, keeping in mind an understanding of the bigger picture for the UK business and Hiscox.

Technical Skills:

• 
  Expert in hands on software development using Microsoft .NET and SQL. The addition of Java would also be advantageous.
• In-depth experience of API design and integration leadership, management and service-based architectures (SOA, Micro services, ESBs)
• Demonstrable knowledge and preferably certified in the Microsoft Azure stack, including serverless technology, containerisation, PAAS and Kubernetes.
• An appreciation of Agile and DevOps best practices including sound knowledge in the set up and utilisation of CI/CD pipelines.
• An appreciation of Data Modelling; conceptual, logical and physical schema separation would be an advantage.
• Understanding of Architectural Process; the function of an Architecture Review Board, how to liaise with Solution and Integration Architects ensuring principle alignment, implementation and governance.
• Not mandatory, but experience of delivering insurance focused business application and solutions would be a big advantage. This can include (but not limited to) CRM, Policy administration, API’s, Rating and decision engines, Billing. intermediary platforms etc

Key Skills/Experience:

• 
  Strong people skills and coordination ability – plus the ability to gain credibility quickly within a business and technical area.
• Have the ability to lead and upskill technical peers and have proven task management experience.

You will be a capable and confident facilitator with an engaging and credible background and calibre. You will be data, technology and digitally savvy with an understanding or retail-drive architectural delivery. You will be a change agent and will be able to ensure that the right behaviours, technology and tooling is utilised for the right projects.

You will have experience working within a regulated environment and multiple stakeholders (inclusive of internal and 3rd party, physically and virtually based)

Additional Benefits

• A collaborative and inspiring environment working alongside some of the best and most committed tech people in the industry.
• Hybrid working – you can vary your working location within your team charter to allow you to collaborate better, feed your creativity, and take the time and space to focus when you need it.
• Training opportunities – we support professional certifications across engineering and non-engineering roles.
• Flexible benefits allowance – you can spend on additional pension contributions, healthcare, dental and more…
• Giving back – the ability to get involved nationally and regionally with volunteering to help our preferred charities.
• 25 days annual leave plus two Hiscox days
• 4 week paid sabbatical after every 5 years of service

Diversity at Hiscox

At Hiscox we care about our people. We hire the best people for the job and we’re committed to diversity and creating a truly inclusive culture, which we believe drives success.

#LI-EB1

person specification: