Business Architect - Toronto, ON, Canada - University Pension Plan

Description

Friday, March 1, 2024

ABOUT UPP

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario's university sector, proudly serving over 39,000 members across four universities and 12 affiliate organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities. Together, we're a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact. Our culture is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDIR). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace. As a long-term investor, we recognize that environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors support risk management and value creation. As stated in our Responsible Investing Policy , we are committed to incorporating ESG considerations into our investment management activities and we collaborate with other industry participants in the promotion of a sustainable economy and society.

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a Business Architect, with diverse experience across multiple verticals and a proven background of hands-on architecture and capability mapping.

Reporting directly to the Senior Director, Architecture & Engineering, the Business Architect will partner with business leaders to collaboratively engage them and their teams, understand their needs, and facilitate the analysis, design, implementation, and evolution of their respective business models.

We are looking for those individuals who know that success as a Business Architect is based on quickly building a collaborative relationship with their business partners; nurturing a supportive internal and external professional network; and delivering value to the business through useful and easy to consume architectural artifacts. In addition to the business partners, the Business Architect will also work very closely alongside technology leaders (Delivery directors, Project Managers, Solution Architects) within the Technology organization.

The Business Architect must strive to build their brand as a hands-on, team-oriented member, who is always ready to roll up the sleeves to help others succeed.

Our search will give preference to candidates who bring a diverse business experience, ideally in the Pension Administration and/or Financial Investments fields, and a proven background of driving organizational decision-making with business architecture practices.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced architect to join a team of high performing professionals to make a great impact.

UPP is based in Toronto's financial district and has a hybrid work model (~2 days / week in office).

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

To be successful in the role, the Business Architect must be able to:

• Actively engage with business colleagues and leaders.
• Maintain accuracy and completeness of enterprise architecture and application portfolio in our EA repository (Ardoq).
• Adapt to different personalities and working styles.
• Quickly create trust and rapport and to work on enhancing them over time.
• Understand needs, priorities, drivers, and pressures.
• Dynamically adapt to changing circumstances.
• Quickly deliver valuable results.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

The Business Architect will be responsible for a variety of duties, including but not limited to the following:

• Design and manage the Architecture Repository.
• Establish regular touchpoints with business leaders to capture their vision and align on business capability positioning as well as supporting technology expectations.
• Capture strategic business needs, core capabilities, and aiding with defining objectives, business principles and internal and external drivers – actively stored and maintained in the EA repository.
• Maintain proper records of Applications, Vendors, Capabilities, Entities, Decisions, Key Business Dates, and Architecture Diagrams in EA repository.
• Help the business units translate directional statements describing the corporate strategy into tactical initiatives tied to capabilities, with key decisions and implications.
• Work with the business, portfolio leads, and solution architects to increase the maturity of the company by championing, educating, showing the value, and easing the adoption of more formal business architecture practices.
• Identify and communicate opportunities to Business and Technology Leaders.
• Facilitate business decision-making by leveraging:
  • Business capability models;
  • Value stream management, including stakeholders, events, value items, desired customer experiences, etc.;
  • Consistent process description practices; and
  • Other business architecture tools.
• Identify and align with business on the risks and gaps in the current and target business architecture.
• Facilitate the work of designing the target business architecture, by leading or moderating business discussions and ensuring consensus.
• Propose sustainable improvements with clear identifications of the new running costs and business benefits over time.
• Guide the business on implementation/execution activities as needed.
• Research and understand industry trends, capability models, and their applicability to support the assigned Business Unit(s).
• Contribute to UPP's reputation as a respectful employer, partner, and participant in the financial sector.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• 7+ years of combined experience in Business Architecture, Analysis, Design, Implementation, and Evolution of Business Operating Models, Value Stream Management, Product Management, Risk Management, and Customer Relationship Management.
• Proven experience with designing, implementing, and managing EA repository.
• Preferred: 5+ years of combined experience in the business domains of Pensions, Investments, and Corporate Functions.
• Proven experience using methodologies like Lean or Six Sigma to design and optimize processes to eliminate waste.
• Proven experience initiating and running Business Architecture and Business Analysis practices.
• Proven experience in at least one enterprise architecture methodology (TOGAF, Zachmann).
• Strong understanding of process modeling methodologies (e.g., BPMN 2).

ATTRIBUTES:

• Proven leadership skills, with ability to drive results while cultivating a culture of collaboration and teamwork.
• Self-motivated with a hands-on attitude.
• A lifelong learner with keen interest in learning, applying new business practices, and leading technologies.
• A strong communicator both in written and verbal communication.
• Strong commitment to innovation and continuous improvement.
• Ownership mindset.
• Commitment to excellence.

LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters . We are duty-bound to serve our members' interests, and it's a responsibility we don't take lightly. That's why we've ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together . Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it's how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win. Grow every day . You'll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career. Prioritize wellness . At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it's about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including:

• Work from abroad up to eight weeks/year
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process, so if you require accommodation at any point during the process, please let us know so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. It would be our honor to work with you to adapt our processes to ensure that you can meaningfully participate.

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