AVP, Enterprise Chief Architect Greater Des Moines, IA Area

What You Can Expect In This Role

Lead and own evolving the enterprise target-state technology architecture for Sammons Financial Group Companies by translating business and technology strategies and priorities into architecture principles, target-state designs, technology standards, and integrated multi-year architecture roadmaps that guide modernization, simplification, interoperability, and investment decisions. Oversee the Enterprise Architecture practice and partner across business-unit technology teams, Security, Data, artificial intelligence (AI), Infrastructure, and Enterprise Platforms to promote architectural consistency, interoperability, reuse, resilience, simplification, and modernization while allowing for appropriate business-unit flexibility.

Establish architecture governance, decision frameworks, standards, and review processes that guide major technology investments and emerging capabilities, including cloud, data, AI, integration, security, and enterprise platforms. Develop the architecture organization and community of practice by defining clear accountabilities, methods, standards, and measures of effectiveness for enterprise, principal, domain, and solution architects.

What You'll Do In This Role

• Define, maintain, and evolve the enterprise target-state technology architecture, ensuring alignment with business strategies, enterprise technology priorities, and long-term transformation objectives.
• Develop and govern integrated enterprise architecture roadmaps spanning applications, integration, data, AI, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and enterprise platforms in partnership with accountable functional leaders.
• Establish enterprise architecture principles, reference architectures, standards, and reusable design patterns that promote interoperability, resilience, scalability, simplification, and technology modernization.
• Establish and lead a federated enterprise architecture governance framework, including architecture review processes, decision rights, design standards, exceptions, and escalation procedures.
• Chair the Enterprise Architecture Review Board and lead the architectural evaluation component of technology acquisition reviews, ensuring major technology decisions align with enterprise standards and target-state architecture.
• Partner with business-unit technology and enterprise platform leaders to guide strategic solution designs, evaluate architectural tradeoffs, and balance enterprise consistency with appropriate business-unit flexibility.
• Provide architecture guidance for major technology investments, acquisitions, business integrations, and enterprise transformation initiatives, identifying opportunities for technology reuse, consolidation, and long-term scalability.
• Establish an enterprise technology lifecycle and technical debt framework, identifying and prioritizing modernization, consolidation, rationalization, and retirement opportunities in collaboration with accountable technology leaders.
• Guide architectural evaluation of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, agentic capabilities, cloud-native solutions, integration platforms, and advanced data technologies, ensuring appropriate enterprise readiness and alignment.
• Establish architectural frameworks and reference patterns for secure, scalable, and interoperable adoption of emerging capabilities, partnering with Cybersecurity, Data, AI, and Enterprise Platform leaders on functional requirements and controls.
• Lead and develop the Enterprise Architecture practice, including direct leadership of assigned architects and matrixed collaboration with architects across business-unit technology organizations.
• Establish architecture methods, competency expectations, documentation standards, tools, and a community of practice that promotes consistent architectural quality and knowledge sharing.
• Maintain enterprise architecture visibility through business capability maps, current-state and target-state architectures, technology portfolio information, and architectural decision records.
• Define and report architecture effectiveness measures, including standards adoption, technology reuse, rationalization progress, technical debt trends, and governance effectiveness.
• Serve as a strategic technology architecture advisor to senior technology leaders, business unit technology, and executive leadership, communicating architectural direction, tradeoffs, risks, and implications of major technology decisions.
• Build strong partnerships across enterprise and business-unit technology organizations, influencing architectural alignment and promoting collaborative decision-making without unnecessarily constraining business-unit accountability.
• Develop architecture talent, succession capabilities, and organizational maturity while promoting continuous improvement, innovation, and adherence to Sammons Financial Group Companies' shared values.
• Drive and reinforce commitment to internal controls processes such as those under Model Audit Rule and Record Information Management.
• Commitment to embrace Sammons Financial Group Companies shared values (Accountability, Connection, Openness, Respect and Integrity).
• As stated within the Company Attendance and Punctuality policy, regular attendance is required and expected in order to meet the business service levels and workflow demands.
• Participate in other initiatives and/or projects as necessary.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's Degree in field relevant to role preferred
• Master's Degree in field relevant to role or equivalent work experience preferred
• 15+ years progressive technology experience, including significant enterprise architecture leadership preferred
• 8-10 years' of leading architecture teams or direct leadership of technical teams preferred
• Full lifecycle experience as a senior level architect on multiple complex enterprise /strategic solutions preferred
• Effective verbal and written communications skills and the ability to communicate with and influence business & tech partners
• Problem solving skills sufficient to perform research and recommend a proposed solution to problems
• Able to work on multiple tasks and meet established deadlines
• Able to effectively influence matrixed team members across the organization
• Knowledge of computer programming languages as required for the system
• Established leadership track record of human capital management and succession principles, practices, and procedures
• Demonstrated effective negotiating and influence leadership skills
• Demonstrated ability to present and adapt ideas in a business and user friendly language
• Enterprise Architecture/Cloud Architecture certifications preferred
• May be required to travel to a company office or location other than your normal workplace for trainings, meetings, conferences or to support business needs.

Other Requirements

• Due to the financial nature and level of accountability of this position, a credit and criminal background check is required - The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires Sammons Financial Group Companies to notify you that, as a routine part of processing this application for employment, Sammons Financial Group may request a consumer report on you to verify all information contained in this application. Such report may include information about work-related behaviors, performance, character, general reputation, and personal characteristics, in addition to information about your previous employment, education, credit history and criminal records

Salary Range Information

USD $160,449.00 - USD $267,415.00 /Yr. Range includes data points from multiple labor markets. Specific range is dependent on the labor market where the incumbent will be hired to perform the position. Starting salary is dependent on candidate qualifications and experience. For a narrower salary range specific to your labor market, please inquire.

What you can expect when you join Sammons Financial Group

• Comprehensive health coverage for you and your family, including Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA & FSA options, and term life insurance.
• Competitive compensation with a performance-based incentive program tied to clear goals and individual and/or company success.
• Invest in your future with our 100% company-funded Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), plus automatic enrollment in our 401(k).
• Work–life balance that means something. Friday afternoons off year-round, generous paid time off, and paid holidays.
• Commit to your growth with paid development time, tuition reimbursement, and professional development opportunities across industry, individual, and leadership programs.
• Make an impact beyond the workplace through volunteer time off, and our company nonprofit matching gift program, supporting the causes that matter most to you.
• An ownership culture that inspires; join a connected, values-driven workplace where employees take accountability, support one another, and are empowered to do their best work—together shaping our future shared success.

Work Authorization/Sponsorship

At this time, we’re not considering candidates that need any type of immigration sponsorship now or in the future or those needing work authorization for this role (This includes, but is not limited to students on F1-OPT, F1-CPT, J-1, etc.)

Additional Information

Sammons Financial Group Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

ADA

Sammons Financial Group is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of the employment process. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the application or hiring process, including navigating our website or applying for a position, please contact HR@sfgmembers.com or call 800-728-2987.

E-Verify

Sammons Financial Group participates in E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

Policy for External Search Firms and Agencies

Sammons Financial Group maintains an internal Talent Acquisition function and does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from search firms, staffing agencies, or other third-party recruiting vendors. Please review our Recruitment Agency Policy for additional information here.