Enterprise Architect

• Role reports to Chief Information Officer, Technology Function
• Salary Circa £75,000 PA plus benefits

The Enterprise Architect is responsible for defining, maintaining, and governing the organisation's enterprise architecture, ensuring that technology investments, data capabilities, and digital initiatives directly support business strategy and operational objectives.

The role provides strategic leadership across Technology Architecture, Data Architecture, Architecture Governance, and Technology Roadmapping, ensuring the organisation maintains a secure, scalable, resilient, and future-ready technology landscape.

The Enterprise Architect will also play a key role in driving innovation, evaluating emerging technologies, and guiding the responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation capabilities.

Working closely with business and technology stakeholders, the role will develop enterprise-wide architectural standards and strategic roadmaps that improve organisational effectiveness, reduce complexity, manage risk, and maximise the value of technology investments.

Role Accountabilities include

• Enterprise Architecture Strategy
• Develop, maintain, and communicate the organisation's Enterprise Architecture vision, principles, standards, and strategic roadmaps.
• Define target-state architectures across business, data, application, integration, infrastructure, cloud, and security domains, aligned with organisational priorities and business objectives.
• Establish architectural approaches that support and enhance scalability, resilience, security, sustainability, and operational efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise, modernise, and optimise the technology estate.
• Technology Architecture
• Own the enterprise technology architecture strategy and roadmap.
• Lead the evaluation and selection of enterprise technologies and platforms.
• Oversee technology lifecycle management, including rationalisation, consolidation, and modernisation.
• Define standards and patterns that promote interoperability, reliability, maintainability, and security.
• Assess existing technologies and identify opportunities to reduce technical debt and improve operational efficiency.
• Data Architecture
• Define and maintain the enterprise data architecture and supporting standards.
• Ensure data is managed and developed as a strategic organisational asset.
• Establish principles, standards, and roadmaps for data governance, data quality, integration, analytics, and information management.
• Ensure data architectures comply with relevant security, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
• Architecture Governance
• Establish and maintain architecture governance processes, standards, and decision‑making frameworks.
• Review and assure solution designs, projects, and technology initiatives for alignment with enterprise architecture principles.
• Record, assess, elevate and manage architecture risks, technical debt, and exceptions to standards.
• Facilitate architecture review boards, design authorities, and governance forums where required.
• Ensure compliance with organisational, regulatory, and security requirements.
• Innovation, Emerging Technology & AI
• Monitor emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices to identify and recommend opportunities that support organisational objectives.
• Evaluate the potential business value, risks, costs, and architectural implications of emerging technologies.
• Provide architectural leadership for the responsible adoption and governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), intelligent automation, analytics, and cloud‑based services.
• Establish architectural principles and guardrails for emerging technologies to ensure security, compliance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Partner with business and technology stakeholders to identify opportunities where AI and automation can improve organisational performance, decision‑making, and customer outcomes.
• Support innovation initiatives, proof‑of‑concepts, and pilot programmes that inform future technology strategy.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CIO on technology strategy, architecture, innovation, and investment.
• Build strong relationships across business and technology functions to ensure effective collaboration and alignment.
• Communicate complex technical concepts in a clear and business‑focused manner.
• Influence strategic and operational decision‑making through expertise, insight, and collaboration.
• Work closely with third‑party suppliers and partners to ensure solutions align with organisational architecture standards and strategic objectives.

Skills and Capabilities

• Strategic Thinking - Ability to develop long‑term technology and data strategies that support organisational goals.
• Business Acumen - Strong understanding of how technology enables business performance, transformation, and growth.
• Architecture Leadership - Ability to provide enterprise‑wide architectural direction and governance through influence rather than formal authority.
• Innovation Mindset - Curiosity and awareness of emerging technologies, with the ability to assess their practical application and business value.
• Communication & Influence - Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business outcomes.
• Analytical Thinking - Ability to analyse complex organisational, business, and technology challenges and develop pragmatic solutions.
• Governance & Risk Management - Strong judgement in balancing innovation, cost, risk, compliance, and operational requirements.

Experience and Qualifications

• Significant experience in Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture and Technology Strategy.
• Proven experience designing and governing enterprise‑wide technology and data architectures.
• Strong understanding of cloud technologies, enterprise applications, Saa S, Paa S, data platforms, integration patterns, and security architecture.
• Experience leading architecture governance and assurance processes.
• Demonstrable experience influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience supporting organisational transformation and technology modernisation programmes.
• Experience working within (financial services) regulated environments.
• Experience leading cloud architecture design and delivery.
• Experience developing enterprise data management and governance capabilities.
• Experience supporting AI, automation, analytics, and digital innovation initiatives.
• Understanding of Cybersecurity principles and risk management
• Experience in modern digital workplace technologies
• Experience of Agile, Dev Ops, and product‑based delivery models
• Cloud platform (particularly Azure and AWS) and Architecture framework (e. g. TOGAF) and Agile certification desirable.
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