Head of Enterprise Architecture & AI (Investment Banking)

SUMMARY:
Our client, one of South Africa's leading banks and a recognised leader in technical innovation and cutting-edge financial solutions, is seeking an accomplished Head of Enterprise Architecture & AI (Investment Banking) to provide strategic technology leadership across its Investment Banking division.

Be responsible for defining and driving the enterprise architecture vision, strategy, and roadmap, ensuring technology capabilities enable and accelerate the bank's business objectives. The role will lead the development of architecture practices, governance, standards, and processes that embed strategic applications and emerging AI capabilities across the business, creating an integrated, scalable, secure, and future-ready technology landscape.

The Head of Enterprise Architecture & AI will align the business mission, vision, strategy, and operating model with the organisation's technology strategy. This includes translating complex business requirements into enterprise-wide architectural blueprints and roadmaps, documenting current and future state architectures through multiple architectural models and viewpoints, and ensuring technology investments deliver sustainable, agile, and adaptable business outcomes.

POSITION INFO:
In order to be considered the following is required: Post Graduate Degree in Information Technology or Science Solid Enterprise Architecture experience with AI and emerging technology experience More than 10 years significant experience as an Architect ideally with time in an Enterprise capacity Track record in IT disciplines including data management, integration and large-scale solution architectures. Experience with the complete information system life cycle Architecture \/ Solution design delivery in large domestic or global institutions Ability to deal with all levels of the business and technology stakeholders across large organisations Robust knowledge of Solution Design & Architecture Ability to advise on, plan and manage end to end architecture and design Proven ability to lead, manage and drive high performance across technical and project teams Knowledge \/ experience of architecture\/design frameworks Demonstrable relevant experience in writing technical documents Ability to present to all levels from C-level to technical staff Knowledge of business models, operating models, financial models, cost-benefit and trade-off analysis, budgeting and risk management Knowledge of business ecosystems, software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), SOA, APIs, open data, microservices, event-driven IT and predictive analytics Familiarity with information management practices, system development life cycle management, IT services management, agile and lean methodologies, infrastructure and operations and EA and ITIL frameworks Responsibilities: Align the IT strategy with the business strategy and define the technology architecture to support that strategy Link the business mission, vision, strategy and processes to the IT strategy, documenting this using multiple architectural models or views that demonstrate how the current and future needs of the organisation will be met in an integrated, efficient, sustainable, agile and adaptable manner Develop complex business unit-wide architecture, roadmaps and processes to embed strategic applications across all domains and solutions for the entire business unit Set strategies, policies, standards and practices to facilitate alignment and integration between business strategies, technology strategies and enterprise transformation activities Develop and maintain the architecture vision and strategy for an entire business unit \/ group, ensuring it aligns with business goals and strategic objectives Assess technical integrity by evaluating the solution's architecture to ensure it meets the required technical standards and best practices Verify that the solution is robust, scalable and maintainable Evaluate coherence to ensure that the solution aligns with the overall enterprise architecture and integrates seamlessly with existing systems and processes Check for consistency in design and implementation across different components of the solution Lead and drive all risk assessment processes to identify potential risks associated with the solution, including technical, operational and strategic risks Assess the likelihood and impact of these risks and develop mitigation strategies Lead security assessment by evaluating the solution's security measures to ensure they protect against threats and vulnerabilities Ensure compliance with relevant security standards and regulations Lead agility assessment through assessing the solution's ability to adapt to changing business requirements and technological advancements Ensure that the solution is flexible and can accommodate future growth and changes Lead capacity assessments to evaluate the solution's capacity to handle the expected workload and performance requirements Ensure that the solutions can scale to meet future demands Provide recommendations and findings for all enterprise architecture solutions Document the assessment findings and provide actionable recommendations to address any identified issues or gaps Communicate the assessment results to stakeholders in a clear and concise manner Define strategic initiatives and map out strategic execution plans that satisfy business unit objectives for desirable outcomes Lead transformation consulting engagements to support the roadmap and business case development for Enterprise Architecture services and assist the business unit in architecting next generation platforms including capabilities Map stakeholder engagement map and ensure that regular engagements are conducted with the relevant IT Architecture Teams, key stakeholders and relevant business partners Develop the enterprise architecture vision and strategy for an entire business unit \/ group, ensuring alignment with business goals Collaborate with business analysts, stakeholders, and project managers to gather and document business requirements Act as the trusted Enterprise Architecture business partner to relevant Business Unit Chief Information Officers and other stakeholders to provide appropriate architecture direction and recommendations to meet business, regulatory, legal and policy requirements whilst addressing the strategic objective to simplify the overall technology and application landscape Develop the Enterprise Architecture framework that support requests for enterprise wide or specific business unit \/ country solutions, and guide its adoption in accordance to differing levels of business unit maturity This is a unique opportunity for a visionary technology leader with deep expertise in enterprise architecture, digital transformation and AI strategy to shape the future of one of South Africa's most innovative financial institutions. If you are an accomplished enterprise technology leader with a proven track record of driving strategic architecture, digital transformation and AI innovation within a complex enterprise environment, please URGENTLY email us your CV for this exceptional opportunity. Please Note: Information displayed above not limited to advertisement Should you not receive a response within 14 days of submitting your application, please consider your application unsuccessful. Your profile will, however, be retained on our database for future opportunities that match your skills and experience, unless you request otherwise in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.