Data Architect

EMPLOYMENT TYPE:

Contract - 6 months

COMPANY:

Vito Solutions

LOCATION:

Cape Town

WORKING MODEL:

Hybrid

JOB OVERVIEW:

The Finance Data Architect owns the end-to-end finance data architecture, ensuring structural alignment across financial consolidation engines, Chart of Accounts (CoA), data integration pipelines, governance frameworks, and management/statutory reporting. Operating at both strategic and delivery levels, this role translates complex finance and business requirements into scalable, governed architectural designs.

DESCRIPTION OF POSITION:

1. Finance Data Architecture & Target-State Design

• End-to-End Design Ownership: Own the finance data architecture across core ERPs, operational source systems, data integration layers, financial consolidation engines, and reporting environments.

• Architecture Principles & Guardrails: Define target-state data flows, integration patterns, metadata principles, and data governance guardrails across the finance domain.

• Impact Assessment: Assess downstream impacts of architectural changes, ensuring seamless alignment across Chart of Accounts (CoA), data quality rules, consolidation behavior, and executive reporting.

2. Technical Specialist Direction & Design Assurance

• Technical & Platform Direction: Set clear priorities, technical outcomes, and architectural requirements for technical specialists, platform leads, and implementation partners.

• Design Review & Challenge: Review and challenge technical designs, data mappings, business logic rules, metadata hierarchies, and control mechanisms prior to deployment.

• Quality Assurance: Confirm technical deliverables strictly meet enterprise data architecture, control, and business requirements before production release.

3. Data Analysis & Mapping Leadership

• Work Package Management: Plan and prioritize the work of Data Analysts against program roadmaps and sprint commitments.

• Problem Decomposition: Translate complex finance, accounting, and architectural challenges into structured analytical work packages, data mappings, and impact assessments.

• Deliverable Review: Review analyst outputs for analytical rigor, data traceability, and suitability for key architecture and delivery decisions.

4. Integration, Data Quality & Control Frameworks

• Data Integration & Automation: Recommend sustainable, automated integration and data-loading approaches across disparate finance systems.

• Governance Standards: Establish rigorous standards for data mapping, metadata definition, automated reconciliation, validation rules, and data lineage.

• Risk & Issue Resolution: Drive root-cause analysis and remediation planning for material data quality risks, intercompany imbalances, and consolidation discrepancies.

5. Governance & Stakeholder Alignment

• Governance Representation: Present architectural recommendations, technical decisions, dependencies, and risk assessments to senior governance committees.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Align stakeholders across Finance, Technology/IT, Business-as-Usual (BAU) operational teams, and external consultants.

• Pragmatic Decision-Making: Maintain accountability for design decisions while balancing long-term strategic architecture with near-term delivery commitments.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

1. Domain & Industry Experience

• Finance Architecture Experience: Senior experience in finance systems design, finance data architecture, or enterprise data modeling within complex, multi-entity corporate environments.

• Consolidation & Financial Close Knowledge: In-depth domain knowledge of group financial consolidation, intercompany processing, financial close, statutory/management reporting, and reconciliation controls.

• Chart of Accounts & Metadata: Strong expertise in Chart of Accounts (CoA) design, metadata management, hierarchy structures, data mapping, and financial data governance.

2. Technical & Platform Expertise

• EPM / Consolidation Platform Oversight: Sufficient architectural depth in modern Corporate Performance Management (CPM) / Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platforms (e.g., Oracle HFM/EPM Cloud, OneStream, Anaplan, SAP Group Reporting, CCH Tagetik) to direct, review, and challenge technical specialist delivery.

• Data Integration & ETL Knowledge: Solid understanding of financial data integration tools, ETL/ELT pipelines, mapping rules, data validation, and automated loading mechanisms. (Note: Hands-on configuration is secondary to strong architectural oversight and governance leadership).

3. Leadership & Strategic Capability

• Team & Delivery Leadership: Proven ability guiding technical specialists, data analysts, and external consultants within complex delivery environments.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Strong facilitation, communication, and decision-making skills with the ability to bridge discussions between senior Finance leaders and Technology teams.

**Please note: If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.