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The Head of Enterprise Architect (HEA) proactively and holistically helps guide the enterprise through transformation and optimization initiatives, supporting the formulation of future strategy. The HEA’s scope of activities includes helping Card Factory achieve targeted business outcomes related to grow revenue, optimizing costs and mitigating risks. They focus on building relationships with business and IT stakeholders, communicating the value of Enterprise Architecture and the services it offers, and shaping and guiding the delivery of EA’s services.

The HEA is hired in a management capacity. They will lead the formal EA practice, managing a team of domain architects (business, information, solution, technical, security and other) in a direct capacity. This includes the organizational design, management and day-to-day running of the EA practice as an internal management consultancy that offers a portfolio of services to business leaders and enterprise stakeholders. They are responsible for defining the advisory process, EA process, and architecture governance, and for leading the integration of those processes with related business and IT functions.

The HEA responds to disruptive forces by helping business and IT leaders facilitate the decision-making process and providing actionable recommendations on initiatives and policies to help Card Factory drive targeted business outcomes. They help business leaders enable their future-state business capabilities that, in turn, drive Card Factory’s targeted business outcomes through the choice of initiatives in which Card Factory chooses to invest.

The HEA helps business leaders achieve business outcomes and understand, monetize and operationalize existing, new and emerging technologies. They build and motivate the EA team — empowering domain architects — with coaching and mentoring to build a creative and safe learning environment.

The HEA leads, prioritizes and develops the overall enterprise architecture approach for Card Factory, and communicates architectural direction. They have purview into (and may directly manage) other architecture-related activities and the respective roles (such as business, information, solution and technical).

The HEA’s focus is to:

• Engage business and IT stakeholders, creating and building relationships
• Communicate the value of enterprise architecture, and its portfolio of services
• Design and build an EA team oriented around internal management consulting
• Drive the evolution of the EA teams’ services and operating model
• Facilitate alignment between business and IT, and across the democratized IT landscape
• Coach and mentor EA practitioners

• Master’s or bachelor’s degree in business, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, system analysis or a related field of study, or equivalent experience.
• Ten or more years of business experience in strategic and operations planning and/or business analysis.
• Ten or more years of experience in at least three disciplines, such as business, information, solution or technical architecture, application development, middleware, information analysis, database management or operations in a multitier environment.

Skills

• Knowledge of business ecosystems, SaaS, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), service-oriented architecture (SOA), APIs, open data, microservices, event-driven IT and predictive analytics.
• Knowledge of business models, operating models, financial models, cost-benefit analysis, budgeting and risk management.
• 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.
• Understanding of the different types of agile principles, methodologies and frameworks, especially those designed to be scaled at the enterprise level.
• Understanding of existing, new and emerging technologies, and processing environments.
• Strong leadership skills with exceptional soft and interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation and negotiation.
• Strong consulting skills such as targeted communications, engagement management, stakeholder management and business development.
• Knowledge of all components of enterprise architecture, business and IT principles and processes.
• Familiarity with basic graphical modelling approaches, tools and model repositories.
• Excellent analytical, planning and organizational skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, communication and presentation skills with the ability to articulate new ideas and concepts to technical and nontechnical audiences.

Card Factory is the UK’s leading specialist retailer of greetings cards, dressings, and gifts with over one thousand stores across the UK and Ireland. In 2020 we launched our exciting 5-year business strategy including our vision of becoming a true Omni-channel retailer. This strategy sees significant investment into our colleagues across the business creating multiple opportunities to join a fast-paced environment and be part of our exciting journey.

In return, we offer a wide range of benefits to support your physical, mental, and financial wellbeing.

Benefits

• Pension
• 15% Card Factory colleague discount in-store and online
• Save As You Earn scheme
• Financial Wellbeing Support
  • Financial Education Tools
  • Salary Advance
• Seasonal incentive schemes
• Retail Management Apprenticeship Programmes with local providers with access to a virtual internal network for learning together
• Discounted gym membership, mobile phone contracts, and car leasing
• Discounts across 100’s of UK retailers
• Employee Assistance Programme – access to tools to support mental, physical, and financial wellbeing
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption leave

This is an exciting role with genuine prospects for the right candidate. If this role describes you and your career aspirations, click apply now.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once sufficient suitable applications have been received. We advise applying early to avoid disappointment as applications will be reviewed regularly.

No agencies, please.