Enterprise Architect - Insurance Provider - Riyadh, KSA

  • Full-time

Company Description

B7; www.b7-consultancy.com. 

Job Description

To lead, manage and govern the IT architecture activities of systems, applications, and technologies used within the Company. Drive the development, maintenance, and execution of IT architecture standards, in order to drive company-wide organizational system enhancement and facilitate the achievement of Company’s strategic objectives.

  • Reports to: IT Director, 
  • No. of people managed: Three (3)

Strategic Contribution:

  • Contribute to the development and implementation of Company’s IT department’s technical architecture objectives and operational plans in line with the company’s overall strategy.
  • Cascade the enterprise architect department’s strategy and direction into operational plans and establish key performance indicators to ensure implementation and continuously monitor performance.

Operational:

  • Translate the IT and overall strategy into IT Architectural business plans and monitor implementation and execution performance as well as developing required adjustments and modifications to increase efficiency and compliance to business needs to ensure that objectives are achieved, and targets are met.
  • Ensure the architectural design and maintenance of new systems and applications in order to maximize performance.
  • Ensure provision of appropriate and cost-effective applications to support the continuous and effective operation of the company.
  • Direct the development and execution of an enterprise architecture blueprint and roadmaps that serves to facilitate the uninterrupted achievement of Company and IT strategic objectives through the use of best in class technology and best practice systems and solutions and the implementation of suggested modifications.
  • Provide architecture governance to support the whole project delivery lifecycle, including the pre-initiation phase and ensure that architecture deliverables are complete and to the required quality.
  • Formulate standards for business, technical, application, information, infrastructure architecture and maintain them
  • Direct the integration and development of software, application and system architecture in order to ensure that they are fit for purpose and serve the IT needs of the Company.
  • Continuous improvement of IT function including review of insights from IT operations tickets / issues etc and suitably modify architecture / design
  • Review all technical developments and identify impact areas and intervene if there are deviation from standards
  • Oversee the assessment of the approved changes/ deviation from standards on the target enterprise architecture in order to minimize the potential for glitches.
  • Ensure that enterprise architecture standards and policies are strictly adhered to throughout the Company and monitor solutions, products and service to ensure that they follow the set policies and quality standards.
  • Drive an extensive research initiative to keep abreast of the latest trends in IT architecture for the identification of opportunities to improve architecture to support and optimize business processes by introducing new tools, systems, software, etc. to address changing business needs and remain in line with leading IT practices, while maintaining an up-to-date internal best practice repository to facilitate continuous improvement of IT operations.
  • Collaborate with leadership through presentations and workshops on establishing business goals to develop solution proposals and architecture options for review and recommendation; reviewing new and existing IT projects within the business to ensure that there is alignment between business strategy and IT architecture.
  • Ensure that all aspects of the specified architecture principles and standards are communicated effectively across functions to facilitate awareness and adherence to defined guidelines.

People Management: 

  • Coordinate the activities of the team to ensure that all work is carried out in an efficient manner, in line with the strategic enterprise architecture business plans, policies and procedures.
  • Manage and evaluate employee’s performance with continuous feedback on their assigned targets and provide development opportunities to maximize potential and engagement of employees through mentoring, coaching and constructive feedback.
  • Coach individuals to maximize their professional and personal growth. 

Budgeting:

  • Contribute to the preparation of the IT Department’s budget, monitoring performance, so that the business is aware of anticipated costs, areas of unsatisfactory performance are identified and rectified promptly.
Continuous Improvement:
  • Drive continuous improvement through the periodic testing, assessment and review of technical foundations of IT architecture against business requirements and industry best practice in order to identify areas of improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of Company's IT systems.
  • Motivate subordinates and contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement of business processes, productivity and cost reduction.

Policies, Systems, Processes & Procedures

  • Ensure compliance with corporate requirements on adherence to policies, procedures and instructions within the IT department.

Reporting

  • Ensure that all relevant ad-hoc reports are prepared timely and accurately, and meet the department’s requirements, policies and standards.

Qualifications

Minimum:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in IT, Computer Science/ Engineering, or other related fields
  • TOGAF, Zachman Framework
  • 15+ years of related experience

Preferred:

  • Master’s Degree in business management, or other related fields
  • Design Thinking, AGILE, Devops
  • Management role in Insurance Company

Technical Competencies

  • Intermediate-level knowledge insurance industry 
  • Expert-level knowledge in IT architecture
  • Expert-level knowledge in Insurance operations and requirements
  • Expert-level knowledge in developing IT systems, operations, infrastructure
  • Basic knowledge of KSA’s regulatory body (SAMA)
  • Expert-level knowledge of Insurance policies, procedures and guidelines