Current vacancies
Please note we do not accept offers from recruitment agencies or suppliers that are not on our preferred supplier list.
Working at Focus Solutions
Focus Solutions is a leading provider of software and consultancy services to the largest financial services organisations. We pride ourselves on our enviable growth record, our innovative solutions and our ability to deliver projects to some of the biggest names in the industry.
Our values guide everything that we do and are crucial to the success of our business. We’re passionate about cultivating a professional, collaborative workplace and employing people who can contribute to our success and demonstrate a shared appreciation of our values:
In return we offer an excellent benefits and remuneration package including attractive salaries, group pension and health plans, 25 days holiday and a performance related bonus scheme.
Product Management
Including product ownership / product consultancy
No current vacancies, but please get in touch if you think you have something to offer.
Business Analysis
Integrations Consultant
Based: Leamington Spa
To apply for the role please email your CV and a brief covering letter.Integrations Consultant
Purpose:
Responsible for the day to day management of relationships with third party integrators and product providers across the product set, holding a detailed understanding of our integration partners, their associated roadmaps, their propositions and how they benefit our product set and clients, ensuring an understanding across our business and client base. They will work across the product set and the client base and are responsible for the definition and maintenance of the integrations, ensuring we establish and follow a standard approach to client specific integrations.
The Integrations Consultant will be the product owner, leading scrum teams, owning and managing the backlog to ensure prioritisation of work is aligned to the business strategy and priority. Liaising with clients and key stakeholders to validate requirements and solutions meet their business needs and are aligned to the product strategy, ensuring appropriate escalation where this is not achieved or does not look like it will be achieved.
The Integrations Consultant will assist the Client Services and Development teams with the resolution of support issues and liaise with internal and external development teams to ensure the appropriate maintenance work is undertaken to ensure integrations are kept up to date. The role holder will liaise with Client Services to ensure changes made and the impact of change are documented, understood and notified to all interested stakeholders, clients and third parties, whether initiated by the business or third parties.
The Product Consultant main responsibilities are:
Product Planning and Specification
- The role holder will liaise with clients and third parties, managing the day to day relationships with third party integrators, product providers
- Act as the Subject Matter Expert both for clients and internally, ensuring that others within the organisation have sufficient information to be able to carry out their duties
- The role holder will define changes to existing integrations across the product portfolio and client projects, this includes, prioritisation of defects, gathering, prioritising and validating product and customer requirements, undertaking requirements analysis and working with the scrum team to deliver market leading software assets
- Deliver Initiate and Product Requirement Documents with prioritised features, justification and commercial implications/requirements
- Liaise with the Programme Manager or Project Managers to obtain estimates and ensure that development plans are in place as required by the Product Lifecycle (PLC).
- Act as the Product Owner in the Scrum team, owning the backlog prioritisation and acceptance criteria in line with business strategy and priority
- Working with the team as part of the collaborative design process to deliver generic solutions for the marketplace, which benefit all our client base, ensuring the application is configurable where possible across multiple implementations
- Responsible for obtaining client validation of roadmap developments (both requirements and solutions) throughout the PLC
- Responsible for business acceptance of developments
- Responsible for knowledge transfer & internal promotion of the integrations capability
- Work with internal and external development teams to undertake maintenance work on the product set integrations ensuring integrations are kept up to date and that changes made are collated and notified to all interested stakeholders and third parties.
Market Analysis
- Maintain an up to date knowledge of the financial services distribution marketplace generally and specifically in relation to potential integration partners and the key business drivers and trends in financial services in order to recommend and implement developments to the product in order to maintain the market leading status of the product.
- Be an expert with respect to the competition
- Where relevant, attend key industry meetings, seminars and groups
Pre sales
- Pre Sales liaison in order to assist the sales team in their specific tender processes and to assist in ensuring accurate information is included on product capability and roadmap. Periodically, the Integration Consultant may be required to assist in specific Pre-Sales tenders, meetings or demonstrations
- Provision of content for RFI and RFP responses
Implementation support
- Provide input and information to implementation teams to enable specific client implementations to remain on or close to the product. Provide consultancy to implementation teams in relation to specific requests for assistance
Support
- Liaise with Support and Development on defect resolution
- Assist with issue resolution
- Provide updates to the Focus Support department on new developments.
