Enterprise Data Architect

Join Riverside Natural Foods Ltd., a $300 million+ Canadian-based, family-owned, and globally operating business, committed to leaving the world better than we found it. As a B-Corp certified, Triple-Bottom Line company, we proudly manufacture nutritious, 'better-for-you' snacks such as MadeGood and GOOD TO GO. We value teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, grit, and fun.

We’re on an ambitious mission to double our business by 2027, and we need talented individuals like you to help us reach new heights. At Riverside, you’ll have the opportunity to chart your own path to success while contributing to ours. We believe anything worth doing is worth doing right, and our values will guide us through the rugged terrain – and yes, it will get rough. But that’s what makes the journey worthwhile.

So, lace up your boots and let’s tackle the climb together.

You can learn more about us at www.riversidenaturalfoods.com.

Position Summary: 

A key aspect of our BT&T’s mission is to build and sustain a capable organization for profitable growth; this entails driving business transformation by deploying and driving adoption of leading practices as well as effectively leveraging SAP and other enterprise technology. The Enterprise Data Architect will play a central role in our technological advancement and business transformation. This pivotal role demands exceptional leadership and technical expertise in designing and implementing data solutions that are cutting edge, that amalgamate and amplify our technology stack., and that safeguards data integrity and congruency.   

The Enterprise Data Architect is a transformation champion who stays current with data technology trends as well as industry norms and leading practices. In close collaboration with the SAP Solution Architect, key BT&T team resources, and senior business leaders, they will develop a comprehensive Business Intelligence & Data Strategy that supports our business goals.

This position will also play a leadership role by developing, enabling, and empowering the Enterprise Master Data Governance & Analytics team to deliver our business objectives; while fostering a highly collaborative and cohesive team.

Primary Responsibilities:

Strategic

• Be a key ambassador of the organization’s vision, mission, and overall business strategy;
• Role model the Company’s core values and culture; inspire and motivate people; continually work to enhance culture;
• Develop and demonstrate OWNERSHIP to lead processes that facilitate teamwork, communications and effective decision-making across the entire enterprise;
• Create and maintain an environment of partnership and collaboration with all other departments to assure the attainment of overall Company goals;
• Liaise with the business function(s), SAP Solution Architect, BPO’s and SAP Solution Owners to update a rolling 6-year capabilities roadmap anchored in business objectives and goals;

• Develop an enterprise Business Intelligence and Data strategy ensuring seamless integration of SAP existing solutions and future platforms;
• Develop a roadmap that leverages our SAP solutions ecosystem and data assets that reside in and out of SAP driving innovation, efficiency, and a reliable single source of truth;

• Define technical principles, vision, and standards for data warehouse/data-lake. Harness understanding of our SAP technology landscape as the core in the data architecture design.

• Create data architecture patterns and define playbooks for data technologies, ensuring seamless integration with our data flows.

• Leverage enterprise and cross-functional understanding to define optimal BI & reporting solutions leading to tangible business results;
• Define and provide consistent direction and governance of the data architectural capabilities and frameworks across work streams such as data model principles, data standardization, data retention, data flow, data lineage and transformation, master data management, metadata management, data quality and remediation.

