Head, IT Enterprise Architecture

Role Overview

You will lead the enterprise architecture function for the NCBA Group and its subsidiaries, acting as the bridge between business strategy and technology delivery. Your day-to-day work involves designing target-state architectures, setting technical standards, and roadmapping initiatives that keep the bank secure, stable, and efficient while supporting digital growth. By governing technology choices and monitoring the overall portfolio, you directly influence investment priorities, operational resilience, and long-term return on technology spend.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the group's architecture strategy, principles, and reference frameworks, ensuring every technology decision aligns with business objectives.
• Establish policies, standards, and procedures for secure, supported, and stable technology operations, and chair the group-wide Change Advisory Board to govern IT change management.
• Document the current-state architecture and define the future-state architecture for all critical services, including clear milestones to close gaps, address obsolescence, and achieve target states.
• Own the holistic technology asset inventory—applications, infrastructure, licenses, and vendor relationships—and develop legacy management and retirement plans across the group.
• Partner with business and technology subject-matter experts to translate requirements into solutions, driving adoption of cloud, microservices, DevOps, API banking, and integration modernization.
• Review and approve projects against architectural standards to ensure compliance, while advising senior leaders on the business, technology, and operational implications of investment choices.
• Lead application portfolio rationalization and cost optimization across the group by consolidating systems, retiring redundant assets, reducing licensing overhead, and streamlining data storage.
• Manage and develop a team of architects and support resources, providing performance feedback, training, and skilling across all architecture domains.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related technical field; a Master's degree or MBA is an added advantage.
• Professional certifications in IT architecture such as TOGAF, alongside IT service management certifications (ITIL, COBIT, ISO) and training in infrastructure, cloud, or business continuity.
• At least 10 years of experience in a banking or financial services environment, with a solid understanding of financial industry regulations and practices.
• Minimum 5 years in a managerial role overseeing IT infrastructure, applications, data, and security.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive group-wide architecture initiatives, including strong stakeholder management across business and technology functions.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and reporting skills, with the capacity to communicate complex technical concepts to senior executives.
• Strong leadership presence and interpersonal skills, with experience managing direct reports and vendor teams in a large enterprise setting.