Head of Division Architecture & Innovation (all humans)

Head of Division Architecture & Innovation (all humans)

Erste Digital is the technology engine of Erste Group, one of the leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe, serving more than 16 million customers. More than 1,800 experts at locations in Vienna, Bratislava and Prague develop digital products, platforms and infrastructures that shape the banking of tomorrow.

As Head of Division Architecture & Innovation, you will take on one of the key strategic leadership roles at Erste Digital. You will build and further develop the enterprise architecture function as an internal management consulting unit, with direct impact on technology strategy and digital transformation. You will work closely with top management, take responsibility for central architecture governance and ensure its decentralised implementation across the Business and Enabler Tribes of Erste Digital.

In parallel, you will lead the innovation team and be responsible for central focus topics and the decentralised innovation capabilities of the organisation. You will connect banking and IT strategies with tangible impact and continuously assess the entrepreneurial and regulatory impact of technology decisions.

Your Tasks:

You will be responsible for the entire enterprise architecture function, from strategic direction to operational delivery.

• Positioning and further developing enterprise architecture as a strategic partner for Business and IT with a focus on measurable business value.
• Building, leading and developing a high-performing architecture team covering Enterprise, Business, IT and Innovation.
• Designing and establishing effective architecture governance, including principles, standards and decision-making processes.
• Ensuring end-to-end governance of software development from requirements engineering to testing.
• Strategically steering and consolidating the IT portfolio, including reducing technical debt and promoting architecture modernisation.
• Identifying and assessing technology trends and deriving strategic options to support investment decisions.
• Preparing decision-ready materials for top management, including target pictures, dependencies and risks.
• Linking IT investments to business outcomes such as growth, efficiency and risk reduction.
• Working closely with Business and IT stakeholders at all levels.
• Further developing the enterprise architecture operating model, including OKRs, metrics and value contributions.
• Steering and prioritising innovation projects across the organisation.
• Integrating insights from enterprise architecture into the innovation funnel.
• Transferring successful innovation initiatives into the regular IT portfolio and ensuring scaling and industrialisation.

What you bring:

• Completed degree in STEM, business or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in strategic planning, business analysis and/or enterprise architecture.
• 5+ years of leadership experience.
• Deep understanding of modern architecture paradigms.
• Proven experience in leading engineering teams and managing complex stakeholder landscapes.
• Strong consulting skills for boardroom situations and architecture reviews.
• Experience with EA frameworks such as TOGAF and agile methods at enterprise level.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills in English.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, systems thinking and ability to connect the big picture with operational details.
• Knowledge of financial services or regulated industries, international multilingual organisations and complex transformation initiatives is an advantage.

Our Offer

• International, talented and passionate community at Erste.
• Interest groups and clubs for discussions and projects.
• Health Centre at Erste Campus with medical services during working hours.
• Employee benefits for financial services, insurances, supermarkets, clothing stores and more.
• Minimum salary of EUR 90,000 gross per year for this full-time position, with willingness to discuss actual salary personally.
• Opportunity to divide working hours between home office and office.
• Equal opportunities regardless of age, skin colour, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation or origin.

In addition to your CV, please submit a short Architecture & Innovation Leadership Portfolio of max. 2-3 pages.

• Relevant projects from recent years, including your role and achieved outcome.
• 2-3 examples of how you created commitment for architecture and innovation decisions in complex organisations.
• Examples of trade-offs between Business, IT and regulatory requirements.
• Examples of prioritising, deprioritising or terminating initiatives for a focused IT and innovation portfolio.

Please apply by latest 24.07.2026.