Associate Director Enterprise Architecture

The Strategy & Architecture team at Transport for NSW (TfNSW) bridges the gap between strategy and execution. This team is without a doubt a high preforming group of experienced Enterprise Architects making strategic and design decisions in a complex, large scale environment.

I caught up with Marie-France Gara who has recently joined as Associate Director Enterprise Architecture. Marie-France is an accomplished professional with a career encompassing Financial Services, Insurance, Property Development and Government across Australia and Canada. I was keen to learn if the reality of the role she accepted aligned with her expectations?

The Reality?

"The reality definitely exceeded my expectations. The Strategy & Architecture team is outstanding and last year won TfNSW’s Project Team of the Year Award for Outstanding Performance and Value Contribution. This was for delivering the Cluster IT Strategy in a record time."

The team has a high level of maturity and is well established, reputable and valued across the business and IT communities. We operate truly as vanguard Enterprise Architects and deliver strategic artefacts at the executive level. We are very pragmatic and outcome oriented, which is fantastic for the Enterprise Architecture area; it means we are not just theorising but really focus on delivering value.

I personally look after Architecture Governance across the Cluster IT and collaborate with the different divisions, which is both challenging and motivating in such a complex environment."

The Culture?

"There is genuinely a large appetite for change and improvement here. This is evident with the Evolving Transport program which is supported by a robust Cluster IT strategy.

We feel recognised by all levels of management. In fact, it’s truly a very supportive and inspiring environment. This provides me with the opportunity to think outside of the square, be creative and innovative.

It’s hard to explain the culture within the team, each member is very different with a vast range of skills and expertise, but we complement and support each other well. There is a good atmosphere which is motivating and exciting. It also helps that our manager facilitates collaborative team planning sessions.

Communication is good within the team. During COVID 19, this hasn’t changed. We are completely encouraged to work flexibly and are supported with appropriate technology and personal assistance and care. This is making such a huge difference."

Professional Development?  

"This is a great opportunity to work with the best of breed and I have been learning from other team members, e.g. on delivering Cluster IT Strategy.

Outside the S&A team, the IT CIO has just launched the Tech Academy to support personal growth in the IT community.

It’s still early days but I can already see how TfNSW want to develop the team’s skills and experience across all aspects of Enterprise Architecture."

The results? 

"It’s a special team, very open and caring, while high-performing, engaged and recognised at a senior level, it’s honestly impressive.

I’m really well supported on both professional and personal aspects and been given the opportunity to succeed."

Due to increased demand for service, we current have an exciting Associate Director Enterprise Architecture opportunity within this team. Click here to learn more