Lead Enterprise Architect

Summary

A lead enterprise architect plays a high level role in ensuring the strategy is developed, agreed and followed.

At this role level, you will:

network and communicate with senior stakeholders across enterprises, and seek opportunities for improvement
support at least one community or team, or a combination of both
find and use best practice and emerging technologies and approaches
lead teams including enterprise architects and help them understand how to deliver the team’s objectives to meet organisational goals
horizon scan for influences or risks
support successful delivery of the long-term strategy
take a leading role in the overall direction of business and digital capabilities

Background

Background Components

Description	Background
Is highly experienced in communicating with stakeholders at all levels, singly and in groups. Possesses an extensive knowledge of business and business skills in more than one business sector and understands the significance of commercial constraints. Demonstrates a strong awareness of the uses of IT within industry and specifically within competitive or associated organisations operating in the same market. Demonstrates an awareness of trends in wider industry and anticipates associated implications.	Prior Knowledge and Skills

Description

Background

Is highly experienced in communicating with stakeholders at all levels, singly and in groups. Possesses an extensive knowledge of business and business skills in more than one business sector and understands the significance of commercial constraints.

Demonstrates a strong awareness of the uses of IT within industry and specifically within competitive or associated organisations operating in the same market. Demonstrates an awareness of trends in wider industry and anticipates associated implications.

Prior Knowledge and Skills

Work Activity Components

Title	Details
Assessment	Plans and leads the identification and assessment of new and emerging technologies, products, services, methods and techniques and their evaluation in terms of potential impacts, threats and opportunities to the organisation.
Development needs	Supports the identification and prioritisation of development needs for a professional practice area. Identifies development activities that align with organisational priorities, learning and development strategies and career pathways.
Communities of practice	Provides advice, guidance and, where appropriate, support for the establishment and organisation of communities of practice.
Strategic position	Identifies and responds to the key business drivers and those areas of business need which are not adequately supported by current and planned IT within the strategic planning time frame. Develops the strategic response to the business requirement and produces business cases for recommended new applications of information and communications technologies. Understands limitations imposed by technical debt and seeks strategies and mechanisms to mitigate limitations.
Environmental scanning	Taking account of the business objectives and culture of the employing organisation, evaluates major options for providing IT services effectively and efficiently and recommends solutions such as outsourcing, new approaches to recruitment and retention, and global supply contracts. Develops and presents business cases for high-level initiatives to executive management for approval, funding, and prioritisation.
Strategy implementation/ plan execution	Draws up plans for the transitions and implementation plans of authorised new applications and infrastructure support, identifying budgetary, legislative, regulatory, policy, technical and staffing constraints, and clearly showing costs and expected benefits. Plans include identification and assessment of business risks.
Strategy/ plan evaluation	Conducts post-implementation reviews of information and communications technology applications and products introduced in pursuit of the strategy, to assess the extent to which expected business benefits were realised. Conducts architecture compliance reviews of the business capabilities delivered, to understand any architecture deviations, impacts and variations from the business architecture. This includes usage of business artefacts, the relationship between them and the effectiveness of planned versus actual business architectures.
Strategy formulation	Sets out the business architecture for the organisation aligning to business functions, the business strategy and the competitive landscape. Describes the architecture in different ways for different audiences by creating specific architecture views. Demonstrates stakeholder concerns are addressed and gains agreement for the proposed architecture.

