Head of Portfolio Architecture, Group Benefits

Company Overview:

Every day, Guardian gives 27 million people the security they deserve through our insurance and wealth management products and services. Since our founding in 1860, our long-term view has helped our customers prepare for whatever life brings whether starting a family, planning for the future, or taking care of employees. Today we're a Fortune 250 company and a leading provider of life, disability and other benefits for individuals, at the workplace and through government sponsored programs.

Do you have the desire to be part of this collaborative & innovative technology group? Is a culture where "People Count" and "We do the Right Thing" and "We Hold Ourselves to Very High Standards" important to you?

Position Overview:

The Head of "Business Unit" Architecture is a senior architecture leader responsible for shaping the end-to-end architecture and portfolio roadmap for "Business Unit", while influencing key investment decisions required to deliver it. The Head of "Business Unit" Architecture works closely with the Head of the "Digital & Technology Business Unit Leader" to define, align and drive the architecture needed for the BU.

This role requires expertise in end-to-end architecture that includes business processes, data, integration, AI and digital experiences to deliver scalable, secure, and compliant solutions. The role will matrix into the Head of Enterprise Architecture and drive end-to-end architecture for the Business Unit portfolio, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards while actively influencing architecture direction and investment priorities with the Enterprise Architecture team.

While accountable for Business Unit, this role operates with enterprise-level influence, shaping cross-business outcomes, informing enterprise standards, and advising executive leadership on technology strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

Portfolio Architecture Leadership

* Drive architecture across multiple value streams within the business unit, ensuring cohesive, end-to-end design across platforms, products, and capabilities.

* Own BU target state, portfolio roadmap, BU architecture priorities, investment influence, and architect leadership within the BU

* Shape and advance modern platform architecture, including cloud, data, and AI capabilities, to enable scalable, secure, and future-ready solutions.

* Improve engineering productivity and delivery speed by defining architecture patterns, standards, and operating structures that enable teams to execute effectively at scale.

* Define and own the BU target-state architecture and portfolio-level roadmap aligned to enterprise architecture standards and insurance business strategy.

* Work with Principal Solution Architect on scalable patterns for the BU;
Principal Enterprise Architect on enterprise alignment and cross-BU tradeoffs

* Serve as the primary architecture advisor to the BU Head of Digital & Technology, influencing technology strategy, investment decisions, and transformation priorities.

* Ensure alignment of BU architecture, strategy and technology to Enterprise Architecture and strategy

* Shapes enterprise architecture direction indirectly by contributing to standards, influencing investment decisions, and advocating for cross-business solutions through architecture governance and leadership forums.

* Translate insurance business objectives into capability-driven architectures, including product, corporate systems, underwriting, policy, claims, billing, and customer engagement platforms.

* Ensure architectural alignment across modernization initiatives, new product launches, regulatory programs, and operational efficiency efforts.

* Manage a team of Solution Architects supporting the BU

Investment & Roadmap Influence

* Shape and influence strategic investments across:

* Core insurance platforms (policy administration, claims, billing)

* Data, analytics, and AI (pricing, underwriting, fraud detection, customer insights)

* Digital and omni‑channel customer and distributor experiences

* Integration, APIs, and ecosystem enablement (partners, reinsurers, vendors)

* Corporate Systems (HR, Legal, Finance, Investments)

* Balance near‑term delivery…