The posting
Define and drive the Group's enterprise and cloud architecture strategy, aligning business applications, infrastructure, data, AI, cybersecurity and integration within a coherent technology framework.
Lead architecture decisions, establish practical technology standards and guide cloud modernisation, technology rationalisation and major technology investments across the Group and its entities.
This is a hands-on architecture role requiring strong technical expertise, commercial judgement and the ability to critically evaluate vendors, solution designs and technology investments. Entity IT teams retain responsibility for local implementation and day-to-day operations.
Key Responsibilities
1. Enterprise Architecture
- Develop and maintain current-state and target-state architecture across applications, infrastructure, cloud, identity, integration, data and AI.
- Use the Group's technology inventory to identify system dependencies, duplication, technical debt and opportunities for modernisation.
- Align architecture roadmaps with business priorities and the Group's technology strategy.
2. Cloud and Infrastructure Architecture
- Design hybrid and cloud architectures covering cloud platforms, on-premises infrastructure, networking, connectivity, identity, security, resilience and disaster recovery.
- Develop practical cloud migration blueprints that define workload priorities, technical dependencies, cost estimates and implementation approaches.
- Assess infrastructure modernisation options and recommend scalable, secure and supportable solutions.
3. Technical Design Authority
- Review significant technology proposals, solution architectures and implementation designs.
- Challenge vendor recommendations, technical assumptions, unnecessary complexity, cost estimates and long-term supportability.
- Maintain architecture decision records, approved standards and documented exceptions.
- Ensure material technology investments are supported by appropriate technical and commercial assessments.
4. Integration Architecture
- Establish reusable integration standards and design patterns across enterprise applications, ERP, EPM, HCM, procurement systems, data platforms and AI solutions.
- Define architectural approaches for APIs, identity, data flows, interoperability and system dependencies.
- Promote consistent, secure and maintainable integration across the Group's technology landscape.
5. Security and Resilience by Design
- Collaborate with cybersecurity and infrastructure teams to incorporate access controls, network segmentation, encryption, secure configuration and resilience requirements into technology designs.
- Ensure architecture decisions account for backup, recovery, disaster recovery and business continuity requirements.
- Support the identification and resolution of architectural risks without duplicating cybersecurity ownership.
6. Technology Rationalisation
- Identify opportunities to simplify the technology landscape, reduce overlapping platforms and address unnecessary infrastructure complexity.
- Develop technically sound and commercially justified recommendations to optimise support costs and improve operational efficiency.
- Balance Group-wide standardisation with the distinct business, technical and regulatory requirements of individual entities.
7. Cloud Economics and Vendor Evaluation
- Evaluate cloud consumption, licensing, hosting alternatives, solution sizing and total cost of ownership.
- Challenge vendor proposals, implementation estimates and recurring operating costs before investment decisions are made.
- Recommend cost-effective architecture options without compromising security, resilience, scalability or long-term maintainability.
8. Architecture Delivery and Assurance
- Collaborate with infrastructure, enterprise applications, data and AI, cybersecurity, PMO and entity IT teams to translate approved architectures into actionable implementation plans.
- Review significant technical changes and assess compliance with approved architecture principles and standards.
- Support the resolution of complex technical dependencies, design conflicts and implementation challenges.
9. Architecture Standards and Documentation
- Develop and maintain practical reference architectures, design principles, technical standards, integration patterns and architecture decision records.
- Ensure documentation is accurate, reusable and accessible to relevant technical teams.
- Promote consistent architecture practices while allowing justified exceptions where business or regulatory requirements demand them.
10. Federated Group Technology Governance
- Establish and apply approved Group architecture standards through collaboration with entity IT leads.
- Respect entity ownership, local delivery responsibilities and applicable regulatory requirements.
- Escalate material architecture exceptions, cross-entity dependencies and strategic technology decisions to the Group CIO.
- Support alignment across the Group without assuming direct operational control of entity IT teams.
Key Performance Indicators
Performance will be assessed against agreed objectives, including:
- Establishment and ongoing maintenance of the Group's target architecture and priority technology roadmaps.
- Completion of documented architecture, cost and risk assessments for material technology investments.
- Development and approval of cloud migration blueprints for prioritised workloads, including technical dependencies and implementation considerations.
- Completion of architecture reviews and decisions within agreed timelines.
- Identification of measurable opportunities for technology simplification, reuse and cost optimisation.
- Tracking and resolution of critical architecture risks, exceptions and cross-entity technical dependencies.
- Adoption of practical architecture standards across agreed Group and entity technology initiatives.
- Improved visibility of technology dependencies, technical debt and long-term supportability risks.
5. Role Specifications
Education
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
Experience
- Typically 10 or more years of experience in enterprise technology, infrastructure, cloud or solution architecture, including substantial hands-on architecture responsibility.
- Demonstrated experience designing and delivering enterprise-scale hybrid and cloud solutions, preferably in Microsoft Azure environments.
- Practical knowledge of Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID, networking, virtualisation, storage, backup, disaster recovery and cloud connectivity.
- Experience with enterprise application architecture, system integration, APIs and data platforms.
- Proven ability to assess architecture options, challenge vendors, evaluate costs and support complex technology delivery.
- Experience working across multiple business units, subsidiaries or diverse technology environments is strongly preferred.
- Experience balancing Group-wide technology standards with local business requirements and operational responsibilities.
Technical Competencies
- Enterprise and solution architecture
- Microsoft Azure and hybrid cloud architecture
- Azure landing zones, networking, identity and security architecture
- Virtualisation, VMware and infrastructure modernisation
- Cloud migration, workload assessment and disaster recovery
- Enterprise integration, APIs and application architecture
- Data platform and AI solution integration
- Architecture governance and technical design reviews
- Cloud economics, licensing and total cost of ownership
- Technology rationalisation and technical debt management
- Architecture documentation, technical standards and reusable design patterns
Professional Certifications
TOGAF, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert or equivalent architecture and cloud certifications are preferred but not mandatory.
