Senior Change & Culture Architect

Sun International; South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Job summary

AECOM in South Africa is seeking a Senior Professional Architect (Data Centre) to lead architectural design and data centre infrastructure planning across project phases.

The role involves design coordination, BIM model management, client engagement, and mentoring junior staff, with a focus on sustainable, compliant, and cost-effective solutions.

Qualifications

• B.Arch or BSc Architecture degree and professional registration.
• 12+ years postgraduate experience in architectural design.
• Experience with data centre infrastructure planning and BIM.

Responsibilities

• Architectural design and data centre infrastructure planning across project phases.
• Design coordination with disciplines to ensure seamless integration.
• Lead and mentor team members; manage client engagements and expectations.
• Value engineering, sustainability assessments and regulatory compliance.

Skills

Architectural design

Data centre planning

BIM coordination

Team leadership

Client engagement

Education

B.Arch or BSc Architecture

Tools

BIM software

Job description

Company Description AECOM's Enterprise Capabilities team is looking for a Senior Professional Architect (Data Centre) to join our team in our South Africa offices.

About Enterprise Capabilities Fundamental to our Think and Act Globally strategy and digital adoption, Enterprise Capabilities (EC) is AECOM's primary vehicle for workshare. Operating across geographic boundaries and time-zones, EC partners with regional and Global Business Line project teams to provide technical expertise, accelerate delivery and keep AECOM competitive in the industry. With a team of over 3000 technical professionals located across nine countries and remote technical anchors, EC teams are trusted to deliver high-quality, specialist services that help to fill capability gaps, resourcing needs and technical constraints on projects of all scopes and sizes.

Start here. Grow here.

Job Description The Senior Architect serves as a fully capable professional in an architectural design team. The Senior Architect plans (including budget and resources), schedules, organizes, coordinates, and executes the design work on any and all phases of development on small to medium scale projects (or distinct portions of larger projects), with regular interaction with an Associate or designated senior team member.

• Architectural design and data centre infrastructure planning, including management of BIM models and drawing production to ensure design brief compliance, completeness, and accuracy
• Design coordination within Architecture and across all related disciplines to ensure seamless integration
• Design coordination with Engineering and cross-disciplinary teams to resolve technical conflicts and optimize solutions
• Design delivery oversight, ensuring compliance with design briefs, coordination requirements, completeness, and accuracy throughout all project phases
• Guidance and management of team members and junior staff, fostering professional development and maintaining high performance standards
• Client engagement and stakeholder management, including regular communication, presentations, and expectation alignment
• Team leadership and mentoring to cultivate architectural excellence and support career progression within the organization
• Value engineering and cost optimization strategies to deliver efficient, cost-effective solutions without compromising design integrity
• Sustainability and energy efficiency assessment, incorporating best practices for data centre environmental performance and operational resilience
• Compliance review and regulatory adherence, ensuring all designs meet applicable building codes, industry standards, and data centre-specific requirements
• Risk assessment and mitigation planning to identify potential design and construction challenges and develop proactive solutions
• Project budget management and resource allocation, monitoring expenditures and optimizing resource utilization throughout project delivery.

Qualifications B.Arch or BSc Architecture; 12+ Years post graduate experience; Professionally registered as an Architect with SACAP.

Additional Information At AECOM, we will have freedom to grow in a world of opportunity. Our Freedom to Grow philosophy supports flexibility and balance to help our people thrive. As part of this approach, we ask all hybrid employees to work from an AECOM office at least three days per week. We are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM AECOM is proud to offer comprehensive benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees. Depending on your employment status, AECOM benefits may include medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, disability benefits, paid time off, leaves of absences, voluntary benefits, perks, flexible work options, well-being resources, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, service recognition awards, retirement savings plan, and employee stock purchase plan. AECOM is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients' complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle - from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. Learn more at aecom.com.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in your potential and are here to help you achieve it. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

ReqID: J
Business Line: Architecture
Business Group: DCS
Strategic Business Unit: Enterprise Capabilities
Career Area: Design
Work Location Model: Hybrid