Senior ICT Architect

Senior ICT Architect

Location:
Ghent, Belgium Work Model: Hybrid (up to 2 days remote per week, on-site presence required across UGent campuses) Start Date: 15 June 2026 Contract Duration: Until 12 June 2028 Workload: Full-time (100%) Application Deadline: 03 June 2026

About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Senior ICT Architect to support the ongoing modernization and standardization of a complex, fragmented ICT landscape within a large academic organization. In this role, you will translate strategic business objectives into actionable enterprise and solution architectures, ensuring coherence across applications, data, integration, and infrastructure domains. You will play a key role in shaping future-proof architecture standards, governance models, and transformation roadmaps. This position requires strong architectural leadership, the ability to operate in a regulated and multi-stakeholder environment, and a pragmatic mindset to balance long-term vision with operational constraints.

Key Responsibilities
Enterprise & Solution Architecture Develop enterprise and solution architectures aligned with organizational strategy. Translate business requirements into target architectures, principles, roadmaps, and phased implementation plans. Model as-is and to-be architectures, capability maps, and information models. Ensure architectural coherence across business, application, data, integration, and infrastructure layers. Architecture Governance & Decision-Making Support and facilitate architecture governance processes and decision-making forums. Define and maintain architecture standards, design principles, and guidelines. Prepare Architecture Decision Records (ADR) and ensure their application in delivery contexts. Contribute to architectural review boards and evaluation frameworks. Transformation & Strategy Support Support modernization and digital transformation programs. Guide architectural alignment across multiple initiatives and domains. Contribute to sourcing and vendor selection processes, including requirements definition and architectural evaluations. Ensure alignment between strategic objectives and implementation realities. Stakeholder Collaboration Act as a bridge between business stakeholders, delivery teams, project managers, and technical experts. Facilitate architectural discussions and workshops across multidisciplinary teams. Communicate complex architectural concepts in a clear and actionable way. Required Qualifications Experience Minimum 10 years of experience in IT , with strong architectural expertise. At least 5 years of experience in: Enterprise or domain architecture roles (application, infrastructure, security, data, ERP, BI, ECM, etc.) Architecture governance and decision-making frameworks Defining and managing transformation roadmaps in complex organizations Modeling enterprise architectures (as-is / to-be) Proven experience working in public sector or highly regulated environments . Technical & Methodological Skills Strong knowledge of architecture modeling frameworks and tools: ArchiMate TOGAF UML Sparx Enterprise Architect Experience with: Azure and Azure DevOps Kubernetes and Docker Git-based development workflows Strong understanding of: Domain-Driven Design (DDD) Event-driven architecture Architecture Decision Records (ADR) Language Requirements Native-level Dutch proficiency (CEFR C2). Preferred Qualifications Experience supporting ICT architecture in procurement, sourcing, and vendor selection processes. Experience with ICT procurement and evaluation of technology solutions. Strong understanding of business processes in complex organizations. Experience with project management concepts including cost estimation, planning, coordination, and governance. Broad ICT domain knowledge with specialization in at least one architecture domain (infrastructure, application, data, security, or process). Work Environment Academic and research-oriented environment with a large and complex ICT ecosystem. Strong emphasis on standardization, governance, and future-proof architecture design. Hybrid working model with flexibility for remote work (up to 2 days/week), subject to operational needs. Travel between UGent locations may be required. What Makes You Successful Strong ability to translate strategy into actionable architecture. Pragmatic approach to complex architectural challenges. Strong governance and decision-making facilitation skills. Ability to influence stakeholders at different organizational levels. Clear communication and documentation skills. Strong analytical mindset with a focus on long-term sustainability and coherence. Apply Now Interested candidates are invited to apply before 03 June 2026 . Due to the short timeline, early submission is strongly recommended.