Position description

Role purpose

The role of Head of Strategy & Architecture Services will support the General Manager, Service Development to transform business strategy into a fit for purpose business and technology architecture. They will provide recommendations for Education Payroll Limited (EPL) business and technology direction from a strategic perspective and help to clarify and strengthen EPL’s role within government and payroll industry context.

The Head of Strategy & Architecture Services position has been created to support the GM Service Development to develop the long-term future of this architectural function. The function is responsible for the Technology Strategy, Enterprise Architecture and Roadmaps, Strategic Asset Management and solutions architecture for EPL.

Key accountabilities

Managing the work

  • Lead the thinking around a more agile approach to Enterprise Architecture that focuses on having “just enough” architecture, and through an incremental approach, building capability and maturity in EPL.
  • Ownership and development of strategies, enterprise architecture and roadmaps that contribute to the achievement of EPL’s strategic objectives.
  • Undertaking asset management maturity assessments; developing asset management plans, application roadmaps and investment plans, identifying critical assets and maintaining the asset register. This position will be responsible for coordinating investment decision-making and budgeting processes, assessing business cases and investment proposals, monitoring and reporting on investment and asset performance, and working with stakeholders to align technology investment with valued business outcomes.
  • Develop the “architecture as a service” concept using 3rd party firms to provide just in time architecture support to various projects, programmes, and agile workstreams.
  • Leads the technology advisory services and architectural analysis aimed at facilitating strategic discussions with EPL senior leaders and other stakeholder group and owning the end to end technical ownership through the delivery lifecycle.
  • Ownership and development of strategic planning for the Service Development team, investment and asset management, enterprise architecture and roadmaps that contribute to the achievement of EPL’s strategic objectives.
  • Provide recommendations for EPL’s business and technology direction from a strategic perspective, helping to clarify and strengthen EPL’s role within government and payroll industry context.
  • Support Agile methodology and play an active role in embedding of Agile practices at EPL
  • Develops a technology transformation map identifying key decision points for EPL Senior Leadership.

Assurance

  • Sets and monitors standards for documentation of Architecture and Design artefacts.
  • Ensures rigorous quality assurance processes are in place for all work produced by the Architects including managing relevant adherence to architecture and design disciplines.
  • Chairs the Technical Review Board, or equivalent and other Governance committees as required.
  • Actively puts in place processes for management of issues and risks.
  • Provides input to security architecture as required.

Relationship management

  • Ensures that relationships are managed to promote effective and efficient processes to reduce risks and associated costs.
  • Establishes and maintains collaborative and cohesive working relationships between the Architecture team, other IT group heads and across EPL’s internal and external stakeholders.
  • Acquires and maintains a strong working knowledge of the education sector, EPL business environments, and our vendors, building credibility and trust with key stakeholders.
  • Active participation in Technical Review Board and other Governance committees as required.

General accountabilities, all positions

Code of conduct and policy

Familiarity and compliance with Education Payroll’s Code of Conduct and related documents; and with the organisation’s policy and procedures relating to the functions of the position held.

Health and safety

Help maintain a safe working environment within the workplace by adhering to the relevant policy and procedures relating to the position held.

Diversity and inclusion

EPL recognises that we are stronger in our diversity of people. We aim to provide all staff with real opportunities to grow personally and professionally while contributing to a great company.

Other duties and responsibilities

All employees are expected to perform other such other duties as can reasonably be regarded as incidental to their job description, and other such duties that fall reasonably within their experience and capabilities as may be assigned from time to time to meet business requirements. 

Experience and knowledge

This position requires:

  • 10 plus years of experience working within business/enterprise architecture
  • a masters/bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in relevant technology fields
  • a background in digital strategic planning, investment management, asset management and technology roadmap development
  • strong analytical and problem solving skills – able to break down complex business problems or opportunities into constituent parts and identify technology solutions to meet them
  • knowledge of the IIMM asset management framework
  • familiarity with Cabinet Office requirements for investment management
  • strong ability to communicate complex material in written and verbal mediums
  • an ability to plan, prioritise and manage busy, competing demands for your time
  • strong writing skills. Experience with procurement processes and the ability to write an RFP document
  • proven experience in providing architectural services to projects and programmes using Agile project methodologies
  • usage of IT practices and implementation of architectural frameworks
  • experience leading people
  • the ability to build strong relationships with key stakeholders and customers.

Leadership framework and EPL values

Our leadership framework outlines the expectations we have of all our people to lead themselves. It sets out additional expectations for those who lead others and lead EPL. The foundation of this model is our EPL values.
The expectations of ‘Lead Yourself’ and the EPL values apply to this position.

Outer circle. Māu anō koe e ārahi | Lead yourself. Maintain positive relationships, Hold yourself accountable, Be agile and adaptive, Show courage. Ārahi tangata | Lead people. Empower people to achieve high performance, Care about people, Lead people through conversation and communication, Build strong teams. Hē ārahi i te EPL | Lead EPL. Collaborate internally and externally, promote effective business practices and solutions to deliver EPL's strategy. Middle circle. Ō mātou uara | Our values. Work as a team, Treat everyone with respect, Learn through doing, Improve through understanding, Make things easier. Tō mātou kaupapa | Our purpose. To deliver an accurate, timely and secure payroll service to schools.

Relationships and customers

Internal:                                                       

  • CEO & Board
  • Senior leadership team
  • Employees of Education Payroll Limited

External:                                                                     

  • Industry bodies
  • Third party providers
  • Ministry of Education   
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If you have more questions about this role email myhr@edpay.nz and we will be able to get you talking to the right people.