Knowledge/Skills

Knowledge/Skills Components

Title	Depth	Details	Type
Analytical Thinking		Acquiring a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated.	Behavioural Skills
Conceptual Thinking		Acquiring understanding and insights regarding the underlying issues in complex problems or situations through the development of abstract representations, the identification of patterns and the analysis of hypotheses.	Behavioural Skills
Interacting with People		Establishing relationships, contributing to an open culture and maintaining contacts with people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Effective, approachable and sensitive communicator in different communities and cultures. Ability to adapt style and approach to meet the needs of different audiences.	Behavioural Skills
Influence, Persuasion and Personal Impact		Conveying a level of confidence and professionalism when engaging with stakeholders, influencing positively and persuading others to take a specific course of action when not in a position of authority.	Behavioural Skills
Business Analysis Techniques	Proficient in	Applying techniques that help investigating, analysing, modelling and recording a business area or system of interest.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
National/International Standards	Proficient in	Current and emerging standards associated with IT practice nationally and internationally, published by authorities such as IEEE, IEC, BSI, ISO.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Operational/Service Architecture	Familiar with	Knowledge of the IT/IS infrastructure and the IT applications and service processes used within own organisation, including those associated with sustainability and efficiency.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Own Organisation’s IT Products and Services	Proficient in	The IT products and/or services supplied to internal and external customers by own organisation.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Research Field	Familiar with	Theory, current practice and latest developments in a field of computer science, telecommunications, software engineering, information systems or other cognate discipline.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Product Evaluation and Selection	Proficient in	The analytical comparison of IT products against specified criteria (including costs) to determine the solution that best meets the business need.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Big Data	Familiar with	The discipline associated with data sets so large and/or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. The data files may include structured, unstructured and/or semi-structured data, such as unstructured text, audio, video, etc. Challenges include analysis, capture, curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, manipulation, analysis, visualization and information privacy.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Cloud/Virtualisation	Proficient in	The principles and application of cloud/ virtualisation (including ownership, responsibilities and security implications). Use of tools and systems to manage virtualised environments.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Proof of Concept and Prototyping	Proficient in	Performing a proof of concept or prototyping exercise to demonstrate or evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of applying a particular technological business change in order to meet a business need.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Process Improvement Techniques	Proficient in	Methods, tools and techniques to analyse and optimise processes in order to improve the quality of a product or service.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Business Characteristics	Expert in	Organisational structures; their mission, objectives, strategies and tactics adopted by organisations; measures of performance such as critical success factors and key performance indicators; organisational cultures and cultural dimensions.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Presentation Techniques	Proficient in	Methods and techniques for delivering effective and accessible presentations, either face-to-face or online within various contexts and to a variety of audiences.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Budgets	Familiar with	Principles, methods, techniques and tools for the preparation and monitoring of budgets to manage costs and ensure cost-effectiveness and value for money.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Business Proposals	Proficient in	Methods and techniques for preparing and presenting business cases, requests for proposal (RFP) invitations to tender (ITT) and statements of requirements/work both verbally and in writing.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Techniques for Effective Meetings	Proficient in	Methods and techniques for running effective meetings and for understanding and influencing the roles played by participants.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Coaching Techniques	Familiar with	Methods and techniques for coaching individuals or groups by a balanced combination of support and direction, including use of virtual learning environments plus add-ons to augment feedback specific to work items, workflow or career plans.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Service Delivery Economics	Proficient in	The economics of service delivery, such as the cost per service line in terms of hardware, software, and manpower used to deliver the service.	Other Knowledge and Skills

Training Activities

Training Components

Title	Details
Service Delivery	The service delivery processes: the systems, products, services, hardware and software environment.
Strategic Planning for Information and Communications Systems	The process of defining the ICT strategic plan of an organisation in a methodical way based on business aims and objectives thereby enabling the specification of options and associated action plans for the use of IT-enabled business processes.
Coaching	Concepts, methods and techniques for providing coaching in subject specialisms to individuals or groups (e.g. GROW model).
Advanced Techniques for Business Process Improvement	More complex tools and techniques associated with the analysis, modelling and streamlining of business processes.
Service Management	Principles, methods and techniques for managing IT services, including the preparation, understanding and use of Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements and underpinning contracts.
Mentoring	Methods and techniques for providing mentoring support to less experienced individuals.
Latest Cyber Security Threats for Senior Execs	Short, high-level, up-to-date and to-the-point briefing on the latest threats and vulnerabilities in cyber security.

PDAs

PDA Components

Title	Details
Job Shadowing and Special Assignments	Undertaking temporary periods or secondments in other roles, inside or outside IT, particularly those that offer a new perspective on own function or exposure to other environments and cultures.
Project Assignments	Participating in a project team, working group or task force established to deliver a solution to a specific problem or issue – especially valuable if the group is inter-disciplinary.
Mentoring	Acting as a mentor, advising those for whom there is no direct responsibility, on matters to do with their job role, career and professional development.
Gaining Knowledge of Broader IT Issues	Increasing and maintaining currency of knowledge of broader IT issues through reading, attending and participating in seminars or conferences, special studies, temporary assignments etc.
Gaining Strategic Knowledge of Employing Organisation	Developing a comprehensive understanding of the business environment in which the employing organisation operates and its position, policies and direction in relation to industry, country and global issues.
Gaining Knowledge of Standards and Legislation	Gaining and maintaining knowledge of relevant national and international standards and legislation.
Participation in Professional Body Affairs	Taking an active part in professional body affairs at branch, specialist group, committee or board level.
Management Development	Undertaking learning and best practice of the skills appropriate to managing all or part of an organisation, including business and financial management, benefits management, people management, management of change and strategic planning. This will require both on and off the job learning and may include participation in an appropriate development programme such as MBA or DMS (Diploma in Management Studies).

