About our team | Mō te tīma:

Every week, around 1.4 million New Zealanders count on MSD for income support and services to connect with work, housing and better lives for their families.

Information Systems & Technology (IST) provides the technologies, innovation and expertise that enable MSD staff and partners to deliver these essential services, today and into the future.

We’re driving a once in a lifetime transformation of services for New Zealanders. IST is a key enabler of this change bringing together strategic thinkers, technology specialists and delivery leaders to design solutions and deliver change while keeping vital services running reliably every day.

The Architecture practice is responsible for delivering architecture, strategy, and governance to the IST department and beyond.  We have two teams of Enterprise, Domain and Solutions Architects and a vibrant Community of Practice. We’ll support your growth and development as an architect, while keep you busy with interesting and important work that supports our mission of keeping New Zealanders safe, strong and independent.

About the role | Mō te tūnga:

Reporting to the General Manager Technology Strategy and Architecture, you’ll shape future-state architectures within IST, align technology roadmaps, ensuring architectural coherence across platform and delivery teams.

You’ll sit on the Architecture Review Board (TAC) and hold significant technical decision-making delegation, which you’ll use to ensure our work aligns with both our strategies and our business goals.

As a Lead Enterprise Architect, you’ll provide strategic and pragmatic architecture leadership across key domains such as Platforms, Shared Services, Technology Security, or Identity.

This role goes beyond traditional enterprise architecture—it is deeply embedded in the delivery space, geared toward generating action and enabling teams to achieve their goals while aligning with broader technology strategies.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the delivery of relevant architectures and systems capability strategies
• Shape and deliver technology roadmaps aligned with business goals
• Monitor and apply emerging technologies to improve outcomes
• Build and manage strategic stakeholder relationships
• Provide expert advice and direction across architecture domains
• Champion quality management and continuous improvement
• Support the uplift of architectural capability and practice maturity
• Drive delivery alignment across platform and delivery teams
• Exercise delegated technical decision-making authority through TAC participation

We value diversity and welcome applications from disabled people and those who have lived experience with whānau, or the disability community.

Please contact us if there is any support that we can provide to ensure the recruitment process is accessible to you. 

What you bring | Ōu pūmanawatanga:

You’ll be a senior leader in the architecture practice uplifting capability, championing governance, and aligning initiatives. You’ll bring:

• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills with the ability to proactively enable groups to have the right conversions and come to the right decisions.
• Pragmatic thinking and the ability to balance cost, quality, time and quantify trade-offs
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across technical and non-technical audiences
• Governance expertise working with Programme steering committees and ARBs 
• Significant experience in enterprise architecture leadership in complex environments
• Proven ability to develop and deliver technology strategies and roadmaps
• A deep understanding of the core enterprise architecture and solution architecture domains. 
• Expertise in emerging technology monitoring and adoption
• Proven experience in coaching, mentoring, and growing architectural capability

Position Description | He Whakaahuatanga Tūnga:

A copy of the position description can be found here. Lead Enterprise Architect position description.

Salary | Utu-ā-tau: $176,805.00 - $233,831.00