Director of Enterprise Architecture - Little Rock, Arkansas, , United States

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We're about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been vote ...

Job description

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We're about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been voted one of Arkansas' Best Places to work by Arkansas Business and we are looking for a member of our team who is passionate about our mission to keep the lights on

We have a core ideology here at SPP that we stand by: Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.

We believe in supporting our employees through a fantastic benefits package:

• Competitive and transparent pay with bonus opportunities
• Excellent insurance package including three great medical plans to choose from, employer-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance
• Relocation bonus (if applicable)
• Hybrid working environment for positions that are eligible
• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a pension (defined benefit plan) fully funded by SPP

PLEASE NOTE: SPP is not able to sponsor employment visas or student-work authorizations (STEM OPT) for this position. Please ensure you are eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship prior to applying.

COMPENSATION INFORMATION
The salary range(s) represents our good faith estimate for the role at this time. While we strive to provide competitive and transparent compensation, there may be circumstances where an offer is above or outside of the listed range. We are open to discussing salary expectations with qualified candidates considering factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, experience and geographic location will all be considered during the hiring process.

Director, Enterprise Architecture | Pay Range - $151, $196,975.00

OVERVIEW:

The Director, Enterprise Architecture at SPP is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping the organization's technology landscape and ensuring that IT practices align with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and industry best standards. This position serves as the strategic bridge between technology and business, driving enterprise architecture initiatives while establishing robust governance frameworks to manage risk, compliance, and performance.

The director leads the development and maintenance of enterprise architecture standards across infrastructure, applications, data, and security domains, ensuring scalability, interoperability, and alignment with organizational goals. In parallel, they oversee IT governance programs, including policy creation, risk management, and compliance monitoring, to maintain transparency and accountability in all technology operations.

As a key advisor to executive leadership, the Director, Enterprise Architecture evaluates emerging technologies, guides digital transformation efforts, and fosters collaboration among stakeholders to deliver secure, efficient, and innovative solutions. This role demands a visionary leader with deep technical expertise, strong governance acumen, and the ability to influence strategic decisions that shape the future of the enterprise.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 

IT Architecture Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise architecture standards
• Develop frameworks for infrastructure, applications, data, and security architecture to ensure consistency and scalability across the organization.
• Align technology with business strategy
• Work with business leaders to create conceptual and target-state architectures that support organizational goals.
• Oversee solution design and integration
• Participate in solution lifecycle activities, including planning, analysis, testing, and integration of platforms and systems.
  

  Assess new tools and platforms for potential adoption to improve efficiency and innovation.

• Evaluate emerging technologies

IT Governance Responsibilities

• Develop and implement governance frameworks
• Establish policies, standards, and controls to ensure IT processes align with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Risk management and compliance
• Oversee IT risk assessments, compliance audits, and ensure adherence to frameworks like COBIT, ISO/IEC 38500, and ITIL.
• Policy creation and enforcement
• Define IT policies for data management and operational processes and ensure they are consistently applied.
• Performance monitoring and reporting
• Track IT performance metrics, governance KPIs, and report to executive leadership on compliance and risk posture.

Leadership and Strategic Influence

• Guide architecture and governance teams
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and direction to architects and governance specialists.
• Drive digital transformation initiatives
• Ensure architectural and governance practices support modernization efforts like AI and cloud adoption, automation, and cybersecurity.
• Provide executive management for enterprise architecture design, development and support
• Provide executive leadership and personnel management to the Enterprise Architecture and Governance team, including representation on SPP's Project Review and Prioritization Committee
• Establish and maintain a data lifecycle and data governance program
• Facilitate the creation of the technical vision and associated roadmaps needed for ensuring the future of SPP's technology needs can be met in a reliable, secure, efficient and cost-effective manner
• Establish strategic and tactical goals for achieving the shared architectural vision
• Establish strategic relationships with IT, SPP business stakeholders, vendors, and peer RTOs to meet business needs and develop a forward looking technology vision for SPP
• Foster an enthusiastic culture of innovation and automation across the IT department such that innovation and automation are used to solve problems and to prevent future problems
• Facilitate the implementation, monitoring, and documentation of robust processes for the evaluation of technologies by providing leadership and technical consulting as appropriate
• Possess high-level knowledge and stay abreast of network infrastructure, server platforms, storage and file systems, databases, architectural styles, software development, and client platforms
• Ensure that new technologies are continuously assessed for improving the functional, financial, and reliable performance of SPP and our members, and lead efforts to introduce new technologies to SPP in a manner consistent with stakeholder needs
• Independently perform assignments with guidance from the Senior Vice President, IT on overall objectives, critical issues, new concepts, industry developments and policy matters
• Provide technical consulting and expertise to SPP staff, committees and working groups
• Represent SPP at other industry related committee and working group meetings and, in particular, the ISO/RTO IT Committee's Technology Working Group
• Mentor, encourage and develop technology leadership within IT
• Demonstrate the SPP culture drivers of efficiency, collaboration and continuous improvement
• Ensure unwavering compliance with all applicable standards and controls

The statements contained herein describe the scope of the responsibility and essential functions of this position, but should not be considered to be an all-inclusive listing of work duties and responsibilities. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other areas to cover absences, or relief to equalize peak work periods or otherwise balance the workload. 

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, IT Engineering, or a related field.

Experience Requirements:

• Twelve (12) years technical experience, including at least 5 years in an architecture leadership role.

Required:

• Demonstrable leadership skills in alignment with SPP's core values
• Demonstrated experience building and leading architecture functions or teams.
• Proven success in designing and implementing enterprise-wide technology strategies.
• Strong understanding of enterprise, application, data, and infrastructure architecture disciplines.
• Experience with modern architectures including AI, cloud, microservices, API-driven design, and data platforms.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to balance strategic vision with practical execution
  • Knowledge and experience with Enterprise Architecture methodologies and frameworks
  • Ability to communicate effectively with engineers, management and senior management, including officers of other companies for purposes of requests, analysis, coordination, guidance and presentations
  • Experience and understanding of business requirements and the process of translating them into well-engineered and integrated technical solutions
  • Strong ability to apply business case development and project justification techniques to varying information technology related questions or recommendations
  • Exceptional critical thinking skills, ability to accurately analyze information and recommend sound decisions
  • Possess and uses excellent organizational skills
  • Ability to understand and maintain compliance with and enforcement of SPP Policies and Procedures

Preferred:

• Previous knowledge of energy and/or utilities industry
• Advanced degrees in Information Technology-related field or in Electrical Engineering are desirable

SPP is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans and is committed to excellence. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us at  and let us know the nature of your request. We will only respond to messages left that involve a request for a reasonable accommodation in the application process. We will accommodate the needs of any qualified candidate who requests a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

 At SPP we believe in a culture of belonging. Learn more here: Culture of Belonging - Southwest Power Pool.