People Management
- The role may require periods of, or ongoing line management of people
Key Outputs
– Definition and management of integrations
– Obtaining initial and detail estimates in conjunction with the Programme Manager
– Prioritised product backlog in ALM with associated acceptance criteria
– Work in partnership with Programme Manager to ensure successful on-time, on-budget, ‘to scope’ deliveries of product releases to support propositions
– Initiate and Product Requirement Documents which are produced to a standard that can be designed and estimated and built within an acceptable tolerance
– Solution Overview
– Release notes content
– Project Reviews – Presenter
– Sprint Reviews – Presenter
– Production of content for marketing collateral
– Produce and maintain product application documentation
– Maintenance of third party and product provider contact details
- To retain proper, accurate records in relation to Third Party communications and activities
- Technical input to support contracts
- GROW management of documentation (if allocated direct report/s)
Authorisations and Limits
- Owns the shape and scope of change to allocated lines in product set.
Qualifications / Experience: (Depth and breadth of specialised knowledge)
Essential Skills:
- Experience in integrating with third parties and managing third party relationships
- Experience in successful management of a product lifecycle
- Good E2E planning skills and high level of organisation and discipline to meet specific target dates and objectives
- Thorough understanding of the processes, methods & standards operating in the organisation
- Clear understanding of the Focus market space and the requirements of a typical Focus client
- Knowledge across UK marketplace and competitor strategies, business processes, mainframe systems and web based applications and platforms
- Ability to influence a range of stakeholders (internal and external)
- Proven ability to establish strong working relationships with a range of stakeholders including senior management
- Proven ability to lead, motivate and manage people
- Proven ability to work across boundaries
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills; resolute but diplomatic.
- Ability to work on own initiative and under instruction, to tight deadlines, under pressure and without compromising quality.
- Proactive and highly disciplined.
- Flexibility in role, approach and skills.
- Drive, energy and enthusiasm, with a ‘can do, will do’ approach.
Desirable:
- Inquisitive nature when it comes to technology based business solutions
- Understanding of the business environment & strategic direction / vision of the organisation
Key Personal Competencies:
Customer Focus
Knowing who your customers are, keeping the meeting of their needs at the forefront of mind and taking responsibility for the service delivered to them
Preference for Action
Grasping issues that require resolution and ensuring that appropriate effective action is taken.
Communicating and Influencing
The ability to communicate effectively and to influence others to act and/or commit support to one’s own goals and objectives.
Creative and Innovative Thinking
The ability to think creatively or innovatively
Business Knowledge
Having a sound grasp of the Company’s plans and operating environment, the factors relevant to one’s own role and the interaction between one’s own role and others’ within the Company and outside
Planning and Organising
The ability to develop clear and logical step-by-step plans for self and for others which set out what needs to happen, when, how and by whom
Development / Software Engineering
Web Application Developer
Based: Leamington Spa
To apply for the role please email your CV and a brief covering letter.Web Application Developer
As a Web Application Developer, you will be a driving part of our Digital team and a technical design authority – you will provide thought leadership, but also be an active developer.
With strong TypeScript / JavaScript and CSS knowledge, as well as a preference for semantic HTML, you will be able to develop lean, modern web applications.
As part of a cross-functional team delivering evidence-led designs, you will have a range of opportunities to vary what you work on as well as shape where your career is going.
You will help us define and develop both new and existing apps, as well as styling, branding and adapting our software for delivery to customers.
You will be someone who really cares about the how and the why behind what the user sees. You will have looked at the source-code of this page.
Skills / attributes specific to this role:
Quality Assurance (QA) / Testing
No current vacancies, but please get in touch if you think you have something to offer.
Customer Service / Support
Customer Support Analyst
Based: Leamington Spa
To apply for the role please email your CV and a brief covering letter.Customer Support Analyst
Operating within Customer Services, the Customer Support Analyst will be part of a growing team dedicated to support services for Focus deployed software. Engaging the customer, understanding the critical business objectives & delivering effective solutions which help them achieve their objectives.
