Market Enterprise Architect - South Asia

Job Title: Market Enterprise Architect - South Asia

Location: Bangalore 

ABOUT UNILEVER:

Be part of the world’s most successful, purpose-led business. Work with brands that are well loved around the world, that improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We promote innovation, big and small, to make our business win and grow; and we believe in business as a force for good. Unleash your curiosity, challenge ideas and disrupt processes; use your energy to make this happen. Our brilliant business leaders and colleagues provide mentorship and inspiration, so you can be at your best. Every day, nine out of ten Indian households use our products to feel good, look good and get more out of life – giving us a unique opportunity to build a brighter future. 

Every individual here can bring their purpose to life through their work. Join us and you’ll be surrounded by inspiring leaders and supportive peers. Among them, you’ll channel your purpose, bring fresh ideas to the table, and simply be you. As you work to make a real impact on the business and the world, we’ll work to help you become a better you. 

ABOUT GDT:

GDT is the global digital and technology engine of Unilever offering business services, technology, and enterprise solutions. GDT serves over 190 locations and through a network of specialized service lines and partners delivers insights and innovations, user experiences and end-to-end seamless delivery making Unilever Purpose Led and Future Fit. 

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Market Architect (EA) is responsible for designing and managing the holistic architecture and defining the technology roadmaps within their Business Unit remit. The primary role is to align business outcomes with technology strategy, ensuring that IT systems (and processes) support the organisation's goals. A market architect plays a crucial role in governing technology strategy and owns the decision on technology selection for a given business outcome. To do this effectively they bring a solid understanding of the market needs and nuances that drive IT requirements.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

Own technology selection decisions across all product domains

• Be responsible for driving strategic architecture across the business unit, including new use cases for existing technologies.

• Bring an understanding of the business unit and the ability to discern genuine requirements (incl. regulatory) from nice to have, translating those into technology requirements.

• Define, maintain and socialise views of the destination architecture for the business unit

• Own the architecture and technology roadmaps towards destination architecture, agreed with product owners in line with prioritised outcomes.     

• Identify and drive synergies across products and domains to simplify and rationalise the IT landscape

• Identify solutions to opportunities using principles such as consolidation, Tier 2, templated deployment etc.   

• Hold product owners accountable to 'lean in’ and support strategic activities, ensuring that prioritised outcomes include

Bring the outside in

• Understand market trends within the business unit and proactively highlight requirements around regulatory requirements

• Utilise Unilever network to understand strategies across all products to proactively drive synergies

• Understand external trends and application capabilities to define future fit roadmaps and influence strategic direction             

• Define focus areas for innovation across products and domains          

• Enforce guardrails for innovation to solve problems rather than duplicate capabilities.

Enable light tough governance

• ensure that principles, guidelines and thresholds are set to enable agility and reduce bureaucracy

Stakeholder Engagement

• Utilise strong engagement and influencing skills to hold product owners responsible for adherence to architecture strategy and selection

• Manage key stakeholders including BG/BU CDIOs, Product Owners (all levels) and Tech teams.

Innovation

• Drive innovation within the product domain, exploring new features and technologies and defining how they fit into.

• Continuously seek opportunities for process improvement and efficiency.

EXPERIENCES & QUALIFICATIONS

Necessary Experience & Qualifications  

• Architecture experience within a platform or technology experience within a market

• Experience discerning market needs and requirements for business outcomes

• Breadth of understanding across products

• Knowledge of ML, deep learning, data analytics, NLP, Cloud Computing and/or RPA

• Knowledge of business models, operating models, financial models, cost-benefit analysis, budgeting, and risk management

• Knowledge of business ecosystems, SaaS, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), SOA, APIs, open data, microservices, event-driven IT and predictive analytics

• Exposure and understanding of existing, new and emerging technologies, and processing environments

SKILLS

• Exceptional soft and interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation and negotiation

• Strong influencing skills

• Excellent analytical and technical skills

• Excellent written, verbal, communication and presentation skills

LEADERSHIP SKILLS

• CARE DEEPLY: We care about how consumers experience our brands, the growth and development of our people, and their impact on the planet. We emphasize the importance of performance and care, moving from ambiguity about success to fairness and transparency. 

• FOCUS ON WHAT COUNTS: We prioritize what truly matters, setting clear and stretching goals. We aim to shift from having everything as a priority to focusing on fewer, bigger things that are delivered to conclusion and are being rewarded. 

• STAY THREE STEPS AHEAD: We encourage bold and creative thinking to make breakthroughs in performance. We focus on anticipating and staying ahead of consumer needs and external trends, shifting from reacting to leading, shaping, and disrupting the market. 

• DELIVER WITH EXCELLENCE: The emphasis is on delivering everything with excellence and pace, taking personal ownership, and holding each other accountable. We aim to shift from pride in thinking to pride in execution, developing breakthrough solutions and ensuring the best outcomes. 

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 

• Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.