IT Business Analyst/Architect

***NOTE: This is a global telecommuter position; CRS will give preference to candidates who are based in countries where we have existing offices. CRS does not sponsor visas for telecommuting employees.***

Job Summary

The IT Architect I is accountable for delivering business capabilities of information systems by establishing and maintaining technology solutions that support the objectives for our Global Overseas Operations (including Institutional Donor Engagement and Advancement, Program Impact and Quality Assurance, Global Risk and Compliance, Knowledge Management and Learning, Ethics, and Program Leadership) and US Facing business unit communities (including Charitable Giving, Marketing, and Mission and Mobilization). This entails developing and recommending solutions, facilitating decision-making, building and implementing roadmaps, enabling and supporting operating teams, and managing third-party agreements, deliverables and services. This role requires ability to manage large and complex portfolios of technology and cross-functional processes in an environment that comes with both systems of record and innovation. The Architect I achieves objectives by guaranteeing the suitability and use of information solutions, and by leading and influencing business owners, vendors and stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes. The Architect I is a change agent that identifies, gains approval, and implements process and organizational improvements by leveraging expert-level functional and technical skills.

The Architect’s focus is to partner with business leaders to provide services that:

• Strategically guide the system aspects of design and realization of functional operating models.
• Identify and guide people, processes and technology requirements to operationalize the operating models.
• Support organizational change and investments in response to disruptive forces and toward achieving targeted business outcomes.
• Create deliverables that clarify strategic intentions, identify business outcomes, explore implications, impacts and risks.
• Help leaders understand, apply, monetize and operationalize existing, new, and emerging technologies to transform and optimize business and operating models.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Understands the organization's strategy and how the organization currently approaches innovation and monetization.
• Facilitates business strategy development, including environmental analysis, opportunity identification, technology and business cases, and business innovation portfolio development along with operating model development.
• Engages key functional stakeholders to identify business and technology innovation opportunities that enable and drive strategy. Focuses on growing revenue, optimizes costs, and mitigates risks.
• Leverages the best practice, continuous foresight, and innovation to test models and strategies, and determine how to adjust either or both to become resilient and future-fit.
• Constructs deliverables that demonstrate how to move the business toward realizing its strategic goals and targeted business outcomes.
• Uses actionable and diagnostic deliverables to help leaders make informed investment decisions.
• Assesses near-term and long-term needs, to establish investment priorities.
• Utilizes best practice to help leaders identify and make investment decisions, including business outcome statements, strategy on a page, scenario plans, business capability models, value-streams maps, business process models, ecosystems models, constituent and user profiles, journey maps, human-centric design and investment roadmaps.
• Helps stakeholders build effective communication and targeted messaging to support transformation objectives.
• Ensures operating models fit together by showing the interdependencies between components, and that the business model story makes sense.
• Uses the organization’s existing models as the starting point for innovation; for example, by using new technologies to enable a functional capability.
• Seeks ways to drive adoption of new technology and reuse existing technology for enabling business capabilities, value streams and business processes.
• Helps leaders with design thinking, business modeling, ecosystem modeling, innovation management, technology investment analysis, and operating model design.
• Facilitates development of cross-functional business solutions that combine knowledge of business capabilities, value streams and business processes.
• Advises on solution options, risks, costs versus benefits, and impact on other business capabilities and processes.
• Collaborates with the enterprise program management office on benefits, issues, risks of initiatives and reporting project status.
• Leads the development and application of guiding principles, standards and minimal viable architectures through governance and business strategy.
• Transforms the organizational approach to innovation by advocating for the creation of cross-functional or fusion teams and using flexible approaches such as design thinking.
• Collaborates with product teams to ensure continuous delivery of business value, as well as to leverage shared technologies, tools, value streams and processes that impact speed to value and time to market.
• Develops ecosystem and business capability models, value stream and customer journey maps to guide product teams in developing their minimum viable products, value propositions and drive business outcomes.

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related field or equivalent experience, Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in development of enterprise level technology solutions
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in product or service management
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in IT project management
• Expert digital transformation skills
• Expert interpersonal, communications, and collaboration skills
• Certification in process improvement and management frameworks such as ITIL, Business Analysis, PMP, and Six Sigma
• Advanced knowledge of Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft, Clearview, EveryAction, and ServiceNow platforms
• Advanced functional expertise in multiple business areas including, Fundraising, Advocacy, Marketing, Donor Acquisition, Engagement, and Advancement, Program Impact, Risk and Compliance Management, Knowledge Management and Learning, and Ethics
• Advanced knowledge of all aspects of large business and technical operations (organization, business process, application, data, hardware/platform, networks)
• Demonstrated experience with capacity building and adult education skills
• Track record of reliable, consistent, senior-level performance

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Expert ability to communicate technical ideas and concerns in a non-technical manner
• Knowledge and understanding of different types of operating models (existing, new, emerging and hybrid)
• Ability to assess the value and risk of existing, new and emerging technologies against new designs and models to achieve targeted business outcomes
• Knowledge in all aspects of designing and constructing business capabilities, value streams, business processes, and organizational structures
• Knowledge of business process management, workflow and integration methods and tools
• Knowledge of architecture tools to develop business deliverables
• Knowledge of facilitation of projects and products, and organization change management
• Knowledge of finance, accounting, valuation and metrics development
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills; ability to create original concepts and theories for a variety of projects
• Strong anticipatory, statistical and information analysis skills
• Strong ability to negotiate, influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision, including the skill to lead cross-functional teams to achieve a common objective
• Strong customer service orientation with excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong facilitation, training, and coaching skills
• Strong understanding of project management methodologies and tools
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented

Required Languages – Fluency in English is required, proficiency in French and Spanish is desired.

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 15 %.

Agency-wide Capabilities

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity - Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust - Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Information Technology Capabilities

• Business Analysis
• Client Relationship Management
• ICT Support / Troubleshooting
• Procurement and Asset Management
• Project Management
• Service Management Processes
• Capacity building
• Release Management
• Digital Transformation
• Risk Management

Key Working Relationships:

Internal

External

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer