Director Enterprise Architecture

Director Enterprise Architect Location: Amsterdam (Hybrid) Contract type:Permanent Start: Immediate Reporting to: CIO / Chief Technology & Digital Officer Overview Our client is a Netherlands-headquartered international business services organisation embarking on a significant technology and business transformation programme. They require an experienced Interim Enterprise Architect to establish architectural governance, define the future-state technology landscape, and ensure multiple transformation initiatives align to a cohesive enterprise strategy. This is a hands-on leadership role suited to an architect who can rapidly assess a complex environment, engage senior stakeholders, and provide pragmatic direction rather than producing architecture for architecture's sake. Role Purpose The Interim Enterprise Architect will provide enterprise-wide architectural leadership across business applications, infrastructure, cloud, integration, data and security. Working closely with executive leadership, technology teams and business stakeholders, you will define target-state architecture, improve governance, rationalise the existing estate and ensure investment decisions support the organisation's long-term strategic objectives. Key Responsibilities Enterprise Architecture - Assess the current technology landscape, identifying capability gaps, duplication and technical debt. - Define enterprise architecture principles, standards and governance. - Produce current-state and target-state architecture across applications, data, infrastructure and integration. - Develop a pragmatic multi-year technology roadmap aligned to business priorities. Transformation Leadership - Provide architecture leadership across multiple concurrent transformation programmes. - Ensure new initiatives align with enterprise standards and long-term strategic direction. - Review solution designs and provide architectural assurance before delivery. - Balance business priorities with technical risk and long-term sustainability. Governance & Decision Making - Establish Architecture Review Boards and governance processes where required. - Define technology standards and decision frameworks. - Lead architecture reviews for major investments. - Support executive technology investment decisions. Business & Stakeholder Engagement - Partner with executive leadership to translate business strategy into technology capability. - Work closely with Product, Technology, Operations and external partners. - Influence senior stakeholders across multiple countries and business units. - Present architecture recommendations at Executive and Board level. Technology Strategy - Rationalise application portfolios and identify consolidation opportunities. - Develop integration, cloud and data strategies. - Improve interoperability across business systems. - Support cybersecurity, resilience and regulatory initiatives through architectural design. Deliverables Within the engagement, the Enterprise Architect is expected to deliver: - Current-state enterprise architecture assessment - Enterprise capability model - Target-state architecture - Technology strategy and roadmap (24–36 months) - Enterprise architecture principles and standards - Architecture governance framework - Application portfolio assessment and rationalisation recommendations - Integration architecture strategy - Technology investment recommendations - Executive architecture presentations and roadmap Experience Required - Extensive Enterprise Architecture experience within complex international organisations. - Proven track record defining enterprise technology strategy. - Experience operating at CIO, CTO or Executive Leadership level. - Strong understanding of business applications, cloud platforms, infrastructure, data and integration. - Experience establishing architecture governance and review boards. - Strong stakeholder management across executive and technical audiences. - Previous experience delivering large-scale transformation programmes. Technical Knowledge Strong understanding across: - Enterprise Architecture frameworks (TOGAF or equivalent) - Cloud platforms (Azure preferred, AWS or GCP also considered) - Integration architecture & APIs - Data architecture - ERP and enterprise applications - Identity & Security architecture - SaaS platforms - Infrastructure & networking - Modern application architecture - Technology governance I