Head of Enterprise Architecture

Practice Group / Department:

Job Description

We're Norton Rose Fulbright - a global law firm with over 50 offices and 7,000 employees worldwide. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. At Norton Rose Fulbright, our strategy and our culture are closely entwined. We know that our expansion will mean little unless it is underpinned by truly global collaboration and we understand that pioneering work only takes place when our people have room to move and think beyond boundaries. As well as the relevant skills and experience, we're looking for people who are innovative, commercial and value the work that they do. 

Our London office is currently recruiting for a Head of Enterprise Architecturetoproactively and holistically drive the development and adoption of the architecture governance framework to enable the successful delivery of the IT project portfolio.

The Role

Reporting to the EMEA CIO, this role will work with the IT leadership team, who are collectively responsible for technology at NRF across EMEA, to develop the IT vision and strategy in support of firm’s strategic priorities and initiatives.

This is an exciting time to join the firm as it moves forward with its GenAI and data strategies. Following a number of GenAI pilots in 2024, which included Copilot for Microsoft 365 and legal specific tools, 2025 will see the pilots move into production with the objective of embedding these tools into the working practices of the firm’s people.

A programme of work to deliver a new data platform on Microsoft Fabric will begin in 2025. The role will be the IT lead for the data programme, working alongside a third-party implementer and the wider project team. This programme of work will complement the firm’s GenAI strategy and transform the firm’s use of and approach to data with the aim of positioning the firm as a leader in this space.

The role will have direct responsibility for the architecture team comprising of one solution architect.

Following three years of cloud transformation, NRF has a strong technical foundation to build upon and the role will play a key part in the firm’s modernisation and positioning the firm for continued success.

Key Responsibilities

• Ownership and development of the IT roadmaps and architectural framework including processes, principles, standards and reference library.
• Provide architectural oversight of projects, pre-empt challenges and proactively address deviations.
• Ownership of the architecture design review process.
• Work with project technical leads and solution architects to create technical designs in alignment with the architecture framework.
• Chair the EMEA architecture community of practice.
• IT leadership of the data programme and provide architectural oversight of the firm’s GenAI strategy.
• Identify, assess and recommend technology innovation opportunities.
• Support the IT leadership team with strategy development, planning and resourcing.
• Collaborate with architects in other NRF regions, participate in the global architecture community of practice and network with peers in the legal sector.
• Build strong relationships with key senior stakeholders within the business and become a trusted advisor for IT related matters.
• Ensure legal teams both receive the best technology on the market.
• Consider opportunities for continuous improvements to reduce cost or improve efficiency.
• Alert IT leadership to potential risks and suggests mitigations to avoid or reduce risk.
• A member of the IT Services Leadership Team.

 Skills and Experience Required

• Prior experience as an enterprise architect or solution architect.
• Experience of Microsoft Azure, SaaS, PaaS, Microsoft 365 and cloud technologies.
• A broad range of architectural experience across IT infrastructure, platforms, networks, security and data.
• Awareness of existing, new and emerging technologies, and processing environments.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, perhaps gained in the consulting or professional services sectors.
• Excellent communication and creative skills. The ability to effectively present and ‘sell’ concepts.
• Effective leadership skills with exceptional soft and interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation and negotiation.
• The ability to analyse complex technology and project issues, remove blockers and support project managers in the delivery of the portfolio.
• Experience of delivering in a regulated sector. The ability to understand where guidelines should be modernised or challenged.
• A natural passion for the advancement of a law firm through the use of modern technology. Whilst many of the projects delivered will be core infrastructure or cloud transformation based, what sets this role out from the crowd is the opportunity to influence the businesses’ DNA.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, have a sense of belonging, and realize their full career potential. 
Our new enabled work model allows our people to have more flexibility in the way they choose to work from both the office and a remote location, while continuing to deliver the highest standards of service. We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive employment policies and provide access to programmes and services aimed at nurturing our people’s health and overall wellbeing. Find more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion here.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any tailored adjustments or accommodations, please let us know here.