The role is customer facing and will involve incident/problem investigation, diagnosis and resolution. Strong communication and the ability to demonstrate sound analytical and technical skills, coupled with excellent reporting skills and the ability to effectively manage customers’ expectations and changing priorities.
The Customer Support Analyst’s main function is interpreting the customer’s incidents/problems, gathering sufficient evidence to enable swift investigation and assist in implementation of resolution.
The main responsibilities are:
- Responding quickly, appropriately and professionally to customer and internal queries regarding the software issues
- Diagnosing faults within existing or newly developed software
- Ownership of investigations of internal and external customers in line with defined service level agreements and Support procedures
- Providing solutions to problems & customer requests, including data changes if appropriate
- Liaising with other teams to ensure permanent software fixes are implemented
- This role generally does not include any programming but will involve appreciation of the underlying technology to demonstrate a thorough and ongoing knowledge of all live solutions
- Provide 1st, 2nd and 3rd line support with hands-on telephone and email support
- Ownership and ability to action and track customer incidents through to resolution
- Escalate & provide feedback to the Customer Support Manager on common issues
- Assess each issue/problem raised for impact to the customer, and prioritise and plan workload as appropriate
- Forecast and communicate resolution timescales, adjusting according to progress
- Setting expectations with the customer, negotiating/agreeing priorities as appropriate Ensure issues are identified, tracked, reported upon and resolved in a timely manner
- Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with customer personnel
- Provide a consistent, professional interface between the customer and Focus
- Communicate with internal implementation and Product teams and assist in issue resolution using knowledge of application and system design
- Work with line management in the continual review of and improvement to internal processes, policies and procedures
- Adhere to company processes and procedures, health and safety policy, and other requirements relating to the care of equipment
Qualifications / Experience: (Depth and breadth of specialised knowledge)
Essential Skills:
- Experience and knowledge of financial services industry with an emphasis on the financial advice process
- ITIL Qualification
- Appreciation of XML technologies
- Strong working knowledge of software support & development life cycle
- Experience in accurately recording information (e.g. requirements, results)
- Understanding of client/server and internet technologies
- Methodical with a process orientated approach to work
- Ability to plan, prioritise and co-ordinate activities, handling multiple tasks across multiple projects
- Problem solver
- Ability to take ownership of assigned tasks
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal)
- Self-motivated and able to work in a team or independently
- Ability to deal with difficult situations in a positive manner
- Ability to work on own initiative and under instruction, to tight deadlines, under pressure and without compromising quality
- Commercially aware
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills; resolute but diplomatic.
- Ability to work on own initiative and under instruction, to tight deadlines, under pressure and without compromising quality.
- Proactive and highly disciplined.
- Flexibility in role, approach and skills.
- Drive, energy and enthusiasm, with a ‘can do, will do’ approach.
Desirable:
- Desire to work in a customer facing role
Key Personal Competencies:
Customer Focus
Knowing who your customers are, keeping the meeting of their needs at the forefront of mind and taking responsibility for the service delivered to them
Preference for Action
Grasping issues that require resolution and ensuring that appropriate effective action is taken.
Communicating and Influencing
The ability to communicate effectively and to influence others to act and/or commit support to one’s own goals and objectives.
Creative and Innovative Thinking
The ability to think creatively or innovatively
Business Knowledge
Having a sound grasp of the Company’s plans and operating environment, the factors relevant to one’s own role and the interaction between one’s own role and others’ within the Company and outside
Planning and Organising
The ability to develop clear and logical step-by-step plans for self and for others which set out what needs to happen, when, how and by whom
Something else?
Think you could add something else?
Do you have something else to offer us?
If you want to be part of our continuing growth and are looking for an opportunity to develop your career in a role that will test, prove and progress your skills, we’d love to hear from you.
Please email your CV and a brief covering letter.
If we’ve got a role to suit you, a member of our recruitment team will be in touch.
Please note we do not accept offers from recruitment agencies or suppliers that are not on our preferred supplier list.
SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS
