Senior Specialist: Application Architect Jobs

Job Purpose

To provide expert advice and support in creating and improving best practices for the application domain. This is a key part of the overall enterprise architecture. The role involves designing, building, deploying, and managing the organization’s application and software architecture. It also includes defining and modeling how applications are created or purchased, integrated, and managed across different environments to meet business goals and achieve organizational objectives.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification and Experience Required

• Bachelor’s Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Information Technology, Informatics, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering, plus a minimum of 8 to 10 years’ experience in an Information Technology environment, including 3-4 years at specialist level.

Alternative

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) plus a minimum of 15 years’ experience in an Information Technology environment, including 3-4 years at senior specialist level.

Minimum Functional Requirements

• At least 5 years’ experience in Application Architecture.
• Knowledge of Enterprise Architecture frameworks, toolsets, and MS Office.
• Relevant Architecture Certification (e.g., TOGAF). Skills in modeling and mapping technical processes.

Job Outputs

Process

• Analyze and recommend improvements to specialist systems, procedures, policies, and practices.
• Advise on effective planning and development of resources in your area of specialization to make the best use of organizational resources.
• Develop practices in line with operational frameworks and ensure their tactical implementation.
• Use your technical expertise to identify and recommend solutions to problems in practices.
• Integrate business information, analyze data, and produce reports to spot trends, discrepancies, and inconsistencies for decision-making.
• Optimize processes and systems across the internal value chain to achieve goals.
• Plan continuous improvements to practices and systems for better tactical implementation.
• Identify interconnected problems, assess their impact, and develop best-fit solutions.
• Recommend and implement changes to optimize processes, systems, and procedures.
• Translate high-level policies into practice and communicate impacts to stakeholders.
• Investigate technologies, products, methods, and techniques to benefit the organization.
• Stay updated on emerging technology trends through research, publications, conferences, and contacts.
• Lead the development of component specifications and detailed designs from application architectures.
• Document key decisions and share guidelines with stakeholders.
• Coordinate design activities between application systems administration, engineering, and service delivery for consistency.
• Define application standards, catalogs, policies, and capabilities for approval through governance structures. Drive data environment rationalization for strategic delivery.
• Develop and maintain the Enterprise Application Architecture blueprint and roadmap aligned with the Modernisation Programme.
• Ensure application architectures balance functional, service quality, and management needs per business strategy.
• Establish standardized architecture frameworks, best practices, and design patterns (e.g., interoperability, Digital by Design, security-by-design, service reuse) to guide development teams.
• Produce comprehensive architectural documentation and share knowledge of decisions.
• Create multi-year roadmaps for modernizing legacy applications into modern platforms, aligned with business priorities and technology opportunities.
• Provide expert oversight during solution delivery to ensure alignment with enterprise architecture and modernization goals, building toward the future state.

Governance

• Develop or align governance and compliance policies for your practice area to manage risks.
• Lead enforcement of enterprise architecture governance to ensure application solutions align with strategic objectives and the Modernisation Programme.

People

• Apply new knowledge and skills from learning opportunities in your role.
• Provide specialist expertise, support, advice, and thought leadership in your area.

Finance

• Implement and monitor financial controls, cost management, and corporate governance in your specialization.

Client

• Build practices that deliver excellent service and encourage others to do the same.
• Contribute to the specialist practice community and organizational knowledge management.
• Provide authoritative expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain clear engagement models and manage stakeholder relationships carefully.

Behavioural Competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Conceptual Ability
• Expertise in Context
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Organisational Awareness
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Respect
• Trust

Technical Competencies

• Application Development and Maintenance
• Business Knowledge
• Computer Literacy
• Customer Relationship Management
• Data Architecture
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency Improvement
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• IT Knowledge
• IT Project Management
• Reporting
• Verbal Communication
• Enterprise Architecture (IT) – Proficient (Applied theory): Break down objects or ideas into simpler parts and find evidence to support generalisations. Compile component ideas into new solutions. Perform actions independently and coach others. Participate in senior discussions and contribute to improvements and reference materials.