Lead Architect
Summary
Location : Barcelona, Spain (Hybrid)
Day Rate : Negotiable
Duration : 6 Months
Availability : ASAP
About the Client
My client is the air transport industry's IT provider, delivering solutions for airlines, airports, aircraft, and governments. Their technology powers more seamless, safe, and sustainable air travel.
They are looking to hire an experienced Lead Architect to support a large-scale Finance Transformation Programme.
About the Role
Strategic Leadership & Vision
- Own and govern the programme’s Strategic Architecture Artefacts (Solution Architecture Vision, Roadmap, Principles, and Standards) to guide all design decisions and delivery processes.
- Develop and maintain a vendor-agnostic ERP Solution Architecture Vision & Roadmap that supports phased delivery, M&A scenarios, regulatory change, and future scalability.
- Ensure finance transformation outcomes are embedded in architecture - including standardisation, automation, improved control, and enhanced decision-making capabilities.
- Govern capability-to-process-to-system mapping, ensuring ERP functional scope is right-sized and aligned to business value, avoiding over customisation.
- Lead the architecture fit scoring and evaluation process for RFP responses, ensuring scoring criteria are business-capability-led, traceable, and transparent.
Finance Domain Architecture
Own and govern the Finance Process Architecture across Record-toReport (R2R), Procure-to-Pay (P2P), Order-to-Cash (O2C), Project Accounting, Asset Accounting, Treasury, Tax, Consolidation, and FP&A.Define and maintain the Global Finance Data Model across operational (ERP) and analytical (BI / FP&A) layers, ensuring one version of the truth for finance data.Ensure finance architecture complies with IFRS / GAAP, SOX, VAT / GST, and other statutory requirements across all jurisdictions.Oversee integration between ERP and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platforms for consolidation, budgeting, and forecasting.Design Assurance & Governance
Represent the programme at Architecture Review Boards to ensure all solution designs comply with strategic artefacts, guardrails, and nonfunctional requirements.Ensure architecture guardrails are consistently applied across ERP, integration, analytics, and EPM platforms.Own the definition, approval, and governance of Analytical and Canonical Data Models and Canonical Data Models.Integration, Data, and Migration Architecture
Govern integration architecture using iPaaS or equivalent, ensuring alignment with Integration Strategy, canonical data models, and financial data integrity.Define data migration architecture and standards, including data quality, lineage, reconciliation rules, and cutover sequencing.Oversee master data governance processes to ensure quality and control pre- and post-ERP go-live.Validate integration and data contracts support finance transformation KPIs and end-to-end process integrity.Cloud, Security, and Compliance
Ensure the ERP and integration platforms comply with the Cloud Strategy and Information Security & Data Protection Compliance Strategy.Validate cloud deployment models, hosting regions, and resilience architecture against finance-specific non-functional requirements (availability, recoverability, auditability).Embed finance-relevant security controls (e.g., segregation of duties, access certification, encryption, audit logging) into all solution designs.AI Enablement & Capability Mapping
Govern the use of embedded AI capabilities in ERP, EPM, and analytics platforms in line with the AI Enablement Strategy.Maintain the Capability-to-Application Mapping, ensuring traceability between finance capabilities and enabling applications.Approve AI and automation opportunities where accuracy, control, and compliance can be assured.Interoperability & Coexistence Planning
Define the coexistence architecture for ERP alongside legacy systems during transition, covering integration, interim reporting, and phased cutovers.Ensure seamless interoperability across finance, supply chain, HR, and customer-facing processes during the transformation journey.Key Outcomes
Finance transformation architecture remains vendor-agnostic preselection and transitions to vendor best practice post-selection with minimal rework.Strategic architecture artefacts are fully embedded in design governance and delivery.Global Finance Data Model and Canonical Data Model are defined, governed, and implemented across ERP, EPM, iPaaS and analytics.Integration and data designs enable PxQ-level reporting, dimensional P&L, and certified financial flows.Cloud and security designs meet finance-specific resilience, compliance, and auditability requirements.Coexistence architectures enable phased delivery without business disruption.Non-functional requirements are signed off by both IT and Finance stakeholders before production deployment.What we are looking for Essential
Proven experience leading architecture governance for large-scale finance transformation or ERP programmes.Deep understanding of finance process architecture (R2R, P2P, O2C, Project Accounting, Asset Accounting, Treasury, Tax, Consolidation, FP&A).Strong experience in integration architecture using iPaaS platforms and canonical data modelling.Proven ownership of Analytical and Global Finance Data Models.Knowledge of IFRS / GAAP, SOX, multi-country tax requirements, and finance compliance obligations.Experience integrating ERP with EPM platforms for consolidation and planning.Strong track record of transition architecture design in multi-ERP or hybrid landscapes.Excellent stakeholder engagement and the ability to influence at C-suite level.Desirable
Experience in M&A-driven finance transformations.Familiarity with industry-specific finance process frameworks (e.g., APQC).Experience with process mining or task mining tools to inform finance process redesign.Certifications in Enterprise Architecture (TOGAF), ERP platforms, or Integration Technologies.Qualifications
Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Finance, or related field.Professional certifications in Architecture, ERP / EPM platforms, or Integration Technologies (preferred).