Head of Enterprise Architecture

BMS; City of London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A global insurance and financial services firm based in London is seeking a Head of Enterprise Architecture to shape the future technology landscape. This role involves defining enterprise strategies, leading architecture teams, and ensuring alignment with business goals. Ideal candidates will have experience in IT transformation in a leadership position within the sector. The role offers a full-time position with competitive benefits.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in IT and business transformation, preferably in insurance or financial services.
• Proven track record in enterprise-wide architecture strategies connecting business and technology.
• Strong background across multiple architecture domains including data and security.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve enterprise architecture strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Lead and inspire the architecture team across various technology domains.
• Drive adoption of modern architecture principles for innovation.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Enterprise architecture frameworks

Leadership

Communication

Commercial acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

TOGAF

BIZBOK

Zachman

Job description

Head of Enterprise Architecture

BMS Group City Of London, England, United Kingdom

Reports to: Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dotted to Group Head of Change

The Head of Enterprise Architecture will shape the future business and technology landscape of BMS Group. This role bridges business strategy, technology execution and change, ensuring that strategic intent translates into effective operating models, business capabilities, and delivery roadmaps.

The successful candidate will be responsible for building a business-aligned, capability-led architecture function that drives measurable business value, innovation, and scalability across the Group. Acting as strategist, advisor, and influencer, the Head of Enterprise Architecture will enable BMS to deliver change efficiently, strengthen resilience, and accelerate growth.

This role sits within Technology for delivery alignment but works in close partnership with Group Change to ensure enterprise architecture is fully embedded in the design and governance of business transformation.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define, own, and evolve the enterprise and business architecture strategy, ensuring it directly supports BMS Group’s business objectives across Reinsurance, Specialty, International, and Retail pillars.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CTO, Head of Group Change, and senior executives on both business capability development and technology investment decisions.
• Partner with Group Change to translate business strategy into enterprise-wide operating models, business capabilities, and change roadmaps.
• Lead, develop, and inspire the architecture team, ensuring expertise spans business, data, application, and technology domains.
• Establish a clear two-year roadmap to mature BMS’s architecture capability, aligning technology and business outcomes.

Architecture Development and Delivery

• Design and govern a holistic enterprise architecture that connects business strategy, capabilities, processes, data, and technology into a cohesive blueprint for change.
• Develop and maintain enterprise business capability maps, value streams, and target operating models to support prioritisation and investment decisions.
• Ensure technology architecture evolves in line with business needs, balancing agility, resilience, and scalability.
• Drive adoption of modern architecture principles (e.g., cloud‑native, API‑first, data‑driven, AI‑first) to enable innovation and integration across the enterprise.
• Partner with business leaders to identify capability gaps, process improvements, and opportunities for simplification and automation.

Change Interaction, Governance and Assurance

• Act as a standing member of Change Co, working groups, and SteerCos, ensuring that change initiatives align with enterprise and business architecture principles.
• Support portfolio planning, prioritisation, and investment governance through architecture insights and capability‑based analysis.
• Define and implement business capability and value stream governance to track delivery outcomes against strategic objectives.
• Work closely with Information Security, Data, and Risk functions to ensure compliance with regulatory, security, and operational standards.

Stakeholder Engagement and Influence

• Build strong relationships with senior business and functional leaders, fostering a shared enterprise‑wide view of capabilities, dependencies, and priorities.
• Facilitate workshops to drive shared understanding of architecture principles and how they translate into change outcomes.
• Communicate complex architecture and business design concepts in accessible ways to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Represent BMS externally, contributing to industry thinking and strategic partnerships that advance the enterprise and business architecture vision.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement

• Stay at the forefront of emerging trends in enterprise and business architecture, ensuring BMS continues to evolve its capability maturity.
• Lead pilots and proofs of concept that explore new operating models, digital capabilities, and automation opportunities, scaling successful outcomes across the Group.
• Continuously identify opportunities to enhance operational efficiency, customer experience, and organisational agility through effective architecture practices.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related field.
• Master’s degree or equivalent experience preferred.

Experience

• Insurance or financial services industry experience strongly preferred, with understanding of regulatory, operational, and customer dynamics.
• Significant experience in IT and business transformation, including leadership roles within enterprise or business architecture.
• Proven track record of developing and executing enterprise‑wide architecture strategies that connect business and technology outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience leading high‑performing teams and driving cross‑organisational change.
• Strong background across multiple architecture domains (business, data, applications, infrastructure, and security).

Skills

• Strategic and visionary thinker with the ability to connect business strategy, capabilities, and technology execution.
• Expertise in enterprise and business architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, BIZBOK, Zachman) and modern architecture practices (cloud, APIs, data platforms).
• Commercial acumen with a focus on business value realisation and capability maturity.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, able to influence and inspire at all levels.
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities, able to simplify complex concepts for both technical and business audiences.

Personal Attributes

• Visionary and forward‑looking, with a passion for shaping how technology and business architecture enable transformation.
• Collaborative and inclusive, building trust and alignment across diverse stakeholders.
• Resilient and adaptable, thriving in a fast‑paced and evolving environment.
• Committed to continuous learning, professional growth, and the development of others.

Seniority level

Director

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Information Technology, Quality Assurance, and Strategy/Planning

Industries

Insurance, Technology, Information and Media, and Financial Services