Department Summary
The Enterprise Architecture (EA) group creates the vision and guides the evolution of Consumers Energy's technical and business architecture. The development of that those architectures The team is comprised of forward-thinkers who understand the holistic view of the Consumers Energy IT environment in context of the overall business strategy and its relationship to the overall IT strategy. Members of this team are responsible for fully understanding current state, future state planning, research & development, architecture principles, technology standards and architecture governance.
Job Description/Responsibilities
The role of the Director of Enterprise Architecture is to provide leadership and strategic-level oversight as the chief architect for Consumers Energy, which includes overseeing the future state information technology strategy for multiple distinct business and technical portfolios. As such, the Director of Enterprise Architecture is responsible for not only leading a team of high performing architects, but also empowering the business strategy through developing a well thought out business architecture.
The focus of the position is to facilitate the development, endorsement, and utilization of a consistent architecture that guides the organization and the information technology department. Enterprise Architecture creates the technology plans and provides direction to the IT organization which enables the company as a whole to meet customer requirements and initiate strategic opportunities for the betterment of Consumers Energy.
Key Responsibilities include:
- Provide leadership and oversight of the Enterprise Architecture including, Business Architecture, IT Strategy Facilitation, Strategic Portfolio Development and the Technical Architecture Domains
- Provide leadership and oversight to facilitate the development, endorsement, and utilization of an enterprise architecture organization that applies professional expertise, exemplifies broad technical, analytical, and communication skills and reflects extensive knowledge about utility and technology industry best practices.
- Provide leadership and oversight in partnering with senior management to ensure that the architecture defines and demonstrates the interoperability, scalability, and portability of applications and their subcomponents to achieve optimum proficiency in all aspects of the enterprise solutions and services inclusive of: business process, end user experience, applications, databases, integrations and infrastructure.
- Provides leadership to Enterprise Architecture organization with focus on appropriating necessary skills required to achieve strategic and operational objectives. Attracts, develops and retains Enterprise Architecture team members.
- Provides leadership to develop and oversee production activities of architecture documentation including: business objectives; business architecture roadmaps; foundation principles; schematics; guidelines; enterprise standards; technology roadmaps; interoperability; communications; governance and compliance
- Develop and facilitate implementation of architectural policies, procedures and templates for use in architectural design, service transition and sustained enterprise solution operations.
- Define and integrate culture of ownership with well-defined commitments and deliverables trackable via agreed upon service levels and supporting metrics
- Analyze overall effectiveness of enterprise architecture to ensure best practices are incorporated to successfully meet the strategic goals of the company
- Develop and oversee an annual budget for Enterprise Architecture area and company's long term financial plan for technology investments to ensure that it provides the attainment of agreed upon strategic goals and objectives, seeks to maximize investment potential in a fiscally responsible manner
- Apply professional expertise and skills to review/evaluate vendor proposals submitted for the attainment of technology services and solutions to determine adherence to architectural guidelines, specifications and investment strategy
- Plan, develop, and working with Engineering and the Portfolios to administer complex proof-of-concept and/or special projects related to strategic initiatives or technology advancements
- Collaborate with Information Technology management to develop short- and long-range plans for IT resources across business and technology disciplines (e.g., hardware equipment, software, communications protocols, application development methodologies, database systems, business intelligence/modeling tools, data structures, user interfaces, information access, and information display)
- Develop recommendations for refined architectural processes that present effective planning strategies to improve overall enterprise solution activities; provide guidance and consultation services as needed to assist in the implementation of those strategies
- Pursue professional development opportunities to advance knowledge and expertise in the area of core business and technical architecture that can be incorporated into leadership and oversight responsibilities; remain current in market trends/practices (e.g., methodology, tools, technical specifications, and other developments) to effectively analyze and determine whether IT systems align with established standards
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal/external business partners to promote the success of established short- and long-term objectives and goals
- Serve on and chair the enterprise architecture review board
- Provide the IT Organization with that value proposition of Enterprise Architecture
- Provide clear communications of Technical Standards and standards across the IT organization and provide a vehicle for assuring adherence to those standards
Requirements/Qualification
- A bachelor*s degree in the preferred field of study in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems or other IT-related area, Finance, Accounting, Business or related
- 10+ years of Enterprise Architecture experience or key leadership roles with in IT
- 5+ years of experience as a technical leader of large IT programs, solutions architecture, or enterprise architecture
- Experience designing or executing architecture governance, designing large scale distributed systems, developing technology roadmaps, and performing current state architecture assessments
- Experience in developing and rolling out enterprise architecture standards
- Understanding of TOGAF or other Enterprise Architecture frameworks
- Experience in establishing IT standards based on industry best practices and implementing them across the enterprise
- Basic knowledge of financial models and budgeting with the ability to estimate the financial impact of information system alternatives
- Strong attention to detail
- Ability to operate with significant autonomy and latitude to meet business objectives
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to communicate with all levels of associates in the organization
- Ability to conceptualize, formulate, and present complex business demand / requirements via comprehensible models and templates
- Proven ability to work effectively in a team setting as well as independently with minimal error and guidance
- Excellent planning and organizational skills with an ability to understand the long-term ("big picture")
The following skills and experience will set you apart from others:
- Masters or other advanced degree, ideally in an IT or Business area
- Energy industry background that includes a working knowledge of effectively mapping technology to business challenges
- Business acumen that allows for a general understanding of all business functions playe