Senior Business Architect

About this role

The Digital Business Transformation task force (TDT) operates as a hub for innovation, collaboration and experimentation across EMA and is responsible for driving complex, digital change initiatives that have an impact on the EMA strategy, its structure and operations in relation to the network, its partners and stakeholders. TDT aims to orchestrate the Digital and Business  transformation of EMA and the EU Medicines Regulatory Network by leading various transformative initiatives including the implementation of SAFe Agile to the IT Portfolio, the promotion of Lean practices and business process redesign in support of digitalisation , design thinking , experimentation with novel technologies , change management, business architecture and creation of continuous learning ecosystems.   

We are seeking a senior Business Architect to join our Business Architecture team  within the Digital Business Transformation Task Force to shape the Business Architecture of the European Medicines Regulatory Network. As a Business Architect, you will be responsible for connecting business strategies and strategic priorities to the capabilities and processes required to deliver them across the EMA and the Regulatory Network. You will work together with other Architects to develop the Business Architecture framework of EMA in close collaboration with Business stakeholders and Enterprise Architecture specialists and embed it in the Agile delivery model.  Your role will be to lead the analysis of existing capabilities, identify the need for new or improved capabilities, as well capabilities that are duplicated, inefficient or redundant, especially within the opportunities of new legislative initiatives.  You will work to link capabilities to their underlying processes and map these to EMA’s Agile Value Streams, which are charged with implementing business capabilities and IT systems to support these. Your role will be strategic and advisory towards optimising portfolio investments and the sequencing of Agile epics, working with Agile Value Stream Owners and Managers, business and IT teams, with a focus on supporting the Agency and the Network’s digital transformation.  You will perform this role holistically to ensure a transversal perspective is maintained.  

You will also have the opportunity to contribute to horizon scanning of the legislative, technological and business transformative initiatives of the wider health ecosystem and help establish partnerships to maximise  synergies and promote the "One Health" concept  for Europe. 

This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the modernisation of EMA’s technology landscape and support transformative initiatives in the health ecosystem. If you have the skills and experience to help us build EMA's business architecture framework, we invite you to join our dynamic team and work along our diverse business and technical teams and  build strong collaboration partnerships across the Agency.  

Link to the full role description of the Senior Enterprise Architect outlining generic duties and responsibilities.

In this job you will

• Lead work with business stakeholders, including Agile Value Stream Owners and Managers and Business Owners  and senior Architects to understand and translate business strategy, goals, and objectives to business capabilities and business case in support of the Agency’s Agile Portfolio and Enterprise Architecture;
• Link the EMA and Network strategy to business capabilities and processes and identify potential overlaps, gaps and opportunities for rationalisation;
• Link business strategy and capabilities to Agile Value Streams and translate business case to agile epics to strengthen the end-to-end value flow and cross-value stream linkages between products;
• Lead work with the EMA Enterprise Architect, (Value Stream) Domain Architects, Solution Architects and Data Architects to develop an Agency-wide business capability model to promote a common understanding of the business and mature the business architecture practice at EMA;
• Establish the business architecture framework of EMA and foster collaboration and learning mindset on business architecture competences across the organisation;
• Assess the maturity of business capabilities, including in terms of effectiveness for current and future needs and identify which capabilities are the most strategic and where capabilities need further investment;
• Lead mapping of business capabilities to organisation structure, roles, business processes, and information by working with experts, including Lead Process Managers;
• Document and visualise process and information flows between business capabilities, including their dependencies;
• Support Value Stream Owners to create a common understanding of inter- and cross- value stream flows and dependencies, linked to business capabilities.  This includes taking the lead in communicating on business architecture in a way that can be understood by different stakeholder communities with appropriate levels of detail;
• Provide strategic advice to Value Stream Leadership and business stakeholders on optimisation and prioritisation of the Agile Portfolio, to inform investment decisions; 
• Lead the analysis of new legislation from a business architecture perspective to identify impacted business capabilities and work with other architects and analysts to translate these into needs; 

