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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Shape strategic initiatives and lead M&A integrations in a dynamic tech environment.
- Company: Join a £280M+ PE-backed leader in compliance and certification services.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by driving innovation and AI-first strategies.
- Qualifications: Experience in strategic architecture, M&A, and stakeholder management required.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with a focus on emerging technologies and career development.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 84000 £ per year.
Citation is a £280M+ PE-backed provider of compliance, verification, and certification services to 120,000+ global clients. Our growth combines organic development with 2-3 strategic acquisitions per year, requiring rapid integration of new capabilities while maintaining exceptional client outcomes. We operate as an AI-first business, continuously exploring how emerging technologies can transform operations and services.
We're looking for an Enterprise Architect focused on the early-stage work that shapes strategic initiatives and M&A integrations. You'll be embedded in high-impact initiatives from inception, working with senior stakeholders to translate business ambiguity into architectural clarity. You'll facilitate workshops, navigate uncertainty, help stakeholders understand decisions they need to make, and stay connected through delivery because we know embedded architects give us the best chance of success.
What You'll Own
- Strategic Initiative Shaping: Partner with senior stakeholders to translate business ambitions into clear, actionable initiatives with well-defined outcomes and scope. Surface the questions stakeholders haven't thought to ask and manage progressive design elaboration: being clear about what's locked, what's open, and what we'll discover during build. Develop multiple technical options with clear trade-offs around cost, risk, timelines, and strategic alignment, and create business cases that enable informed decision-making.
- M&A Technical Due Diligence & Integration: Run cross-functional architecture workshops bringing together product leads, platform teams, and business stakeholders. Assess target businesses' technical capabilities and architecture during pre-acquisition due diligence, translating findings into integration strategies (lift-and-shift, re-platform, retire). Define integration approaches and capability mapping, develop high-level roadmaps with costs, timelines, and resource requirements to inform acquisition decisions. Identify technical risks, dependencies, and opportunities within acquisition targets, and stay embedded through post-acquisition integration, navigating complexity and unblocking teams.
- AI-First Thinking & Stakeholder Navigation: Champion AI-first approaches across initiatives, evaluating emerging tools and working with stakeholders to reimagine core business processes through an AI lens. Partner with business leaders who don't know what they don't know, framing technical constraints as business trade-offs rather than saying that's out of scope. Build trust with both technical teams and commercial stakeholders, translating between business intent and technical reality.
- Delivery Connection: Stay connected through delivery, adjusting designs based on implementation learnings and bringing together technical teams to ensure end-to-end solutions remain coherent. Identify integration points and data flows that nobody's thought about, support critical course corrections, and maintain a record of what's been decided, when, and why.
What We're Looking For
- Essential Experience: Strategic architecture capability: Proven ability to work with senior stakeholders to shape initiatives, own end-to-end architecture across multiple products, and deliver outcomes not just designs. Business architecture skills: Capability mapping, target operating model design, and business process analysis. M&A experience: Technical due diligence, post-acquisition integration, or rapid assessment of unfamiliar technology estates—you know the patterns and anti-patterns. Facilitation & stakeholder management: Consulting-grade skills to run workshops with diverse stakeholders, elicit requirements from people who don't know what questions to ask, and build consensus while challenging assumptions. Technical breadth: Generalist background across modern enterprise architecture patterns, cloud platforms, integration approaches, and data architectures.
- Highly Valued Experience: AI expertise: Deep understanding of AI capabilities with practical implementation experience. Data migration: Complex migrations in M&A or platform consolidation contexts. Domain experience: Professional services, B2B SaaS, or PE-backed high-growth environments. Coaching: Experience developing other architects.
Our Technology Landscape
You'll work across a diverse technology estate. We don't expect deep expertise in every platform, but familiarity with modern enterprise technologies is essential:
- Enterprise SaaS: Salesforce, Certinia, HubSpot, Planhat, Sage
- Cloud & infrastructure: AWS, Azure, serverless, containers
- Data & analytics: Snowflake, Databricks, Tableau
- Integration & automation: Jitterbit, Mulesoft, GraphQL, event-driven architectures, n8n, AWS Bedrock Flows
- Customer engagement & security: Freshdesk, Intercom, Azure AD B2C
What Success Looks Like
In your first 6 months, you'll have:
- Led the architectural shaping of 2-3 strategic initiatives from initial stakeholder engagement through to delivery handover.
- Contributed to technical due diligence for at least 1 acquisition, providing clear integration assessments.
- Built strong relationships across the business, establishing yourself as a trusted advisor on technical strategy.
- Developed deep understanding of Citation's business model and technology estate, collaborating effectively with the existing architecture team.
Over time, success means you're the first person stakeholders think of when they need to shape a strategic initiative, assess an acquisition target, or navigate complex architectural decisions. Your work directly influences investment decisions, shapes our technology direction, and ensures initiatives are set up for delivery success.
Enterprise Architect in Wilmslow employer: The Citation Group
Contact Detail:
The Citation Group Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Enterprise Architect in Wilmslow
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research the company, understand their tech stack, and think about how your skills align with their needs. Practice common interview questions and be ready to discuss your past experiences in detail—show them you’re the perfect fit for their team.
✨Tip Number 3
Don’t just apply and wait! Follow up on your applications. A quick email to express your continued interest can set you apart from other candidates. It shows initiative and enthusiasm, which employers love!
✨Tip Number 4
Use our website to apply! We’ve got loads of resources to help you land that Enterprise Architect role. Plus, applying directly through us means you’ll be in the loop about any updates or opportunities that come up. Let’s get you that job!
We think you need these skills to ace Enterprise Architect in Wilmslow
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Enterprise Architect role. Highlight your experience with strategic architecture and M&A, as well as any AI expertise you have. We want to see how your skills align with our needs!
Showcase Your Stakeholder Skills: In your application, emphasise your ability to work with senior stakeholders and facilitate workshops. Share examples of how you've navigated uncertainty and built consensus in previous roles. This is key for us at StudySmarter!
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it clear and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to see your achievements and skills. We appreciate a straightforward approach that gets right to the heart of your experience.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows you’re keen on joining our team at StudySmarter!
How to prepare for a job interview at The Citation Group
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you’re well-versed in enterprise architecture principles and the specific technologies mentioned in the job description. Brush up on your knowledge of cloud platforms, integration approaches, and AI capabilities. Being able to discuss these topics confidently will show that you’re the right fit for the role.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
Prepare to demonstrate your facilitation skills by thinking of examples where you've successfully navigated stakeholder discussions. Be ready to share how you’ve helped stakeholders clarify their needs and translate business ambiguity into actionable initiatives. This will highlight your ability to build trust and manage expectations.
✨Showcase M&A Experience
If you have experience with technical due diligence or post-acquisition integration, be sure to bring it up! Discuss specific instances where you assessed technical capabilities and developed integration strategies. This will illustrate your understanding of the complexities involved in M&A processes.
✨Think AI-First
Since the company is focused on AI-first approaches, come prepared with ideas on how emerging technologies can transform operations. Share examples of how you’ve implemented AI solutions in past roles, and be ready to discuss how you would champion AI initiatives within the organisation.