Enterprise Architect

Job Description

The Enterprise Architect will design, govern, and optimise DBSA’s enterprise architecture across business, data, application, and technology domains. This role ensures treasury, CRM, procurement, and ERP platforms are strategically aligned, integrated, and future-proof, enabling DBSA to modernise internal processes, deliver client-centric digital services, and achieve the digital transformation strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Architecture Strategy

• Develop and maintain DBSA’s enterprise architecture frameworks, standards, and roadmaps in alignment with the decadal strategy and growth objectives.
• Translate the organisational and digitalisation strategy into integrated architecture domains, to ensure alignment of architecture with
• DBSA’s strategic objectives, digital transformation priorities, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide architectural oversight for Treasury, Customer Relationship (CRM), procurement, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Data,
• Security, Automation and other enterprise systems.
• Support the achievement of the digitalisation strategy and digital transformation initiatives across the organisation, and align the enterprise architecture function.
• Establish and enforce architecture principles, standards, frameworks, and best practices.
• Provide architecture governance and assurance across projects, programmes, and technology initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for innovation across architecture, platforms, and processes and promote the use of emerging technologies to enhance performance.
• Benchmark DBSA’s architecture practices against international standards to drive continuous improvement in architecture maturity, tools, and methodologies.

2. Enterprise Architecture Design and Implementation

• Partner with business units to translate strategic objectives and business needs into architectural requirements.
• Design the end-to-end enterprise architecture, ensuring alignment across systems, processes, and platforms.
• Drive interoperability and integration across applications, data, and infrastructure environments...
• Review and approve solution designs to ensure compliance with enterprise architecture standards.
• Provide architectural guidance for major programmes and projects.
• Manage dependencies across systems and transformation initiatives.
• Support benefits realisation by ensuring architecture delivers measurable outcomes.
• Provide strategic advisory on technology investments, innovation, and optimisation opportunities.
• Support business case development through scenario planning and capability modelling.
• Validate and implement alignment of data architecture, governance, and analytics capabilities with business needs.

3. Risk, Compliance & Security Integration

• Embed information security, data privacy, and resilience principles into architecture frameworks.
• Collaborate with Information Security & GRC to ensure secure and compliant designs.
• Maintain risk registers for architecture decisions and monitor mitigation strategies.

4. Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders such as EXCO and the Board, as well as government entities, commercial banks, development partners, and community representatives, to drive shared objectives.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with national, provincial, and local government stakeholders.
• Manage external vendors and negotiate data acquisition contracts.
• Represent the organisation in data-related engagements with external partners.
• Communicate architecture strategies and decisions in clear, business-oriented language.
• Mentor and coach teams to build architecture capability within DBSA.
• Represent DBSA in external forums to benchmark against global best practices.

5. Reporting and Governance

• Establish and enforce governance frameworks and reporting mechanisms to ensure transparency, compliance, and effective decision-making across all operations.
• Establish and enforce architecture principles, standards, frameworks, and best practices.
• Provide architecture governance and assurance across projects, programmes, and technology initiatives.
• Review and approve solution designs to ensure compliance with enterprise architecture standards.
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting of key performance indicators, risks, and progress against strategic objectives to relevant internal and external bodies.

6. People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning to maximise individual and collective potential.
• Drive talent development initiatives, including coaching, performance management, and career pathing, to build and retain a skilled and motivated team.
• Provide direction and management to the Division, to enable strategy execution.
• Attract, retain, develop talent and ensure succession planning and sufficient capacity and capability in all critical functions, supporting diversity strategies and initiatives as well.
• Promote DBSA values and a culture of high performance through implementing performance management in line with the planned strategic objectives, goals, quality standards and agreed key performance measures using sound performance management principles.
• Contribute to building synergies & cooperation across functions in the DBSA.

Key measurements of outputs:

• Percentage alignment of enterprise architecture to DBSA’s strategic objectives and transformation roadmap.

• Timeliness and quality of architecture artefacts (frameworks, roadmaps, standards, solution designs).

• % of projects and solutions are compliant with enterprise architecture principles.

• Reduction in duplication, complexity, and cost through architecture optimisation.

• Adoption rate of architecture standards across treasury, CRM, procurement, and ERP systems.

• Effectiveness of architecture governance (measured by audit outcomes and compliance reviews).

• Stakeholder satisfaction with architecture services and decision-making processes.

• Measurable improvements in scalability, interoperability, and resilience of systems.

• Risk mitigation effectiveness in architecture decisions.

• Capability maturity improvements in enterprise architecture practices.

INTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP (*The list is not exhaustive)

• Digital & Business Transformation Division

• Senior Management

• Technology experts

• All internal stakeholders

EXTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP (*The list is not exhaustive)

• Third-party/Service providers

Expertise & Technical Competencies

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or Business Administration.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in enterprise architecture, IT strategy, or business process optimisation. This experience must include a minimum of 3 years of supervisory/leading a team experience.
• Proven track record in designing and implementing architecture frameworks within financial services or development finance institutions.
• Strong background in treasury systems, CRM platforms, procurement solutions, cloud and ERP technologies.
• Experience in business process modelling, capability mapping, and solution design.
• Hands-on experience with integration technologies and data platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and influence executives, boards, and external stakeholders.
• Exposure to regulatory compliance, risk management, and governance frameworks.

Desirable Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification (MBA, Master’s in Enterprise Architecture, Digital Transformation, or Process Engineering).
• Professional certifications such as TOGAF, COBIT, ITIL, PMP, or Agile/Scrum.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

a) Digital Literacy

• Conduct research and