You will also

• Collaborate closely with other architects to ensure that Portfolio and technology solutions support EMA’s business objectives and identify unmet needs;
• Work to build a common understanding and vocabulary that can be used by business and technology planners to frame demand articulation conversations;
• Lead risk identification and management and change impact analysis in relation to business architecture;
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders (e.g. Value Stream Leadership teams, business stakeholders, Product Owners) on how to align current and future priorities, risk management approaches and opportunities for improvement and innovation;
• Work with colleagues in digital innovation and analytics to experiment and test hypotheses related to business capability creation, simplification and/or rationalisation;
• Work with and as appropriate, lead discussions with the Lead Process Manager, Process Leads, Product Owners, Epic Owners and other business representatives where necessary, to support the analysis of current processes, identify gaps, and recommend process improvements, where necessary;
• Act as a change agent to help EMA and the European Medicines Regulatory Network (EMRN), where appropriate, transform business processes and capabilities, communicate and showcase the benefits of structured business architecture approach and upskill other colleagues with similar competencies. 

Apply if you fulfil these eligibility criteria:

General conditions: 
1.    Full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway; 
2.    Thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union (at least level B2); 
3.    Fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service. 
Specific conditions:  
1.    University degree minimum of four years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice, and at least 9 years of relevant professional experience from the time when a university degree was awarded 

or 
university degree of three years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice, and at least 10 years of relevant professional experience from the time when a university degree was awarded.  
For general condition 1 and for specific conditions 1 and 2, you will be required to provide proof in the application form and at the interview stage. Failing to present these documents may result in the disqualification from the selection procedure. Only eligible applications will be assessed by the selection committee.

You will need

Experience 
•    At least 5 years of experience in business architecture, solutions architecture or related disciplines, working across multiple business functions and at Enterprise level. (Strategy, IT, finance, HR, operations), leading the implementation of complex technology projects and initiatives at scale;
•    Proven experience aligning business strategies with operational and tactical objectives, shaping business case and developing long-term roadmaps for business capabilities, processes, solutions and outcomes and driving strategic portfolio planning and investment decision;
•    Demonstrated strong background in business transformation and process optimization, redesigning processes to improve organisational efficiency and agility, conducting benefit analysis and measurement of results;
•    Experience with  Business  and Enterprise Architecture frameworks like BIZBOK, TOGAF, ArchiMate, or Zachman to map business strategy to IT systems;
•    Experience  working in Agile environments; 
•    Experience in Product Management and end to end Application Design; 
•    Experience in leading and facilitate workshops and meetings with complex subject matter and diverse groups of stakeholders.
Skills and Knowledge 
•    Strong Business Modelling, Business Process Design and Organisation Design skills using industry standard tools and technics;  
•    Strong interpersonal and  leadership skills; 
•    Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, coordinating with business units, IT teams, and other stakeholders , ensuring alignment across organisational entities.

Competencies you need to have

Role competencies    
Emerging technology monitoring    Intermediate
Application and solution management    Advanced
Sub-family competencies    
Managing change and transition    Advanced 
Programme and project management    Advanced
Applied knowledge    Advanced
Grade competencies    
Adaptability and agility    Intermediate
Coping with pressures and setbacks    Advanced
Analysing and problem solving    Advanced
Core competencies     
Ethics and integrity    Intermediate
Team collaboration    Advanced
Customer centricity    Advanced
Results orientation    Advanced
Communication    Advanced
Cross-cultural sensitivity    Advanced
Continuous learning and self-development    Intermediate

For more information about definitions of competencies and associated proficiency levels, please refer to the EMA Competency Framework.

These are considered as Nice to have

• Knowledge of medicines regulation and the medicinal product lifecycle, ideally in a European or multi-national context; 
• A strong background in working in business transformative projects related to the medicines regulatory Network  or public regulated sector;  
• Prior Experience working in EU Institutions/ International Organisations.  

Certificates 

• Certification in Architecture frameworks like BIZBOK (Business Architecture Body of Knowledge),  TOGAF or similar;  
• Certification in an Agile methodology, for example the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe);
• Certification in Lean Six Sigma.