KCB Group is currently seeking to recruit a Business Architect to join its Information Technology Division. This position plays a key role in ensuring that technology initiatives are aligned with the business’s strategic objectives by defining, designing, and maintaining business architecture across the Bank’s systems and operations.
The Business Architect will be instrumental in developing a coherent view of the enterprise, combining business motivations, operations, capabilities, and frameworks into a structured blueprint that guides technological decisions and project implementations. The role bridges the gap between strategy and execution by interpreting business drivers and turning them into structured solutions, processes, and designs within the established enterprise architecture.
This opportunity is ideal for experienced professionals who have developed core capabilities in business architecture, application design, and solution analysis, particularly within complex organizational structures. The successful candidate will work closely with various stakeholders including business units, technology teams, project leads, and strategic decision-makers to deliver scalable, sustainable, and business-aligned solutions.
KCB Group is committed to creating inclusive and equitable employment opportunities. Qualified candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further engagement.
Position Overview: Business Architect
Department: Information Technology
Reporting To: Head of Enterprise Architecture
Location: Nairobi, Kenya (with potential travel to regional branches as needed)
Role Type: Permanent
Working Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday
Purpose of the Role
The Business Architect will focus on aligning technology solutions with business objectives through a comprehensive understanding of organizational goals, operations, and architecture. The incumbent will be expected to use structured methodologies and industry best practices to capture, model, and analyze business capabilities, enabling the translation of strategic initiatives into technological change.
This role also requires proficiency in interpreting business requirements, facilitating cross-functional collaboration, and shaping project outcomes to conform to business architecture frameworks. Through direct engagement with both business and technology teams, the Business Architect ensures that organizational resources and technology investments are aligned with strategic outcomes.
Detailed Job Responsibilities
1. Business Requirement Elicitation and Analysis
- Participate in the elicitation of business requirements using a variety of industry-standard techniques, including but not limited to interviews, workshops, surveys, use cases, and workflow analysis.
- Interpret stakeholder needs and translate them into detailed, structured requirements for implementation by technical teams.
- Collaborate with process owners and department heads to define business needs and expected outcomes, ensuring clarity and alignment across all project stages.
2. Strategic Alignment of Business and Technology
- Translate strategic initiatives into delivery-focused change initiatives that bridge the gap between long-term goals and operational actions.
- Work closely with senior management, strategy teams, and business units to interpret business drivers and define enterprise architecture requirements accordingly.
- Support decision-making processes by evaluating business models and recommending improvements or enhancements to the current business architecture.
3. Business Capability Modeling
- Develop business capability maps and models that provide visual representation of current and target-state business capabilities.
- Identify gaps in capabilities and work collaboratively to prioritize areas for development or enhancement based on business goals.
- Use capability maps to illustrate how technology investments align with business needs, helping to guide architectural decisions across the organization.
4. Business Architecture Artifacts and Documentation
- Create and maintain architectural artifacts, such as capability blueprints, reference architectures, and alignment matrices.
- Ensure that business architecture models are stored in an accessible repository, maintained for accuracy, and updated as needed to reflect business and technological changes.
- Establish repeatable approaches to business architecture documentation, aligned with industry standards and internal policies.
5. Collaboration with Technical and Business Stakeholders
- Act as a liaison between business units and technology departments to ensure mutual understanding of requirements, constraints, and desired outcomes.
- Facilitate collaborative workshops and sessions with stakeholders to validate assumptions and gather insights that shape architectural designs.
- Represent business interests in enterprise technology projects to ensure delivery is consistent with the bank’s strategic roadmap and operational requirements.
6. Technical Analysis and Architectural Integration
- Conduct technical feasibility analysis and provide recommendations on how business needs can be met through existing or proposed systems.
- Provide guidance on the integration of new solutions within the existing enterprise architecture, ensuring compatibility and sustainability.
- Offer insights into the potential business impacts of adopting specific technologies or altering existing systems.
7. Governance and Standards Compliance
- Ensure adherence to organizational architecture frameworks, policies, and standards when developing and implementing business architecture initiatives.
- Assist in maintaining governance processes that enforce consistency and quality across enterprise-wide initiatives.
- Monitor compliance with established architecture blueprints and recommend updates or exceptions where necessary.
8. Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
- Participate in discussions with diverse stakeholder groups, including technology teams, executive leadership, project managers, and external partners.
- Shape the flow of conversations to align with business aspirations while adhering to approved architectural guidelines.
- Translate complex business and technology concepts into clear, actionable communication tailored to different audiences.
9. Process Mapping and Business Modeling
- Develop and maintain IT business process models that represent both automated and manual processes, system interactions, and external interfaces.
- Support business process improvement initiatives through detailed modeling and analysis of existing workflows and system functionality.
- Collaborate with process owners to optimize workflows and improve the efficiency and accuracy of operations across departments.
10. Use of Architecture Tools and Modeling Techniques
- Utilize graphical modeling tools and repositories, such as Unified Modeling Language (UML), for documenting business processes and system relationships.
- Promote the use of standardized templates and modeling methodologies to ensure consistency across business architecture outputs.
- Leverage digital tools to develop dynamic, interactive architecture models that support enterprise-level analysis and decision-making.
11. Cross-Functional Influence and Knowledge Sharing
- Engage with stakeholders across multiple levels of the organization, including IT, operations, finance, and customer experience teams.
- Facilitate the adoption of business architecture concepts by delivering awareness sessions, training, or collaborative exercises as needed.
- Serve as a mentor to junior analysts and architects, sharing knowledge and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement.
12. Architecture Roadmap Support
- Contribute to the development and maintenance of the enterprise architecture roadmap by mapping business capabilities to strategic objectives.
- Provide input into long-term planning activities and investment prioritization based on business capability assessments and projected needs.
- Assist with measuring progress against architectural goals and identifying areas where further alignment is needed.
Additional Information
The Business Architect role requires strong analytical capabilities, attention to detail, and the ability to balance long-term strategic thinking with immediate operational needs. The position involves working in an environment that emphasizes structured thinking, repeatable practices, and collaborative engagement with both technical and non-technical teams.
Applicants must demonstrate a practical understanding of software delivery methodologies, enterprise architecture principles, and business analysis techniques. Experience in a large-scale financial institution or technology-intensive environment will be an added advantage.
This is a demanding and high-responsibility position for which the Bank offers a competitive remuneration package, subject to experience and qualification. The successful candidate will be expected to work on multiple concurrent projects and should be comfortable navigating a dynamic organizational environment.
Application Instructions
To be considered for this position, interested candidates must submit their applications by Friday 19th September 2025.
All applications must be submitted through the Bank’s online recruitment portal. Late applications and physical submissions will not be accepted. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted directly for further engagement in the recruitment process.
KCB Group is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. Qualified candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
