Job Title

Let''s Write Africa''s Story TogetherOld Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this. Job DescriptionThe key focus for the Senior Data Architect is to perform planning aligned to key data solutions, build and participate the architecture capability building, perform data architecture and design, manage data architecture risk and compliance, provide design and build governance and support and communicate and share knowledge around the architecture practices, guardrails, blueprints and standards related to the data solution design. Area: Data Technology & Data ManagementLocation: Cape Town | Johannesburg | Durban PlanningLeaddata solution requirements gathering and ensure alignment with business objectives and constraints.Define and refine data architecture runways for intentional architecture with the key stakeholdersProvide input into business cases and costingParticipate and provide data architectural runway requirements into Programme Increment (PI) Planning Architecture CapabilityDesign and implement enterprise-grade data architectures leveraging Databricks and cloud-native technologies.Develop and overseedata architecture views and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture.Maintain and oversee the data solution artifacts in the set enterprise repository and knowledge portals aligned to the rest of the architectureManage the data architecture processes based on the requirements for each architypeManage change impact of the data architecture with stakeholdersDevelop and participate in the build of the data architecture practice with embedded architects and engineers including the relevant methods, repository and toolsManage the data architecture considering the business, application, information/data and technology viewpointsEstablish, enforce and implement data standards, guardrails, frameworks, and patterns Solution DesignLead and reviewlogical and detailed data architectureEvaluate and approvedata solution options and technology selectionsSelect appropriate technology, tools and build for the solutionOversee and maintainthe data solution blueprintsDrive incremental modernisation initiatives in the delivery areaDefine data modeling standards, governance frameworks, and best practices for structured and unstructured data. Risk, Governance and ComplianceIdentify, assess and mitigaterisks at a data solution architecture levelEnsure and enforcecompliance with policies, standards, and regulationsLeaddata architecture reviews and integrate with governance functionsIntegrate with other governance and compliance functions to ensure continuity in managing the investment and risk for the organisation pertaining to the solution architecturesEstablish and providedata standards, guidance, and tools to delivery teams. Implementation and CollaborationEstablish and provide data solution architectures and tools to the delivery and data engineering teamsLead and facilitatecollaboration with delivery teams to achieve architecture objectivesManage and resolvedeviations and ensure up-to-date data solution design documentationIdentify opportunities to optimise delivery of solutionsOversee and conductpost-implementation reviewsEnsure the data architecture supports CI/CD pipelines to facilitate rapid and reliable deployment of data solutionsImplement automated testing frameworks for data solutions to ensure quality and reliability throughout the development lifecycle.Establish performance monitoring and optimisation practices to ensure data solutions meet performance benchmarks and can scale as needed.Integrate robust data security measures, including encryption, access controls, and regular security audits, into the implementation process.Lead data warehouse migration projects from legacy platforms to modern cloud-based solutions. Communication and Knowledge SharingCommunicate and advocateup-to-date data solution architecture viewsCommunicate the relevant data standards, practices, guardrails and tools to stakeholders relevant to the solution designEnsureIT teams are well-informed and trained in architecture requirementsCommunicate and collaborate with stakeholders'' relevant views on planning, technology assessments, risk, compliance, governance and implementation assessmentsFoster collaboration between data architects, data engineers, and other IT teams through regular cross-functional meetings and agile ceremonies.Communicate and maintainup-to-date blueprint designs for key data solutionsEnsure effective participation in the agile ceremonies (PI planning, sprint planning, retrospectives, demos)Implement regular feedback loops with stakeholders and end-users to continuously improve data solutions based on real-world usage and requirementsCreate a culture of knowledge sharing by organising regular workshops, training sessions, and documentation updates to keep all team members informed about the latest data architecture practices and toolsQualifications, Experience & Skills:MatricDegree or diploma in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering OR relevant diploma / degreeExperience: Requires a minimum of 5 years in a technical/solution design role and a minimum of 7 years relevant IT experienceData Experience: Required a minimum of 7 years related experience in data engineering, data modeling and design and data management and governanceExpert-level proficiency in Databricks, including Delta Lake, Spark, and MLflow.Hands-on experience in large-scale data platform implementation (preferably cloud-based).Proven track record in data warehouse migration (e.g., Teradata, Oracle, or on-prem to cloud).Strong knowledge of data modeling (Relational, Kimball etc.), data governance, and data integration patterns. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE DAMA-DMBOKTOGAFArchiMateCloud Architecture Certifications (AWS, Azure)Financial Industry ExperienceCertifications in Databricks, AWS Data Engineer, or similar. Data Related Experience:Big Data and Analytics (e.g., Hadoop, Spark)Data WarehousingMaster Data Management (MDM)Data Lakes, Lakehouse, and Data MeshMetadata ManagementETL/ELT ProcessesData Privacy and ComplianceCloud Data ServicesExperience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and associated data services.Proficiency in SQL, Python, and distributed data processing frameworks.Familiarity with CI/CD for data pipelines and DevOps practices.Experience with Lakehouse architecture and real-time streaming solutions COMPETENCIES REQUIRED Related attributes and competencies related to architecture:Critical thinking/problem solvingTeamwork/collaborationEffective Communication SkillsLeadership skillsKnowledge and experience in architecture domainsKnowledge and experience in architecture methods, frameworks and toolsSolution Design ExperienceAgile Knowledge and ExperienceCloud Knowledge and Experience Data related competencies:Strong knowledge of data modeling (Relational, Kimball etc.), data governance, and data integration patternsData architecture principles and methodologiesData integration technologies and toolsData management and governanceSkillsAdaptive Thinking, Application Development, Confidentiality, Database Administration, Database Queries, Data Classification, Data Compilation, Data Compression, Data Encoding, Data Modeling, Data Recovery, Executing Plans, Gateway Servers, IT Architecture, Test Case ManagementCompetenciesEducationNQF Level 9 MastersClosing Date01 February 2026 , 23:59The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.The Old Mutual Story