January 27, 2023

IT- Enterprise Architect (Director)

Locations: Baton Rouge, LA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Des Moines, IA; Rosemont/Chicago, IL

Kuvare is a growth-oriented insurance platform that delivers diversified annuities, life insurance, and supplemental products to the middle-income and mass-affluent consumer segments through its acquisition-led growth strategy. Kuvare provides proven capabilities, strategic support, substantial resources, and patient capital to help insurance companies pursue and achieve sustainable growth opportunities. With its patient capital, Kuvare targets differentiated annuity and life insurance companies to bring into its family of brands.

Summary/Objective

Kuvare Corporate Management is searching for an Enterprise Architect, Director. The role of the Enterprise Architect, Director is to enable enterprise architects and business and IT leaders to make investment decisions that balance and prioritize current operational demands, disruptions, and opportunities with the longer-term strategic vision of the organization. Furthermore, the enterprise architect provides technology guidance, road maps, principles, standards, and best practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to

  • Provides overall direction, guidance, and definition of IT architecture to effectively support the corporate business strategy.
  • Supports all architectural disciplines and champions’ architectural initiatives.
  • Reviews existing business processes and establishes metrics to improve business processes, as well as support of all architectural disciplines under their direction.
  • Establishes and oversees the architecture team, including the recruitment, development, and maintenance of the architecture staff.
  • Leads programs to develop, maintain, and govern the enterprise architecture across the organization.
  • Works on highly complex projects that require in-depth knowledge across multiple specialized architecture domains.
  • Leads the EA review board and ensures that the solutions are compliant with target-state architecture models.
  • Aligns architecture strategy with business goals.
  • Defines, explains, and advocates technology strategy.
  • Develops and communicates architectural policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures.
  • Promotes the EA process, outcomes, and results to the organization and senior leadership.
  • Leads and facilitates the creation of governing principles to guide EA decision making.
  • Leads the EA governance processes.
  • Manages exceptions to architectural standards at an enterprise level.
  • Reviews and/or analyzes and develops architectural requirements as needed for the organization.
  • Ensures the conceptual completeness of the technical solutions.
  • Leads teams in developing technology plans.
  • Approves modification of the enterprise architecture to accommodate project needs.
  • Provides strategic consultation to business and IT leaders.
  • Advises on options, risks, costs versus benefits, system impacts, and technology priorities.
  • Works with business leaders to understand business requirements and help them understand how technology tradeoffs influence strategy.
  • Consults with project teams to fit projects to enterprise architecture, as well as to identify when it is necessary to modify the enterprise architecture.
  • Develops a communication plan for architecture at the enterprise level.
  • Directs the research and evaluation of emerging technology, industry, and market trends.
  • Ensures recommendations are based on business relevance, appropriate timing, and deployment.
  • Approves the tools and components used within the enterprise.
  • Works with senior leadership to approve allocation of budget to meet architectural initiatives critical to business/mission success.
  • Collaborates with project management and IT leaders to ensure progress towards architectural alignment with project goals and requirements.
  • Defines the skills, competencies in the skills, and talents for architecture team members, and works with human resources to acquire staff.
  • Responsible for the overall training and development of the architecture team

Upon request, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Requirements

Knowledge and Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree and/ or MBA in computer science, information systems, computer engineering, system analysis, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
  • 15 or more years of IT and business/industry work experience including architecture design and deployment, systems lifecycle management, and infrastructure planning and operations.
  • Leadership experience in managing multiple, large, cross-functional teams or projects, and influencing senior level management and key stakeholders.
  • Requires exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments.
  • Knowledge of all components of holistic enterprise architecture, business re-engineering principles and processes, and basic knowledge of financial models and budgeting.

Skills/Competencies

  • Strong written and oral communication skills.
  • Strong presentation and interpersonal skills.
  • Strong customer service orientation, and the ability to present ideas in business-friendly and user-friendly language
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
  • Ability to learn quickly and take on new responsibilities.

Kuvare company is an equal opportunity employer that makes hiring decisions based on merit, qualifications, and the business need. We are dedicated to a policy of nondiscrimination in employment on any basis including age, sex, color, race, creed, national origin, religious persuasion, marital status, political belief, or disability that does not prohibit performance of essential job functions. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply.

Apply for this role