Keytrade Bank is a Belgian online bank offering a comprehensive range of everyday banking services as well as numerous investment and trading solutions. Keytrade Bank has experienced significant growth in recent years and has become a major player in the Belgian financial market. However, Keytrade Bank is by no means comparable to a traditional bank. Its approach and atmosphere are those of a solid, rapidly expanding ‘scale-up’.
Keytrade Bank is the Belgian branch of Arkéa Direct Bank, a sound and reputable French bank that forms part of the Crédit Mutuel Arkéa group.
Your role
As Enterprise Architect, you will play a key role in shaping and governing the bank's future architecture landscape. Working at the intersection of business and technology, you will ensure that systems, processes and data capabilities support the bank's strategic ambitions, regulatory requirements and customer experience objectives.
You will act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders and contribute to major transformation initiatives, helping the organisation make sustainable and well-informed technology decisions.
Key responsibilities
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Define, maintain and promote the enterprise architecture framework, principles and standards across the organisation.
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Support the IT department in developing and maintaining the technology roadmap, ensuring alignment with the bank's medium- and long-term business strategy.
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Chair the Design Authority, the governance body responsible for reviewing and steering significant changes within the bank.
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Provide architectural guidance and decision-making support on strategic initiatives.
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Partner closely with stakeholders across IT, Operations, Risk, Finance and Compliance to translate business priorities into effective architectural solutions.
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Lead the business architecture workstream for major transformation programmes, such as core banking modernisation and cloud migration initiatives.
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Define and maintain target-state architectures for key business domains, including payments, trading, savings and client data.
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Establish and enforce architecture standards, reusable patterns and reference blueprints.
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Collaborate with Solution Architects to assess emerging technologies and advise on their adoption where relevant.
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Drive architectural initiatives related to open banking, API ecosystems and PSD2 compliance.
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Promote best practices in API-led integration, microservices and event-driven architecture.
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Ensure that proposed solutions comply with applicable regulatory requirements and industry standards, including DORA, Basel III and other relevant frameworks.
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Work closely with the CISO to embed security-by-design principles throughout the solution lifecycle.
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Contribute to business continuity and operational resilience initiatives from an architectural perspective.
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Provide guidance and support to Solution Architects during the design and implementation of complex initiatives.
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Facilitate constructive discussions and decision-making among stakeholders with diverse perspectives.
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Communicate architectural concepts and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, including executive and board-level stakeholders.
About you
You combine strong technical expertise with strategic thinking and excellent stakeholder management skills. You are comfortable navigating complex environments and influencing decisions at all levels of the organisation.
You bring:
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At least 10 years of experience within IT, including a minimum of 5 years in an Enterprise Architect or senior Solution Architect role.
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Proven experience within the financial services sector, ideally in retail and/or commercial banking.
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Strong understanding of core banking platforms, payments infrastructure and digital channels.
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Hands-on experience with cloud environments (AWS, Azure and/or GCP) and hybrid architecture models.
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Experience with API-led integration, microservices and event-driven architectures.
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Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, Zachman and/or BIAN.
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A solid understanding of regulatory requirements and their impact on technology environments.
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Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management capabilities.
Preferred qualifications
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TOGAF 9/10 certification or equivalent.
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Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline.
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Experience working in Agile environments and familiarity with Scrum methodologies and team topology principles.
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Knowledge of European financial regulations and their technology implications.
Languages
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Fluent English is required.
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Good command of French or Dutch is essential.
What you can expect
You will join an organisation undergoing significant transformation, where architecture plays a strategic role in enabling innovation, ensuring resilience and supporting sustainable growth. This position offers the opportunity to influence enterprise-wide decisions, collaborate with senior leadership and leave a lasting impact on the future of the bank.
