Enterprise Architect - IT

Job Title: Enterprise Architect, IT

Reports To: Senior Director – Information Technology

Business Unit: ACCBC

Function: Information Technology

Location: Dubai, UAE

Purpose of the Job

The Enterprise Architect defines and governs the target-state architecture for ACCBC across applications, data, integration, cloud, security, and AI. The role translates business strategy into a secure, scalable, cost-effective technology landscape and establishes the standards, principles, patterns, and governance required to ensure technology investments deliver measurable business value across ACCBC’s multi-country operations.

The role has particular focus on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) programme, enterprise integration, Microsoft Fabric, AI enablement, architecture governance, and solution assurance.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Architecture Strategy & Governance

• Define and continuously evolve the enterprise target-state architecture and multi-year technology roadmap.
• Translate business priorities into architecture roadmaps, transition states, and technology investment recommendations.
• Establish and chair the Architecture Review Board / Design Authority, including architecture decision records and clear decision rights.
• Define architecture principles, standards, reference architectures, and reusable design patterns.
• Maintain the application portfolio and technology catalogue, driving legacy rationalization and reduction of technical debt.
• Advise on build-vs-buy decisions, platform selection, and total cost of ownership.

Application & ERP Architecture – Microsoft Dynamics 365

• Own end-to-end solution architecture for the D365 programme across Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Sales.
• Govern D365 extension strategy, promoting fit-to-standard and minimizing unnecessary customization.
• Define environment strategy, ALM, release management, and deployment approaches for D365 and connected applications.
• Architect the transition and coexistence between legacy ERP platforms and D365 throughout the rollout.
• Define localization, statutory, tax, and multi-currency architecture patterns across countries.
• Ensure D365 architecture supports performance, scalability, security, supportability, and licensing efficiency.
• Provide architectural oversight for CRM, HR, Procurement, Tax, Audit, and commercial applications.

Enterprise Integration Architecture

• Define the enterprise integration strategy covering APIs, event-driven architecture, messaging, ETL/ELT, and B2B/EDI.
• Govern integration platforms including Azure Integration Services, API Management, Logic Apps, Service Bus, Event Grid, Power Platform, or equivalent iPaaS technologies.
• Establish standards for data models, interfaces, error handling, monitoring, reconciliation, security, and observability.
• Maintain the enterprise interface catalogue and promote reusable integration patterns over point-to-point solutions.
• Govern integration performance, resilience, scalability, and operating cost.

Data & Analytics Architecture – Microsoft Fabric

• Define the enterprise data architecture and analytics roadmap using Microsoft Fabric, covering OneLake, lakehouse, warehouse, data pipelines, real-time intelligence, and Power BI.
• Establish data layering, ownership, certified datasets, and master data governance to support a single source of truth.
• Define data governance, lineage, cataloguing, classification, retention, and quality frameworks.
• Ensure the data platform supports IBP, forecasting, scenario modelling, predictive analytics, and AI use cases.

AI Architecture & Innovation

• Evaluate GenAI, Copilot, agentic AI, and machine-learning capabilities for enterprise adoption.
• Define AI reference architecture covering model selection, retrieval and grounding, agent orchestration, prompt/context management, evaluation, and observability.
• Identify and architect high-value AI use cases across Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Commercial functions.
• Establish responsible-AI governance covering privacy, access control, human oversight, auditability, bias, hallucination controls, and cost management.
• Support AI adoption through reference implementations, architecture guidance, training, and change management.
• Measure business impact and re-architect or retire use cases that do not deliver value.

Cloud, Infrastructure & Security

• Define primarily Azure-based cloud architecture, including landing zones, networking, identity, resilience, and cost management.
• Set standards for availability, scalability, performance, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
• Govern hybrid and edge requirements across manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution environments.
• Embed security-by-design and privacy-by-design across solutions, integrations, and data.
• Define identity and access architecture, including role design, segregation of duties, privileged access, and conditional access.
• Partner with Cybersecurity, Internal Audit, Risk, and Legal to ensure regulatory, privacy, and audit requirements are met.

Delivery Assurance & Vendor Governance

• Provide architectural assurance across the project portfolio and approve solution designs before build.
• Support business cases with architecture options, effort estimates, and TCO analysis.
• Define technical evaluation criteria for RFPs and assess vendor and system-integrator proposals.
• Ensure technology partners comply with ACCBC architecture standards and quality expectations.
• Ensure supportability and operational requirements are incorporated from the outset.

Stakeholder Engagement & Capability Building

• Act as a trusted technology advisor to business and functional leaders, translating business needs into practical technology solutions.
• Mentor architects, developers, and functional consultants and raise architectural and AI capability across IT.
• Maintain clear, current, and usable architecture documentation.
• Collaborate across IT and business functions to drive effective implementation.

Key Performance Indicators

• Coverage and currency of enterprise architecture and roadmap.
• Architectural conformance and solution quality.
• D365 fit-to-standard and level of customization.
• Reuse of integrations, APIs, and reference patterns.
• Data quality, lineage, and reporting reliability.
• AI use cases deployed and measurable business impact.
• Reduction in technical debt and legacy application footprint.
• Technology cost and licence optimization.
• Stakeholder satisfaction with architecture support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Master’s degree or MBA preferred.
• Certifications such as TOGAF, D365 Solution Architect, Azure Solutions Architect, Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI, CISSP/CISM/ISO 27001, PMP, PRINCE2, or SAFe are highly desirable.

Experience

• Minimum 12 years of progressive IT experience, including at least 5 years in enterprise or solution architecture within large, complex organizations.
• Proven ownership of at least one major ERP implementation (D365, SAP, Oracle), with strong D365 experience preferred.
• Strong experience in enterprise integration, API-led and/or event-driven architecture.
• Experience with modern data platforms such as Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, Synapse, Databricks, or equivalent, including lakehouse and Power BI architecture.
• Proven experience architecting AI/GenAI solutions that reached production and delivered measurable business value.
• Strong Azure cloud architecture experience covering landing zones, identity, security, resilience, and cost management.
• Experience working across multi-country, multi-currency environments, preferably in manufacturing, FMCG, or distribution.
• Experience establishing architecture governance, standards, design authorities, and architecture decision records.
• Strong vendor and system-integrator governance experience.
• Experience working with senior executives, Finance, Supply Chain, Commercial, HR, Audit, and Risk stakeholders.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Strong balance of strategic thinking and execution.
• Business and finance-oriented technology mindset.
• Ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Strong documentation, modelling, and design discipline.
• High ownership, resilience, and pragmatism.

Reporting / Leadership

• Typically an individual contributor role with no direct line reports.
• Provides dotted-line technical leadership to Solution, Integration, and Data Architects.
• Provides architectural guidance to D365 consultants, integration and data engineering teams, and system integrators.