Qualifications

Qualification Components

Title	Awarding Body
TOGAF Certification Portfolio (4 certificates)	The Open Group
Chartered IT Professional (CITP)	BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT
FEDIP Leading Practitioner	FEDIP

Organisation Skills

Framework » Organisation Category » Subcategory	Skill Name and Description	Level
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Commercial perspective You can understand and contribute to commercial contracts, procurement, sourcing and exit strategies. You can contribute to supplier selection and evaluation processes. You can use government procurement processes and frameworks such as G-Cloud, the Digital Services Framework and the Digital Marketplace. You can implement effective sourcing strategies that meet organisational needs.	3 – Practitioner You can identify appropriate contractual frameworks and approaches. You can identify, evaluate and select appropriate suppliers.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Communicating between the technical and non-technical You can communicate effectively across organisational, technical and political boundaries, understanding the context. You can make complex and technical information and language simple and accessible for non- technical audiences. You can advocate on behalf of a team and communicate what it does, to create trust and authenticity. You can successfully respond to challenges.	3 – Practitioner You can listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders and interpret them. You can effectively manage stakeholder expectations. You can manage active and reactive communication. You can support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Community collaboration You can contribute to the work of the community, building successful teams through understanding team styles and influencing and motivating team members. You can give and receive constructive feedback, enabling the feedback loop. You can moderate conflict resolution within teams. You can ensure that the team is transparent and that the work is understood externally. You can help teams maintain a focus on delivery while being aware of the importance of professional development.	3 – Practitioner You can work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others. You can adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting. You can use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – DDaT perspective You can demonstrate an understanding of user-centred design, technology and data perspectives. You can understand the range of available technology choices and can make informed decisions based on user need and value for money. You can understand the variety and complexities of digital and data contexts and can design services to meet them. You can demonstrate knowledge of the wider digital economy and advances in technology.	3 – Practitioner You can demonstrate an advanced understanding of design, technology and data principles. You can identify and implement solutions for assisted digital. You can apply knowledge to work with other digital, data and technology (DDaT) job families.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Enterprise and business architecture You can demonstrate a strong understanding of enterprise architecture and its subdomains. You can understand the organisational landscape and strategy of an organisation and can support the creation of future state architecture aligned to strategy. You can translate business drivers, goals and constraints into business objectives. You can define required capabilities and support organisational changes to create operating models that meet business objectives. You can describe and influence relationships between organisational structures, processes, technology, people and skills within and outside of an enterprise, to achieve transition to the new state.	3 – Practitioner You can support and advise on the development of a future state architecture aligned to strategy. You can lead on the translation of business drivers, goals and constraints into business objectives. You can define the capabilities required to create or develop operating models that meet business objectives.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Governance and assurance You can understand technical governance. You can participate in or deliver the assurance of a service	3 – Practitioner You can evolve and define governance. You can take responsibility for working with and supporting other staff in wider governance. You can assure services across sets of services. You can use tools such as standards, guardrails and principles to effectively govern delivery.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Making and guiding decision You can make and guide effective decisions, explaining clearly how the decision has been reached. You can understand and resolve technical disputes across varying levels of complexity and risk.	3 – Practitioner You can make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase. You can build consensus between services or independent stakeholders.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Problem definition and shaping You can look beyond the immediate problem and identify the wider implications across the whole enterprise. You can understand relevant historical context and future impact, and how current work fits in broader contexts and strategies. You can identify underlying problems and opportunities and carry out horizon scanning to identify future threats or opportunities.	3 – Practitioner You can define strategies and policies, providing guidance to others on working in the strategic context. You can evaluate current strategies to ensure business requirements are being met and exceeded where possible.
DDaT » Enterprise Architect	Enterprise Architect – Strategic design and business change You can demonstrate a strong understanding of business issues, events and activities, and their short to long term impact. You can define principles, patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements. You can effectively focus on outcomes rather than solutions and activities. You can develop, maintain or update strategy in response to feedback and findings.	3 – Practitioner You can demonstrate a good understanding of business issues, events and activities, and their short to long term impact. You can support defining principles, patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements. You can effectively focus on outcomes rather than solutions. You can help to develop, maintain or update strategy in response to feedback and findings.

