Chief Architect

Overview:

Drives strategic alignment of enterprise business outcomes and technology solutions. Works closely with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and senior executives across the Bank and Technology to ensure the technical architecture supports enterprise objectives and enhances long-term operational efficiency and sustainability.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Work with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and ELT to develop and execute the enterprise technical strategy, aligning technical architecture with business strategic imperatives.
• Provide thought leadership on emerging technologies, trends, and best practices to drive strategic roadmap that inform multi-year business investments.
• Partner with ELT and senior business leaders to identify technology gaps, design and implement solutions that drive business growth and transformation.
• Partner with Risk and Cybersecurity senior leadership to ensure all technology architecture complies with Bank risk standards and industry and regulatory expectations.
• Direct the enterprise architecture community to maintain engineering best practices and utilization of emerging technologies.
• Exercise usual authority of a manager concerning staffing, performance appraisals, promotions, salary recommendations, performance management and terminations.
• Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite. Design, implement, maintain and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
• Promote an environment that supports diversity and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Scope of Responsibilities:

This position is responsible for leading a group of business-aligned Architects to build and drive the Bank’s architecture strategy through delivery. The jobholder is a hands-on executive leader with deep technical skills and an exceptional strategic thinker. The role must influence the enterprise by sharing what the future can be and then implementing that tangible change. The jobholder has the mindset of a startup (the opportunity to build solutions that do not exist at the Bank and that the industry will want to mimic), but also has the executive presence and experience to partner with, and understand, stakeholder and regulatory requirements at a deep level. Establishing a robust enterprise architecture enhances the overall efficiency of the Bank’s technology ecosystem.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

No. of Staff - 20

Education and Experience Required:

• Minimum of Associate’s degree and a minimum of 15 years’ experience in engineering or architecture, including a minimum of 7 years’ experience modernizing architecture in a cloud environment, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 17 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 15 years’ experience in engineering or architecture, inclusive of a minimum of 7 years’ experience modernizing architecture in a cloud environment
• Minimum of 6 years’ managerial, supervisory and/or work leadership experience
• Deep experience with traditional enterprise architecture, inclusive of developing and transforming core systems, driving innovation, and partnering closely with business line leaders at an enterprise level
• Experience building and implementing large scale architecture strategy and roadmaps

Education and Experience Preferred:

• Minimum of 17 years’ experience in engineering or architecture
• Previous Chief Architect experience at a Fortune 500 company, ideally a financial institution
• Experience within the financial sector
• Experience transforming an Enterprise Architecture function towards greater automation and engineering excellence
• Experience working in an Agile environment
• Experience moving abstract concepts through implementation
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong and effective critical thinking skills
• Proven ability to synthesize large amounts of data and information to present to senior leadership and other target audiences

Location