Job Title: Head of Enterprise Architecture - INSIDE IR35 - Hybrid working - 6-month (day rate)
Location: Hertfordshire – (WORKING AT HEAD OFFICE WILL BE REQUIRED)
Company Overview:
A leading Infrastructure services in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors.
A fast-paced environment and business which is constantly growing and evolving through Mergers and Acquisitions. The central support team, based at Head Office in Stevenage in Hertfordshire, has grown rapidly and provides support across Group and divisions to deliver to the people, clients and their customers.
Engaging and empowering their people to deliver and grow is pivotal to driving the business and achieving continued success. Creating an environment in which their people feel valued, supported and fulfilled.
Job Summary: The Head of Enterprise Architecture will establish and own the enterprise architecture strategy and plan (EAP) for the organisation. This role requires a strategic thinker with extensive experience in enterprise architecture, particularly in managing complex business process and system transitions. The Head of Enterprise Architecture will work across the organisation to ensure that the business has the right tools and processes to be successful, improve efficiency and reliability of business information, and support the overall business objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
- Leadership and Strategy: Develop and execute the enterprise architecture strategy in alignment with the company's overall business objectives. Provide leadership and direction to the enterprise architecture team, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
- Architecture Management: Establish and maintain an enterprise architecture framework, ensuring that The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) is followed for enterprise software development. Own and implement an Enterprise Architecture Strategy and Plan that is aligned with business objectives and IT strategy.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with key stakeholders, including senior business leaders, solution, project managers, and customers, to understand their needs and ensure that the enterprise architecture is delivering value. Communicate architecture status, risks, and issues to stakeholders in a clear and timely manner.
- Quality Assurance: Implement and maintain robust quality assurance processes to ensure that all architectural projects meet the highest standards of quality and reliability.
- Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with the enterprise architecture. Develop and implement risk management strategies to minimise the impact of potential issues on project delivery.
- Team Development: Build and develop a high-performing enterprise architecture team. Provide coaching, mentoring, and professional development opportunities to team members. Foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
- Resource Management: Ensure that resources are allocated effectively across the enterprise architecture projects. Oversee the selection and onboarding of new team members and external partners as needed.
- Continuous Improvement: Champion continuous improvement initiatives within the enterprise architecture function. Identify opportunities for process improvements and implement best practices to enhance project delivery.
- Governance: Responsible for the governance structure that is in place and chairing governance forums.
- Reporting: Measure project progress and performance against KPIs.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field. A master's degree is preferred.
- Proven experience in a senior enterprise architecture role, preferably in a large, complex organisation.
- Strong knowledge of enterprise architecture methodologies and best practices.
- Experience managing large-scale business process and system transitions with multiple stakeholders.
- Excellent project management skills, with a track record of successfully delivering complex architectural projects on time and within budget.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.
- A strategic thinker with the ability to align enterprise architecture initiatives with business objectives.
Preferred Skills:
- Experience in the technology or digital services industry.
- Knowledge of modern enterprise architecture tools and technologies.
- Familiarity with agile and waterfall development methodologies as well as Lean and Prince 2 or equivalent project management methodologies.
Challenges: The business has historically been organised along 4 market sectors with an IT function including business and system solution architecture performed without reference to a joined-up strategy resulting in too many work management solutions. The workload is only forecast to increase as the business looks to consolidate processes and systems along 3 delivery platforms.