 Operational

• Drive business transformation and efficiency through the development of leading data & reporting practices/processes and tools;
• Analyze business requirements by conducting information-gathering sessions with key stakeholders, analyzing the information and being able to effectively provide BI & reporting solutions.
• Provide technical thought leadership on High Level Architecture and Design, data modeling, Big Data strategy & adoption for Ingestion and Analytics Applications at an enterprise level. Ensure the design can scale to handle additional data demands.
• Own the data governance meta-model and contribute to the development of data governance operating models
• Collaborate effectively with key business decision makers, BT&T resources, and end users to provide best in class solutions.
• Coordinate execution of project tasks in your functional area and be comfortable in working under the pressure of tight project deadlines.
• Monitor the performance, effectiveness, and adoption of key BI and reporting solutions;
• Ensure technology is exploited to its full potential based on business goals;
• Effectively lead, enable, and empower the Enterprise Master Data and Analytics team. Ensure priorities and personal scorecards are in place with a regular cadence with each team member to coach and develop.
• Active participation in the Enterprise Capabilities Working Council to review, assess, and prioritize new/change requests submissions with a recommendation for Steerco;
• Active member of the SAP Change Board;
• Create and maintain a current repository of BI & Data architecture and solutions documentation (i.e. workflows, job aids, SOPs, RACI) and training to be consumed by end users;
• Leverage enterprise/cross-functional business understanding to define optimal solutions and processes leading to tangible business results;
• Strongly liaise with the corresponding business functions to keep deep understanding of processes, pain points, objectives, and adherence to deployed leading practices
• Provide leadership and facilitates the evaluation of vendors and products, contributes to the provision of oversight and governance for configuration and implementation of products
• Responsible for the technical direction of data/information relating to applications within a portfolio and/or delivery of secure data architecture
• Create documentation and presentations, lead discussions with business and technology owners to receive buy-in and approval

OTHER

• Participate in regular meetings, complete administrative duties as necessary;
• TEAM player with a positive attitude;
• PASSIONATE with a desire to learn and collaborate;
• Exceptional time management and organizational skills, self-starter with a high level of initiative and ADAPTABILITY;
• Demonstrates HUMILITY throughout the Company on a daily basis;
• Shows a willingness to learn through a curious and questioning mindset;
• Aptitude to exhibit RESPECT and protect Core Values in a changing environment;
• Keeps the work atmosphere FUN by keeping it light and welcoming;
• All other duties and responsibilities as assigned;

Reporting Relationships:

Reports directly to the Vice President of Business Transformation & Technology.  

This position will lead the Enterprise Master Data Governance and Analytics team: Enterprise MD Governance & Analytics Manager, two Master Data Analysts, Reporting & Business Analyst, and Data Analytics Technologist.

About you:

• Passionate about enabling business goals and insights through best in breed business intelligence and data solutions with a clear articulation of business value;
• A purpose driven and values-based leader who has honed your business and people leadership skills with best in class companies and is looking to join a purpose led organization with whom your values align;
• Highly flexible, creative and energetic, you have an entrepreneurial mindset and can adapt to changing situations in a fast-growing company. You are a ‘hands-on’ manager, able to think strategically while executing business activities with an agile sprint mindset and tight timelines;
• You are a creative problem solver and a natural collaborator who can work across different areas of the organization and across markets to align stakeholders for the best business solutions;

 

EXPERIENCE

• 8+ years of experience in BI or Data Architecture.
• Proven ability to discuss and design solutions using concepts such as data lineage, data quality gates, data anonymization, data governance, data security, data replication, data caching, data lifecycle management, data catalogs, and networking
• Hands on experience with OLAP Tools (Analysis Services, Tabular)
• Hands on experience with reporting tools (Reporting Services, Excel Tools, Tableau, Power BI)
• Familiarity with master data management tools and concepts
• Knowledge of Big Data technologies a plus
• Proficient with enterprise architecture and data architecture concepts
• Expertise with data modeling techniques (Star, Snowflake) data warehousing & data mart principles and methodologies
• Understanding of requirements and impacts from compliance frameworks such as HIPAA, PCI, GDPR, PIPEDA, etc.
• In-depth understanding of solution, business, information and data architectures
• Familiar with SAP S/4 HANA, SAP IBP Control Tower, SAP SAC, SAP Data Sphere and other non-SAP platforms;
• Experience leading, developing, and managing direct reports and creating a culture of high performance & engagement;
• Must have outstanding project management skills; ability to define a detailed project plan, manage resources, articulate and resolve outstanding issues, and manage project schedules;
• Experience in developing and nurturing trustworthy relationships; demonstrated ability to align functional/domain priorities with enterprise priorities;
• Strong communication and negotiation skills; ability to effectively get ideas across and get buy in from all levels of the organization;
• Can expertly bridge the business and technical subjects within the areas of focus

