Enterprise Architect

Overview
Springer Nature (SN) is seeking to hire an Enterprise Architect to join our Enterprise Architecture team. As a key member of the team, you will provide thought leadership, strategic direction, and architectural expertise to ensure that our enterprise architecture principles, frameworks, and practices align with the organisation's overall business strategy. You will work across both business and technology domains, ensuring that architecture practices and decisions drive business transformation, enable scalability, and align with industry best practices. This role is pivotal in fostering a consensus-driven, collaborative environment, particularly in organisations with a low architecture mandate.

As an Enterprise Architect, you will work closely with senior leaders, key stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to build the foundations for a robust and future-proof architecture. Your primary focus will be on establishing architecture frameworks, developing architectural principles, and leading cultural change within the organisation.

In this role, you will:

• Work closely with the Chief Architect and other senior stakeholders to shape and drive the enterprise architecture strategy.
• Lead the development, governance, and application of architecture principles and standards across the organisation, ensuring alignment with business objectives and emerging technology trends.
• Support business and technical teams in defining and implementing architecture blueprints and metamodels.
• Champion the adoption of architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, ArchiMate, or similar, and drive the alignment of these frameworks with business goals and strategies.
• Collaborate with leaders across the organisation to ensure the implementation of enterprise-wide architectural decisions.
• Act as a change agent to foster a culture of architecture in a consensus-driven decision-making environment, with a focus on building collaboration across technical and business teams.
• Provide strategic guidance on emerging technologies, platform architectures, and industry trends that can support and enhance business outcomes.

What You Will Be Doing

Defining and Implementing Architecture Frameworks

• Develop and promote enterprise architecture frameworks, principles, and standards that align with Springer Nature’s long-term strategic vision.
• Lead the development of business capability models and enterprise-wide metamodels to create a clear, consistent view of the organisation's architecture.
• Support the enterprise-wide adoption of architectural governance practices and work with stakeholders to ensure compliance with architectural standards.

Supporting Strategic Business Change

• Work with senior stakeholders to identify business transformation opportunities where enterprise architecture can play a pivotal role in enabling change.
• Lead the development of architecture roadmaps to guide the organisation’s journey from its current state to future architectural visions.
• Collaborate with business leaders and product owners to ensure that architecture decisions are aligned with strategic business objectives.

Cultural Change and Consensus Building

• Lead initiatives to improve architectural maturity within the organisation, especially in a consensus-driven, low-mandate environment.
• Foster a culture of architecture within the organisation by providing guidance and facilitating workshops that promote understanding and buy-in from all stakeholders.
• Encourage collaborative decision-making processes that consider both technical and business perspectives.

Guiding Enterprise Architecture Practices

• Define and maintain a set of architecture principles that guide design and decision-making across the business.
• Work with teams across the organisation to ensure that solutions align with both business requirements and architectural standards.
• Provide guidance and oversight for enterprise architecture activities, ensuring compliance with agreed practices.

Skills Required for the Role

Your Experience

• You have a strong understanding of enterprise architecture frameworks, principles, and metamodels.
• You are experienced in working in organisations with a low architecture mandate and a consensus-driven decision-making culture.
• You have been exposed to multiple technology environments and understand the challenges of aligning architecture with evolving business needs.
• You have practical experience in defining and implementing architecture blueprints and roadmaps.
• You have experience with industry-recognised architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, ArchiMate, or similar.
• You are skilled in developing and communicating architectural principles, standards, and frameworks.

Your Capabilities and Competencies

• You are a thought leader in enterprise architecture with the ability to influence senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• You have strong cultural change skills, with a demonstrated ability to foster collaboration and consensus in a diverse organisational environment.
• You can translate complex business needs into architectural solutions, ensuring that strategic objectives are met.
• You are motivated by delivering long-term business outcomes and helping the organisation evolve through architectural innovation.
• You are highly skilled in navigating organisational dynamics and influencing decision-making across both business and technology domains.
• You understand the importance of business capabilities, value streams, and business processes in shaping enterprise architecture.
• You are experienced in providing architectural governance and ensuring compliance with agreed standards and practices.

Your Experience So Far Includes

• Excellent written and spoken command of the English language.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including community building and facilitation, and the ability to work with diverse teams.
• Ability to work with geographically distributed teams in a “remote-first” environment.
• Exposure to a variety of technology stacks and platforms, including but not limited to cloud platforms, databases, integration tools, and enterprise systems.
• Familiarity with strategic and emerging technology trends and the practical application of these trends in business and operating models.
• A deep understanding of technology governance, architectural frameworks, and the role of enterprise architecture in achieving business transformation.

Desirable Experience

• Experience working in organisations with a low architecture mandate or consensus-driven decision-making environments.
• Experience in the publishing industry is desirable, but not a requirement.

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