Data Architect

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Position Summary: This person strengthens the impact of, and provides recommendations on, business information that will need to be available and shared consistently across the organization through the identification, definition and analysis of how information assets aid strategies and business outcomes. The  Data Architect is responsible for making data trusted, easy to use and meets the data and analytics requirements for all uses.

Key Responsibilities:

• Influence information strategy: By partnering with business unit leadership, and through the rationalization of the information value chain, the information architect will provide strategic recommendations to maximize the value of information assets via their creation, access and use.
• Assess the benefits and the risks of information by using tools such as business capability models to create an information-centric view to quickly visualize what information matters most to the organization based on the defined business strategy.
• Use tools such as business information models to provide the organization with a future-state view of the information landscape that is unencumbered by the specific data implementation details imposed by proprietary solutions or technologies. Assist decision design.
• Enable effective data and analytics governance: Suggest who can take what actions with what information, and under what circumstances. Assist data and analytics leaders, and business and IT leadership in developing information governance processes and structures.
• Conduct business information modeling: Create and manage business information models in all their forms, including conceptual models, relational database designs, message models and others.
• Develop standardized data and analytics platform architecture and ensure the adoption of those across the business unit. Works with enterprise architecture and data platform teams to align the target state of business unit and enterprise roadmaps.
• Secure data and analytic assets: Aid in the analysis of data and analytics security requirements and solutions, and work with the chief information security officer (CISO) [and CDO] to ensure that enterprise data and analytics assets are treated as protected assets.
• Improve EIM performance: Aid efforts to improve business performance through enterprise information solutions and capabilities, such as master data management (MDM), metadata management, analytics, content management, data integration, and related information management or information infrastructure components.
• Works closely with the Head of Data Products and Analytics and Chief Data Officer.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Deep understanding of data and information architecture, especially in asset management space.
• Familiarity MDM, business intelligence, and data warehouse design and implementation techniques.
• Business domain, data/content and process understanding (which are more important than technical skills). Being techno functional is a plus.
• System integration experience, including interface design, and familiarity with web-oriented architecture techniques.
• Good presentation skills in creating Data Architecture diagrams.
• Data modeling and information classification expertise at the enterprise level.
• Understanding of common information architecture frameworks and information models.
• Experience with distributed data and analytics platforms in cloud and hybrid environments. Also an understanding of a variety of data access and analytic approaches (for example, microservices and event-based architectures).
• Knowledge of problem analysis, structured analysis and design, and programming techniques.
• Ability to assess rapidly changing technologies and apply them to business needs.
• Strong communication and persuasion skills, including the ability to create marketing and messaging materials that meet stakeholder needs.
• Ability to analyze project, program and portfolio needs, as well as determine the resources needed to achieve objectives and overcome cross-functional barriers.

Key Behavioral Competencies:

• Effective conceptualization, pattern recognition and teaming skills.
• Business acumen, and the ability to communicate to executives, business domain stakeholders and technical staff alike.
• Experience with innovation and ideation methods, such as design thinking.
• Demonstrated influence, communication, presentation and facilitation skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to work well with others and exhibit leadership.
• Have a track record of remaining unbiased toward specific technologies or vendors.
• Be able to translate the information architecture contribution to business outcomes into simple briefings for use by various data-and-analytics-related roles.
• Ability to communicate, influence and persuade peers and leadership.
• Ability to understand the long-term ("big picture") and short-term perspectives of situations.
• Ability to quickly comprehend the functions and capabilities of new technologies.
• Displays intellectual curiosity and integrity.

Experience & Education:

• 10+ years of experience in data and information architecture role for a large organization.
• 10+ years of hands-on knowledge on using a variety if databases, ie Snowflake, SQL and/or working within the MS Azure environment.
• 10+ years on a combination of SQL, Python, R, etc.
• At least 3+ in asset management/investment management is highly desired.
• Bachelors degree in field like Computer Science, Information technology, Math, Data Science, Engineering, Statistics, Finance (with focus on analysis), etc.;

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com.

We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.