Enterprise Architect

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart.

Across 56+ countries we collaborate as a team of 24,000 employees to deliver innovative solutions.

Role Overview

As Enterprise Architect for the Digital Backbone, you will provide architectural leadership and strategic direction for Howden Group's core integration and technology platform, shaping and governing the foundational layer that connects systems, data, and services across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Architecture Leadership & Design
• Define, own, and communicate the enterprise architecture of the Digital Backbone.
• Architect and lead the design, development, and deployment of APIs and integrations, ensuring alignment with standards and strategic goals.
• Drive adoption of API‑first design principles and the APIOps methodology, including automation of API deployment and governance.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate key architecture artefacts such as policies, standards, principles, patterns, templates, and capability models.
• Manage Group Enterprise Architecture assets – application and technology catalogues, roadmaps, and capability models – within the EA repository.
• Governance & Standards
• Define and enforce architectural standards and best practices for integration and API design, development, and management.
• Chair and run architecture governance forums on behalf of Group IT leadership, including decision‑making frameworks, regular meetings, and reporting on metrics.
• Conduct architectural reviews and provide guidance to development teams on integration patterns, best practices, and compliance requirements.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks, ensuring alignment with security, compliance, and regulatory requirements.
• Undertake due diligence of vendor systems and solutions to ensure alignment with Group IT policies and standards.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Evangelism
• Evangelise the Digital Backbone architecture and technology stack through documentation, internal communications, and stakeholder engagement at all levels.
• Attend key change programme, project, and business stakeholder meetings to provide Group IT Enterprise Architecture guidance and direction.
• Undertake consultative engagements with teams across the wider business as a subject‑matter expert in integration architecture and Digital Backbone capabilities.
• Collaborate with enterprise architects, platform leads, and business stakeholders to align integration solutions with strategic goals.
• Continuous Improvement
• Continuously assess and optimise integration solutions and tooling for performance, scalability, maintainability, observability, and self‑service capability.
• Lead technical discussions, mentor team members, and foster a culture of innovation, engineering excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Work in an agile, collaborative manner and adapt to evolving business needs and technology trends, constructively challenging ideas and remaining open to feedback.

Qualifications

Essential Skills & Experience

• Strong enterprise architecture skills, specifically running pragmatic, guidance‑oriented, and outcomes‑focused architecture governance at group or global scale.
• Excellent knowledge of enterprise integration patterns and their application, with demonstrated expertise in API lifecycle management and governance.
• Experience designing and implementing enterprise‑scale API platforms using Azure technologies, including Azure API Management, Logic Apps, and Service Bus.
• Strong experience enabling monitoring, alerting, telemetry, auditing, and business/technical metrics across integration platforms.
• Expertise in designing API contracts and applying an API‑first approach, including strong understanding of the APIOps methodology.
• Proficiency with the Postman Enterprise platform, developer portals, API catalogues, and API lifecycle and testing tools.
• Experience with scripting and automation tooling, such as Power Shell, Pester, YAML, Spectral, and Terraform.
• Experience developing capability models, application and technology catalogues, and roadmaps (preferably within the insurance domain).
• Strong Architecture and IT governance experience, including establishing and running Architecture Review Boards and Design Authorities for major change programmes.
• Strong understanding of secure design and secure development practices and frameworks.
• Experience in enterprise environments with change management and governance processes.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to tailor messages to senior stakeholders and technical delivery teams.

Desirable Qualifications & Experience

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert or equivalent.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate or equivalent Associate‑level Azure certification.
• BCS certification in Enterprise & Solution Architecture, TOGAF, or Archimate certification.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• Experience with other integration platforms such as Biz Talk, Mule Soft, Informatica, or Boomi.
• Experience integrating with platforms such as Salesforce, Reltio, legacy insurance systems, and data platforms.
• Experience with pro‑developer languages and enterprise low‑code platforms (e. g. C#, YAML, XSLT, Liquid Templates, Logic Apps, RPA).
• Experience with AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Git Hub Copilot.
• Knowledge of working in a regulated environment (e. g. FCA, PRA, GDPR) and awareness of global insurance regulatory requirements.
• Good knowledge of enterprise‑grade CRM, HR, and Finance systems; Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing technologies.
• Insurance domain experience, preferably within broking and/or the London Market.

Benefits

• A career you define, with opportunities for growth and impact across a global organization.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and a values‑driven culture.
• Reasonable adjustments to ensure the role aligns with your needs, including flexible hours and hybrid working where possible.
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