Enterprise Architect Lead

Dis-Chem Pharmacies; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 1,300,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Job summary

Dis-Chem Pharmacies seeks an Enterprise Architecture Lead to guide the EA capability and ensure cohesive, high-quality architecture outcomes across application, data, integration, and infrastructure domains. You will translate enterprise strategy into actionable guidance and roadmaps, while enabling governance and safe delivery.

The role reports to the Head of Enterprise Architecture and focuses on architecture coherence, reuse, and risk reduction without owning delivery execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 8–10+ years’ experience in enterprise or senior solution architecture roles.
• Proven experience designing and governing enterprise-scale architectures.
• Experience operating within formal architecture governance (e.g. ARB, design authority models).

Responsibilities

• Lead the Enterprise Architecture capability, including standards, methods, and quality of enterprise-level designs.
• Translate business strategy and CIO direction into target-state architectures and transition roadmaps.
• Drive simplification, reuse, and standardisation across platforms and vendors.
• Ensure non-functional requirements (security, resilience, scalability, operability) are embedded at enterprise level.
• Act as a senior authority within the Architecture Review Board (ARB).
• Review and assure solution designs for alignment to enterprise standards and target state.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

Solution architecture

Governance

Stakeholder influence

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Dis-ChemPharmacies hasanopportunityavailableforan Enterprise Architecture Lead, reporting to the Head of Enterprise Architecture, who will be accountable for leading the Enterprise Architecture capability and ensuring consistent, high-quality enterprise-level architecture outcomes across Dis-Chem. The role translates enterprise strategy, target-state direction, and architecture principles into actionable guidance, reference architectures, and roadmaps across application, data, integration, and infrastructure domains. The Enterprise Architecture Lead acts as the senior practitioner and capability leader for Enterprise Architects, ensuring architectural coherence, simplification, reuse, and risk reduction across the portfolio. The role does not own delivery execution, but enables faster, safer delivery through early architectural clarity and strong governance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• 8–10+ years’ experience in enterprise or senior solution architecture roles
• Proven experience designing and governing enterprise-scale architectures
• Experience operating within formal architecture governance (e.g. ARB, design authority models)

Decision context & boundaries

• Accountable for enterprise architecture coherence, standards, and guidance
• Operates under the mandate of the Head of Enterprise Architecture
• Provides recommendations and assurance; final decision authority remains with the Head of EA / ARB
• Does not own delivery execution, prioritisation, or platform backlogs

Responsibilities

Enterprise architecture leadership & coherence

• Lead the Enterprise Architecture capability, including standards, methods, and quality of enterprise-level designs
• Translate business strategy and CIO direction into target-state architectures and transition roadmaps
• Drive simplification, reuse, and standardisation across platforms and vendors
• Ensure non-functional requirements (security, resilience, scalability, operability) are embedded at enterprise level

Architecture governance & decision support (ARB)

• Act as a senior authority within the Architecture Review Board (ARB)
• Review and assure solution designs for alignment to enterprise standards and target state
• Identify architectural risks, cross-platform dependencies, and trade-offs early
• Recommend pragmatic decisions and transition paths to balance delivery speed, risk, and sustainability

Early enablement & portfolio alignment

• Engage early in initiative shaping, option analysis, and vendor selection
• Provide clear patterns, guardrails, and reference architectures to accelerate delivery
• Partner with Solution Architecture Lead to ensure clean handover from enterprise intent to solution design
• Prevent late-stage rework by resolving architectural questions before scope and funding are locked

Early Enablement & Delivery Support

• Embed architecture early in initiative shaping, vendor selection, and option analysis, guiding architects in translating business outcomes into delivery-ready designs.
• Support delivery teams without causing bottlenecks and partner with Platform and Squad Leads to resolve design ambiguities early.

Stakeholder collaboration & influence

• Partner closely with Platform Heads, Solution Architects, InfoSec, and Delivery leadership
• Influence architectural outcomes through credibility, clarity, and structured reasoning
• Communicate complex architectural topics clearly to senior business and IT stakeholders

Competencies

Essential:

• Strong enterprise-wide architectural capability across application, data, integration, and infrastructure
• Deep systems thinking and ability to analyse dependencies and trade-offs
• Governance-aware mindset balanced with delivery pragmatism
• Ability to influence without owning delivery backlogs or teams
• Clear executive-level communication skills

Key Performance Indicators

• Adoption of approved enterprise architecture standards and reference architectures
• Reduction in duplicated platforms, unmanaged overlap, and architectural debt
• Quality, clarity, and timeliness of enterprise architecture guidanceReduction in late-stage architectural rework and delivery disruption
• Stakeholder confidence in enterprise architecture direction and decisions
• Contribution to culture, accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement

Dis-Chem Pharmacies is an equal opportunity employer. Dis-Chem’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process aligned to Dis-Chem’s Employment Equity & Transformation Strategy. Dis-Chem actively supports the recruitment of People with Disabilities.