Framework » Organisation
Category » Subcategory

Skill Name and Description

Level

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Commercial perspective

You can understand and contribute to commercial contracts, procurement, sourcing and exit strategies. You can contribute to supplier selection and evaluation processes. You can use government procurement processes and frameworks such as G-Cloud, the Digital Services Framework and the Digital Marketplace. You can implement effective sourcing strategies that meet organisational needs.

3 – Practitioner

You can identify appropriate contractual frameworks and approaches. You can identify, evaluate and select appropriate suppliers.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Communicating between the technical and non-technical

You can communicate effectively across organisational, technical and political boundaries, understanding the context. You can make complex and technical information and language simple and accessible for non- technical audiences. You can advocate on behalf of a team and communicate what it does, to create trust and authenticity. You can successfully respond to challenges.

3 – Practitioner

You can listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders and interpret them. You can effectively manage stakeholder expectations. You can manage active and reactive communication. You can support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Community collaboration

You can contribute to the work of the community, building successful teams through understanding team styles and influencing and motivating team members. You can give and receive constructive feedback, enabling the feedback loop. You can moderate conflict resolution within teams. You can ensure that the team is transparent and that the work is understood externally. You can help teams maintain a focus on delivery while being aware of the importance of professional development.

3 – Practitioner

You can work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others. You can adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting. You can use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – DDaT perspective

You can demonstrate an understanding of user-centred design, technology and data perspectives. You can understand the range of available technology choices and can make informed decisions based on user need and value for money. You can understand the variety and complexities of digital and data contexts and can design services to meet them. You can demonstrate knowledge of the wider digital economy and advances in technology.

3 – Practitioner

You can demonstrate an advanced understanding of design, technology and data principles. You can identify and implement solutions for assisted digital. You can apply knowledge to work with other digital, data and technology (DDaT) job families.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Enterprise and business architecture

You can demonstrate a strong understanding of enterprise architecture and its subdomains. You can understand the organisational landscape and strategy of an organisation and can support the creation of future state architecture aligned to strategy. You can translate business drivers, goals and constraints into business objectives. You can define required capabilities and support organisational changes to create operating models that meet business objectives. You can describe and influence relationships between organisational structures, processes, technology, people and skills within and outside of an enterprise, to achieve transition to the new state.

3 – Practitioner

You can support and advise on the development of a future state architecture aligned to strategy. You can lead on the translation of business drivers, goals and constraints into business objectives. You can define the capabilities required to create or develop operating models that meet business objectives.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Governance and assurance

You can understand technical governance. You can participate in or deliver the assurance of a service

3 – Practitioner

You can evolve and define governance. You can take responsibility for working with and supporting other staff in wider governance. You can assure services across sets of services. You can use tools such as standards, guardrails and principles to effectively govern delivery.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Making and guiding decision

You can make and guide effective decisions, explaining clearly how the decision has been reached. You can understand and resolve technical disputes across varying levels of complexity and risk.

3 – Practitioner

You can make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase. You can build consensus between services or independent stakeholders.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Problem definition and shaping

You can look beyond the immediate problem and identify the wider implications across the whole enterprise. You can understand relevant historical context and future impact, and how current work fits in broader contexts and strategies. You can identify underlying problems and opportunities and carry out horizon scanning to identify future threats or opportunities.

3 – Practitioner

You can define strategies and policies, providing guidance to others on working in the strategic context. You can evaluate current strategies to ensure business requirements are being met and exceeded where possible.

DDaT » Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect – Strategic design and business change

You can demonstrate a strong understanding of business issues, events and activities, and their short to long term impact. You can define principles, patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements. You can effectively focus on outcomes rather than solutions and activities. You can develop, maintain or update strategy in response to feedback and findings.

3 – Practitioner

You can demonstrate a good understanding of business issues, events and activities, and their short to long term impact. You can support defining principles, patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements. You can effectively focus on outcomes rather than solutions. You can help to develop, maintain or update strategy in response to feedback and findings.

This job role profile was created in collaboration with BCS, using Role Model Plus. BCS is the professional body that has the responsibility of updating this job family.

Summary

Background

Background Components

Work Activity Components

Knowledge/Skills

Knowledge/Skills Components

Training Activities

Training Components

PDAs

PDA Components

Qualifications

Qualification Components

Organisation Skills

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