EDUCATION:

• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree of Computer Science, Engineering or a related field;
• Visionary leader with 10+ years of experience in technology design and build, specifically in data service design, building data architectures, and leading end-to-end implementations.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with AWS cloud-based data architecture, including data lake technologies like SAP Data Sphere, Glue, EMR, Redshift, and Lambda.
• A strong background in data science (R, Python), LLMs, and GenAI is essential, along with real-time data streaming technology experience such as Kafka or Kinesis, and open-source technology experience like Python and Spark.
• Hands-on management of datasets, lifecycles, access security and policies
• Resident expertise in data handling best practices, archiving, compression, serialize/de-serialize methods
• Ability to develop strategy documents, roadmaps, plans, socialize concepts, develop business cases, liaise with teams for planning and implementation
• Continuous Improvement certification is a plus (Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt)

What we expect:

• Values-led: You’ll be a member of a thoughtful and compassionate team that prioritizes respect, teamwork and resourcefulness along with a good dash of fun. Sometimes, even making granola bars is hard, and life’s too short to take ourselves so seriously that we don’t enjoy the journey.
• Unparalleled experiences and opportunities: We’re still determining who we are and what we can be. Help us shape what this organization will look like and what we’ll offer the world, into the future. This means rolling up your sleeves and sometimes building the process – fast! – while employing it. At Riverside, progress occasionally means proceeding imperfectly, and we’re okay with that, as long as we’re staying true to our values and learning and improving along the way.
• Access to everyone: We’re a flat organization with few silos which means you’ll have full access to everyone from our founders to our production staff. Even when employees dress up, they wear steel-toed shoes. So don’t be shy. Speak up, share your ideas and go places you normally wouldn’t – like the plant, or the boardroom.
• Personal development: We’ll support and empower you to chart your own path and reach any heights you set for yourself. Career paths at Riverside are carved by the people walking on them, not dictated by leaders. Count on us to give you the training and tools to grow and progress.
• Gratitude: As a growing business, we can’t always offer formal recognition like awards programs, but we do show our true gratitude and appreciation. At Riverside, we’re all in this together and we value you.

What We Offer:

• Values-led: We don’t cut corners or step on anyone or anything on our way to our summit. There is no winning at all costs here. Every step you take must align with our values, no compromises.
• Courageous determination: As a family-run, rapidly growing business, we are often challenged to find ways to deliver that aren’t obvious or easy. You must be willing to try, ask and answer challenging questions, test and learn, turn over every stone, keep moving forward and help us find a way through. Resourcefulness and grit will be your constant companions at Riverside and will serve you well.
• Humility: We’re a small (but growing) fish in a sea of whales and sharks. We know the products we offer are some of the healthiest and most sustainable, but we don’t brag about it, and know we have a steep path ahead. We pride ourselves in being respectful and supportive of others while shining brightly through our innovative, high-quality products. There isn’t one superstar at Riverside. We take turns leading the way as we climb to the summit.
• Continuous improvement: As a learn-as-we-go organization, we rely on each other to continuously improve everything we touch to make it better, more efficient, more sustainable, and more endearing to customers, consumers, employees, vendors, partners and the community. We own our mistakes and learn from them as we wind our way to the top.

Wait! There’s more!

• Immerse yourself in our comprehensive benefits program, with Riverside taking care of the costs!
• RRSP matching or IRA matching for an empowered financial journey
• Join Employee-Led Resource Groups (ERGs) championing mental health, sustainability, diversity, women, and LGBTQ+ rights
• Develop your career further through our Riverside University program and with our Tuition Reimbursement Program
• An open concept work environment that embodies our Values

How to Apply:

If you have the commitment to excellence, the energy, the attitude and experience we need, then please submit your resume to careers(AT)riversidenaturals.com with the job title you are applying for in the subject line or click the apply button!

Riverside Natural Foods Ltd. is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you have a disability and require accommodation in the interview process, please let us know when you apply. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, due to volume, please note that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.