About

Village Enterprise

At Village Enterprise, our mission is to end extreme poverty in rural Africa through entrepreneurship, innovation and collective action. We do this primarily by equipping and empowering first-time entrepreneurs in Africa with resources and skills to start sustainable businesses and savings groups. With the income and savings from their businesses, these entrepreneurs lift themselves and their families out of economic hardship, build resilience, and break the cycle of poverty.

 

Our strategy focuses on (among other 4 priorities) adopting digital technologies that will revolutionize small business development for the extreme poor in rural Africa through digital solutions developed in partnership with our entrepreneurs and technology partners.

 

For more information, visit https://villageenterprise.org/  

Role purpose

In the journey towards implementing these strategic goals, we are seeking to recruit a highly skilled and experienced Senior Director of Systems Architecture to join our dynamic technology solutions team. This role is crucial for developing a comprehensive system architecture that supports decision-making across all levels of the organization.

 

The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills, extensive experience in systems architecture, and a strategic vision to drive the integration and optimization of multiple systems. He/She will be at the forefront of our technological innovation, responsible for crafting a unified business architecture that seamlessly integrates diverse systems.

 

This vision will be instrumental in enabling data-driven decision-making at all levels of the organization, ensuring that our architecture is scalable, secure, and adaptable to future needs. By collaborating closely with internal stakeholders and leveraging cutting-edge technologies, he/she will help drive our strategic objectives and foster a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.

 

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Deliverables for the Role:

  • Architectural Design and Planning
    • Develop and implement a robust systems architecture that aligns with organisation’s goals and supports decision-making processes.
    • Design scalable, flexible, and secure solutions that integrate various systems within the organization.

 

  • Integration and Interoperability
    • Collaborate with functional teams within the organisation to understand requirements and translate them into architectural solutions.
    • Provide technical leadership and guidance to development teams, most of whom are external providers.
    • Work with the technology solutions team as well as external provides to ensure seamless integration and interoperability of disparate systems using standard protocols and APIs.
    • Oversee the implementation of middleware solutions as needed to facilitate communication between multiple systems.

 

  • Data Management and Governance:
    • Establish and enforce data governance policies to maintain data consistency, integrity, and security.
    • Implement master data management (MDM) practices to ensure a single source of truth.

 

  • Performance Optimization, security and compliance:
    • Monitoring and enhancing system performance, ensuring high availability, efficiency, and reliability.
    • He/she will be responsible for addressing performance bottlenecks and implementing solutions for improved data retrieval and processing.
    • Ensure robust security measures are in place to protect data and comply with relevant regulations.
    • Conduct both routine and on-demand security audits and risk assessments.
    • Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends.
    • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance system capabilities and business outcomes.

 

Key Performance Indicators (Outcomes)

  • Village Enterprise has a robust, flexible and secure systems architecture that supports decision making at all levels.
  • A scalable systems architecture fully implemented that supports business growth without performance degradation.
  • Seamless data flow and interoperability between all critical systems.
  • High user satisfaction and efficient access to data for decision making.
  • Comprehensive documentation supporting knowledge sharing and maintenance

 

Education:

  • Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field with a strong focus on software and systems architecture design, development and implementation.

 

Skills and Experience:

  • Demonstrated strong practical understanding of architectural frameworks and methodologies.
  • Proficiency in designing scalable, secure, and high-performing systems.
  • Expertise in data governance, master data management, and data integration techniques.
  • Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.
  • Should be able to practically demonstrate ability to think strategically and translate business needs into technical solutions.
  • Minimum of 6 years of experience in systems architecture, with at least 2 years in a senior or lead role.
  • Proven track record of designing and implementing complex systems architectures in a multi-system environment.
  • Experience with data management, integration technologies, and middleware solutions.

 

Salary

The salary range for the role is around $80,000 USD, the final offer will depend on the overall experience of the selected candidate.

 

Terms of Appointment

The position is a full-time role as a Senior Director of Systems Architecture with a contract duration of two years and is extendable.

 

Role Location

While Nairobi is the preferred location, Village Enterprise will also consider excellent candidates from Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Kenya who can work remotely.

 

Equal Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer. We believe we are a better, stronger, and more effective organization when we create a culture that welcomes and includes a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives and we can learn from one another. We welcome people of all backgrounds, especially when their life experiences, abilities, and perspectives can offer valuable insight to our work supporting some of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations in the world. Village Enterprise will provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Village will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. Village does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status or any other characteristic protected by the law. Village Enterprise will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so with result in undue hardship to daily operations.

 

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you complete the Application Form provided below by 24 October 2024 (23:59 hrs, GMT +3). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx), not exceeding 10MB.

 

Applications in other languages or formats will not be considered.

 

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

 

SRI Executive is exclusively retained by Village Enterprise to undertake this assignment. 

Application form

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Work Experience
Attach Resume (Please only upload documents in Word Document format, not exceeding 10MB)
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