General Manager: Architecture and Governance

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

To lead and govern the implementation, adoption, and optimisation of enterprise architecture and IT governance practices within the division, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy, standards, and regulatory requirements.

The role is accountable for translating architecture direction into practical, scalable, and compliant technology solutions, ensuring an efficient, secure, and fit-for-purpose ICT landscape.

The role acts as the key interface between divisional IT and enterprise architecture functions, ensuring alignment, managing controlled deviations, and providing feedback to inform architecture direction, while enabling business performance, operational efficiency, and digital innovation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

Divisional Architecture Strategy & Alignment: Define and drive a coherent divisional architecture strategy and roadmap aligned to enterprise direction and business objectives, ensuring standardisation, scalability, and appropriate risk management. Own and maintain architecture principles, reference architectures, standards, and target-state models to guide consistent and sustainable solution design.

IT Governance, Risk & Compliance: Establish and embed robust IT governance practices to ensure compliance with regulatory, audit, and organisational requirements, while proactively identifying, managing, and mitigating technology-related risks. Govern and maintain current-, transition-, and target-state architecture artefacts to ensure consistency, traceability, and alignment with defined standards.

Architecture Governance & Design Authority: Lead and enforce architecture governance through structured design authority processes, ensuring all solutions comply with defined standards, are fit-for-purpose, and support long-term integration, security, and performance requirements. Oversee architecture reviews and manage deviations, ensuring appropriate escalation and approval where required.

IT Portfolio Optimisation: Drive the strategic management and value optimisation of the IT portfolio to ensure alignment with business capabilities, reduce redundancy, improve cost efficiency, and enable scalable, integrated, and fit-for-purpose technology solutions across the division.

IT Due Diligence & Strategic Enablement: Lead IT input into strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, and expansions, ensuring informed decision-making through assessment of technology risks, integration feasibility, and alignment to architecture standards.

Stakeholder Integration & EA Interface: Act as the primary interface between divisional stakeholders and enterprise architecture functions, ensuring alignment of priorities, effective communication, and incorporation of business needs into architecture decisions.

People Leadership & Capability Development: Lead and develop high-performing teams, building critical technical and leadership capability. Drive performance, succession, and a culture of accountability and collaboration.

REQUIRED EDUCATION

ESSENTIAL EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

DESIRED EDUCATION

• Postgraduate qualification in IT, Enterprise Architecture, or Business


• TOGAF or equivalent certification


• COBIT / ITIL certifications

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 10 years in IT, with 5+ years in architecture or governance leadership roles


• Experience in enterprise architecture implementation, governance, and large-scale systems environments


• Exposure to application portfolio management and systems integration


• Experience engaging senior stakeholders and leading cross-functional teams


• Experience in governance, risk and compliance frameworks (COBIT, ITIL, ISO)

DESIRED EXPERIENCE

• Experience in healthcare or regulated environments


• Exposure to digital transformation (cloud, data, integration)


• Experience in IT due diligence (M&A, expansions)


• Experience in complex, multi-entity environments

REQUIRED JOB SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE