Director Portfolio Architecture

Permanent Full Time

Reporting to the Enterprise Architect, this is the 2nd most senior architecture role in a major line of business. An expert in the architecture of a large product group or ecosystem, the Portfolio Architect proactively and holistically guides its evolution and implementation. These solutions collectively enable the future‑state business capabilities and drive the organization’s targeted business‑outcomes.

Accountable for ensuring the future orientation of the ecosystem aligns with and informs the Line of Business Strategy and Enterprise Architecture, this role maintains the target state architecture and roadmap for the product group/ecosystem and guides the work of solution designers in its implementation.

The Portfolio Architects guide & approve designs developed by Solution Architects and bring forward architecturally significant decisions/solutions to the Architecture Review Council for approval. They understand the business strategy, the unit’s enterprise architecture strategy and translate both into system changes required for achievement.

This role collaborates with the Enterprise Architect and Line of Business leaders on the development of the Line of Business IT Strategy. Success in this role requires a strong partnership with the Enterprise Architect and senior business and IT leaders in the Line of Business, and for the incumbent to balance the need for strategic technology advancement with delivery pressures.

The successful candidate will provide technology leadership and innovation focused on the Data & Analytics Platform Technology, and Information and Common Data Modeling portfolio. This portfolio develops and maintains the strategy and roadmap for delivering and evangelizing state of the art Data & Analytics capabilities, representing enterprise Data in a meaningful manner and enabling value creation through efficient application of Data. This is an enterprise level role that will be responsible for the technology strategy, solutioning oversight, and governance to architectural standards.

What You Will Do

• Accountable to ensure high quality delivery of leading‑edge solutions that meet time and cost requirements that align with business unit (BU) and enterprise architecture principles and design standards
• Proactively identify areas (i.e. trendspotting) and opportunities to use technology to enhance customer experience and/or organizational efficiency
• Research and recommend opportunities to leverage technology and keep up with the industry to support the strategy
• Directs technology research and sponsors line of business (LOB) initiatives (early‑stage development/prototype) in support of BU strategy
• Support development of business strategies by producing Data & Analytics platform capability model, technology roadmaps, architectural standards and patterns to achieve business plans
• Establish Enterprise Information Model by producing Ontologies and Taxonomies relevant to Canada Life business domains e.g. Health & Dental Insurance, Investing & Saving, Retirement, etc.
• Enable reuse of common Data models and develop Data modeling best practices
• Provides leadership in managing IT risk (e.g.: security, disaster recovery, technology solution quality, etc.) and control requirements
• Drive a high‑performance culture for practitioner Solution Architects and influence this culture within IT
• Ensure leaders, employees and vendors work together to drive performance and that high expectations are achieved within the values of the organization

What You Will Bring

• Bachelor Computer Science / Software Engineering or equivalent degree
• 10+ years of demonstrated experience in IT environments with a preference for significant complexity, highly regulated, and/or financial services
• 5+ progressive leadership experience related to both projects and teams
• Prior experience working in an Architect capacity and exposure to Architecture governance and thought leadership in Data Architecture preferred
• Expertise in the following domains: Data Integration (Batch & Real Time), Data Storage (Data Warehouse & Data Lake), Master Data Management (MDM), Advanced Analytics (BI & AI/ML), Data Modeling also including Data Domains and Information Classification at an organization level for complex, large enterprises, defining Data Standards, establishing Data Governance (including Data Quality and Data Lineage), defining Metadata, implementing MDM system, modelling APIs, implementing Data masking & tokenization techniques
• Experience with modernizing Data & Analytics capabilities using leading Cloud technologies (e.g. Azure, AWS, GCP, Informatica, Snowflake & Databricks)
• Familiarity with Data security fundamentals in a Cloud environment and knowing how to safeguard Data in transit and at rest
• Understanding of common Information architecture frameworks in the financial, insurance and healthcare industries e.g. BIAN, ACORD, HL7 FHIR
• Good understanding of use cases which are appropriate for various technologies e.g. ETL, Event Streaming, Relational Databases or Non‑relational Databases
• Exposure to Strategy/Delivery and having a Product mindset desired
• Experience with Agile delivery methodologies and maintaining Architecture runways
• Enthusiasm for hands‑on work to support innovative prototypes and guide development teams
• Knowledge of emerging technology trends (e.g. Data Mesh, Responsible AI, MLOps) and best practices for improving operational efficiency
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships across multiple geographies and business functions
• Demonstrate customer centric approach to problem solving, ability to make decisions without escalating to senior leaders, striving for service excellence and outward focus
• Operational risk expertise related to working in complex shared environments
• Led or supported business process changes related to technology
• Relationship‑building across multiple geographies, business functions, and degrees of technical knowledge
• Deep understanding of financial services industry, preferably with insurance experience, a strong asset
• Strong communication skills with ability to engage independently with different levels of the organization and tailor communication based on audience (e.g. technology executive, business stakeholder, technical SME)

The base salary for this position is between $150,000- $195,00 annually. This represents base salary only and does not represent other variable compensation components of our total compensation ( i.e. annual bonus, commission etc). If you are selected to move forward in our recruitment process, your recruiter will be able to discuss additional details of our total rewards program with you.

What we offer

• Career Development: Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry‑leading learning programs and up to $2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness: Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well‑being.
• Time Off: In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day.
• Financial Security: Company‑matching pension plan, share ownership program and additional investment options.
• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community: We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

We’re committed to removing barriers and ensuring equal access to employment. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application process may contact View email address on ca.talent.com. All information provided will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and Canada Life policies.

Canada Life would like to thank all applicants, however only those who qualify for an interview will be contacted.