We are looking for an experienced Enterprise Architect to join our Tech Strategy & Architecture team. 

This is a rare opportunity to shape how BNZ describes its business. You will establish and own the enterprise semantic model: the common business definitions, information standards and ontology that everything else relies on and is the essential foundation that we need to meet our data, analytics, information, automation and AI goals. 

This is a 12 month fixed term opportunity, based in Auckland.

Mō te Tūranga | About the Role 

We sat down with our Head of Architecture, Enterprise, Data & AI and they let us know the following about the role. 

What projects / mahi will the candidate be working on now and into the next year? 

In this role you will be actively participating in the broader practice of Technology Strategy & Architecture at BNZ. This includes: 

• Establishing BNZ's enterprise information model and semantic layer, including the stewardship model, standards and governance that keep it current and used 

• Enterprise Architecture rituals and cycles; enterprise portfolio planning aligned to simplification and modernisation road maps, and enterprise architecture KPIs and maturity 

• Our Data Modernisation programme, making sure modern data products are built on consistent, governed business definitions rather than platform-specific interpretations 

• Working with our Customer Master Core Banking architects , where a shared understanding of customer, party, product and account concepts is essential  

• Working on our enterprise AI adoption, partnering with the AI CoE so that agents, copilots and models operate against governed, trusted definitions 

What is the most exciting thing about this opportunity? 

BNZ is investing in enterprise architecture to support its data and AI ambitions while keeping strong governance, privacy and control. Key focus areas include: 

• Creating the enterprise semantic model with the mandate and sponsorship to make it stick 

• Building reusable enterprise information assets, ontologies and standards that lift interoperability, data quality and lineage across the bank 

• Partnering on the evolution of BNZ Data Hub toward a data mesh-aligned architecture, with data products that carry consistent meaning wherever they are used 

• Making the semantic model a working control in the AI governance framework, improving the quality, explainability and reusability of AI-enabled capability 

What is the most challenging thing about this opportunity? 

This role offers broad scope, influence and complexity. You will need to: 

• Start from a fragmented picture. Information is represented differently across platforms, domains and initiatives, and there is no single agreed source of meaning to fall back on 

• Set the guidelines, standards and patterns that determine how information is categorised, managed, discovered and accessed, including data contracts, schemas, glossaries and lineage 

• Land a stewardship model that business and technology teams will actually use, so definitions are maintained by the people who own them rather than sitting in a document 

• Sequence the work so that live programmes get value early, while still building toward a coherent enterprise model 

• Work alongside separate but connected efforts, including enterprise information tooling and the operational versus analytical data concerns that have their own architectural oversight 

• Hold the line on consistency when delivery pressure pushes teams toward local shortcuts 

What attributes will this person display in order to be successful in this role? 

We're looking for someone with strengths in big picture thinking, communication (verbal and written) and negotiation skills. You will have the ability to “read the room”, understand that being a trusted advisor doesn't always mean your advice will be taken, and you can deal with that appropriately. 

You will also need to be comfortable engaging with a wide and diverse array of stakeholders, from senior managers and executives through to data, risk, business and technical specialists. 

Specific skills we are looking for: 

• Enterprise semantic modelling and information architecture 

• Ontology, taxonomy and business definition development 

• Information standards, governance and stewardship 

• Data quality and lineage outcomes 

• AI governance alignment, including how semantics support responsible and explainable AI 

Nau Mai ki te Pēke o Aotearoa | Come to the Bank of New Zealand