The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation is at the heart of Belgium's international policy. The main outlines of Belgian foreign policy are determined here, and our country’s positions, both nationally and internationally, are defended. Through active diplomacy, our organization represents the interests of Belgium and our compatriots all over the world. In doing so, we contribute to a safe, just, and sustainable world, based on shared values, human rights, and international regulations.

The staff members of the FPS work not only from the headquarters in Brussels, but also from around 120 posts (embassies and consulates). This makes our organization unique, and staff members can take on many different and exciting challenges.

In this context, the Directorate-General for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is responsible for everything related to the IT and telecommunication support needed to carry out the missions of the FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, particularly concerning infrastructure, software, and IT security aspects. It is a dynamic and innovative environment that meets the challenges of providing modern and secure applications and support to our internal services and our fellow citizens.

Given the sensitive nature of the FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, every staff member is expected to demonstrate reliability and respect for ethics. He/she must also know, comply with, and apply security rules in order to guarantee the continuity of the organization and the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the processed data.

Job Description

The Application/Solution Architect is responsible for developing proposed technical solutions to a level that allows projects to effectively implement them. He/she describes the involved processes and how these are supported by IT. In doing so, he/she ensures that the solutions are in line with the applicable domain architectures and the enterprise architecture of our organization. He/she works actively across the entire IT domain and possesses the technical knowledge needed to further develop solutions structurally. The Application/Solution Architect acts as a bridge between business and technology and ensures that solutions are not only technically sound but also aligned with the strategic vision of the organization.

General tasks and responsibilities

• Contributing to a technology guideline and structure for the internal development of applications, providing technical support and acting as a point of contact, as well as effectively contributing technically to projects
• Collaborating with the security architect on the development and setup of a DevSecOps environment, always maintaining a focus on “secure development”
• Collaborating with the application security architect on code reviews
• Designing and developing solutions: From concept to technical design, including migration scenarios, always considering continuity
• Translating processes into IT solutions, in line with business analyses, strategic objectives, and enterprise architecture
• Collaborating with various stakeholders: Project managers, product owners, architects, technical leads, and developers
• Safeguarding application architecture standards: Developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating
• Presenting solutions to internal and external stakeholders
• Support during implementation: Monitoring quality and consistency
• Documentation and reporting: Maintaining project documentation and progress
• Knowledge sharing: Keeping the organization informed about architectural choices and best practices
• Contributing to the modernization of legacy applications and the transition to modern architectures to take the organization to the next level

Behavioral skills

• Strong analytical skills
• Goal- and result-oriented
• Independent, accurate, with strong initiative
• Ability to propose innovative solutions
• Communicative team player who does not shy away from challenges
• Leadership
• Stress-resistant
• Eager to learn, regularly researching new technologies