Specialist: Information Architecture

Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

The Information Architect is responsible for designing, governing, and evolving the enterprise information architecture across the Corporate and Investment bank in aligned with group strategy. This role ensures that data assets are structured, governed, accessible, and aligned to business and regulatory requirements. The Information Architect collaborates across business units, platform teams, data engineering, security, and risk to define enterprise information standards and ensure consistent, high-quality data flows across the organisation.

Job Description

1. Role Purpose 

The Information Architect is responsible for designing, governing, and evolving the enterprise information architecture across the Corporate and Investment bank in aligned with group strategy. This role ensures that data assets are structured, governed, accessible, and aligned to business and regulatory requirements. The Information Architect collaborates across business units, platform teams, data engineering, security, and risk to define enterprise information standards and ensure consistent, high-quality data flows across the organisation. 

2. Key Responsibilities 

Enterprise Information Strategy & Architecture 

Develop and maintain the Enterprise Information Architecture (EIA) including conceptual, logical, and canonical models. 

Define and enforce standards for data modelling, metadata management, data lineage, and data quality. 

Design information architectures that support key business domains (e.g., Corporate, Risk, Finance, Payments, Treasury). 

Ensure alignment between BU-specific data architectures and group-wide standards. 

Data Governance & Compliance 

Support the implementation of data governance frameworks in partnership with Data Management and Compliance. 

Ensure all information architectures adhere to regulatory and internal policies (e.g., POPIA, AML/KYC, data retention). 

Assist in the definition of policies and guidelines for data classification, security, and lifecycle management. 

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement 

Engage with business architecture, enterprise and solution architecture, and platform engineering to ensure data design consistency across initiatives. 

Work with BU data teams to promote adoption of enterprise standards and resolve data integration challenges. 

Provide guidance to solution architects, analysts, and engineers on information modelling best practices. 

Innovation & Future-State Enablement 

Influence target-state architecture decisions for data platforms, master data solutions, and metadata tooling. 

Evaluate emerging technologies and propose improvements to enhance data discoverability, data governance, and interoperability. 

3. Required Skills & Experience 

Technical Skills 

Strong experience in data modelling (conceptual, logical, physical), particularly in complex financial services environments. 

Proficiency with modelling tools. 

Familiarity with modern data ecosystems: data lakes, warehouses, lakehouses, streaming platforms, metadata/catalog solutions. 

Knowledge of banking-specific data domains (customers, accounts, payments, risk, credit, transactional data). 

Experience with data lineage, metadata management, MDM and data quality frameworks. 

Soft Skills 

Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

Proven ability to influence, negotiate, and build relationships across business and technology. 

Strong analytical and conceptual thinking. 

Ability to explain complex data concepts in simple terms to senior leadership. 

4. Qualifications 

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field (Master's preferred). 

Certification in data management or enterprise architecture (e.g., CDMP, TOGAF) is advantageous. 

7+ years experience in data architecture, information architecture, or enterprise data roles—preferably within financial services or highly regulated industries. 

5. Key Outcomes & Measures of Success 

Adoption of enterprise information standards across business units. 

Improved data quality, lineage visibility, and metadata richness. 

Reduction in duplicated and inconsistent data structures. 

Consistent information flows supporting cross-bank processes and analytics. 

Alignment with compliance and regulatory data obligations. 

Stakeholder satisfaction across technology, risk, and business domains. 

6. Working Model 

Hybrid with on-site collaboration during key workshops and architecture forums. 

Regular participation in Architecture Council, Data Governance Board, and major programme steering committees. 

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Data Science, Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised

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