At a Glance
- Tasks: Shape strategic initiatives and lead M&A integrations with cutting-edge technology.
- Company: Join a £280M+ PE-backed leader in compliance and certification services.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with a focus on collaboration and career advancement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by driving innovation and AI-first strategies.
- Qualifications: Experience in architecture, M&A, and stakeholder management required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
Overview
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.
Role
We’re looking for an Enterprise Architect focused on the early-stage work that shapes strategic initiatives and M&A integrations. You will be embedded in high-impact initiatives from inception, working with senior stakeholders to translate business ambiguity into architectural clarity. You will facilitate workshops, navigate uncertainty, help stakeholders understand decisions they need to make, and stay connected through delivery.
What You Will 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. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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 will work across a diverse technology estate. 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 will 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.
Enterprise Architect in Bristol employer: The Role
At Citation, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration. As an Enterprise Architect, you'll be at the forefront of shaping strategic initiatives in a dynamic, AI-first environment, with ample opportunities for professional growth and development. Our commitment to employee well-being is reflected in our supportive work culture, competitive benefits, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on our clients and the business as a whole.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Enterprise Architect in Bristol
✨Dive Into Corporate Strategy Communities
Get yourself involved in online communities or forums focused on corporate strategy. Places like LinkedIn groups or specific Slack channels can hook you up with industry insights, trends, and many potential job leads. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts or ask questions; it’ll boost your visibility!
✨Attend Industry Conferences and Events
Keep an eye out for corporate strategy conferences or networking events in your area (or online!). These gatherings are gold mines for meeting hiring managers and making impactful connections. Plus, having a few good conversations can lead to job referrals at companies like The Role!
✨Showcase Your Strategy Skills
Create content that showcases your knowledge of corporate strategy—think reports, blogs, or even video discussions. Sharing these on platforms like LinkedIn or Medium can demonstrate your expertise and make you stand out to employers looking for fresh talent.
✨Apply Directly Through Our Website
Don’t forget to apply for the Enterprise Architect position at The Role via our website! This shows your genuine interest, and who knows, you might just land that interview in a matter of days. Keep your application focused on how you can add value to their strategy team.
We think you need these skills to ace Enterprise Architect in Bristol
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Us Your Strategic Thinking:When crafting your CV and cover letter, highlight your strategic analysis skills. Focus on past experiences where you've effectively assessed market trends or made impactful recommendations. Evidence-based achievements, like improving processes or contributing to significant projects, will help us see your potential for driving corporate strategy at The Role.
Tailor Your Narrative:Don’t just send us a generic application! Personalise your cover letter by connecting your experiences and aspirations to The Role’s mission and goals. We love seeing candidates who genuinely understand what we do; share how your vision aligns with ours and what you can bring to the table.
Highlight Relevant Academic Credentials:In your CV, make sure to showcase your academic background, especially if you have qualifications in business, economics, or analytics. We appreciate candidates who can back up their skills with relevant degrees or certifications, so don’t be shy about flaunting those achievements!
Utilise Professional Language:While we want you to be yourself, remember that corporate strategy roles demand a level of professionalism in communication. Use clear and concise language in your application materials, ensuring that your ideas come across as well-structured and sophisticated. It’s all about making a great impression right from the written application stage!
How to prepare for a job interview at The Role
✨Master the Numbers
Corporate strategy often involves data analysis and financial forecasting. Brush up on your quantitative skills, and be prepared to handle case studies or numerical problems during the interview. We might get questions about how to approach market trends or assess the performance of a hypothetical company — so practice these scenarios!
✨Know Your Frameworks
Familiarity with strategic frameworks like SWOT, PESTLE, or Porter’s Five Forces can set you apart. We should be ready to discuss how we’d apply these tools to real-world business situations — maybe even relating them to The Role. This shows we’re not just theory-happy but can articulate our practical application.
✨Engage in Strategic Conversations
In a full-time role like this, it’s crucial to show that we're engaged and informed about current trends in the industry. Keep up with major news and prepare to discuss how recent developments could impact strategic decisions at The Role. This will demonstrate our passion and proactive approach to the field.
✨Showcase Relevant Experience
Whether through internships or projects, we should highlight any experience that relates to corporate strategy. Have specific examples ready to talk about how we’ve contributed to strategic growth or improvements. It's about showcasing our unique journey and how it will bring value to The Role.
