Overview
Enterprise Application Specialist Jobs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at Riyadh University of Arts جامعة الرياض للفنون
Title: Enterprise Application Specialist
Company: Riyadh University of Arts جامعة الرياض للفنون
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
About RUA
RUA is a forward-thinking institution for cross-cultural arts education and creative innovation in the Middle East that fosters bold ideas that inspire progress and transform society by cultivating industry and academic collaboration and rethinking creative education, all while creating a space for global ideas to flourish in a culturally inspiring environment.
- Our Vision
- To be an inspiring beacon of knowledge for future generations, integrating culture and arts, empowering students to discover passions and develop talents while fostering creativity and cultural exchange.
- Our Mission
- To cultivate an innovative educational environment in culture and arts, delivering cutting-edge programs that foster cultural and artistic engagement, enriching both the Saudi and global communities.
- Our Aspirations
- The leading cultural university across the Middle East and North Africa.
- Ranked among top 50 universities worldwide specializing in cultural education.
- A global hub for cultural education and knowledge exchange.
Key Responsibilities:
SIS Architecture & Student Lifecycle Design
Define and own the target architecture for eRegister across the full student lifecycle – including applicant intake, admissions processing, offer management, enrolment confirmation, course registration, academic records, progression tracking, and related student administration functions.
Work with the Registrar and Academic Affairs to translate RUA's academic framework into system configuration: program and course structures, credit models, prerequisite rules, academic calendar, and progression logic.
Lead architectural decisions related to configuration standards, workflow design, status and rules engine setup, role and permission structures, approval hierarchies, and records design across all student lifecycle stages.
Establish configuration standards that ensure registration windows, add/drop rules, academic standing thresholds, and grade processing parameters are set as deliberate institutional decisions – not inherited system defaults.
Academic & Business Process Alignment
Facilitate structured working sessions with Registrar, Admissions, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and D&T stakeholders to define and validate SIS requirements
Translate academic policies and operational processes into precise configuration specifications within eRegister
Evaluate and manage gaps between institutional requirements and system capabilities, proposing clear options across configuration, customization, or process change
Ensure alignment between SIS configuration and how processes are communicated externally, including admissions requirements and student-facing information
Admissions Configuration & Applicant Lifecycle
Own the architecture and configuration of admissions workflows, including applicant intake, application processing, offer management, enrolment confirmation, and transition to student status
Ensure admissions processes are accurately reflected in the SIS and aligned with institutional requirements and partner arrangements
Define readiness criteria and validate system behaviour ahead of each admissions cycle
Ensure consistency between SIS configuration and CRM and website journeys
Integration & Ecosystem Architecture
Define integration requirements and solution patterns between eRegister and surrounding institutional platforms – including the LMS (enrolment synchronization and grade passback), ERP (student billing and financial aid linkages), CRM (applicant journey management), identity and SSO services, and the university website.
Specify interface architecture, event and data exchange requirements, identity federation dependencies (LDAP, SAML, OAuth), and master data alignment standards for student, program, course, term, and academic structure entities.
Ensure student identity data flows are accurate, well-governed, and compliant with data protection standards – particularly for sensitive academic records shared across integrated systems.
Work with integration and enterprise architecture teams to maintain consistency with RUA's broader D&T architectural principles and interoperability standards.
Data Quality, Reporting & Analytics Readiness
Define student data structures, lifecycle states, data ownership responsibilities, and quality validation rules required for reliable SIS operations and institutional reporting.
Oversee planning for data migration into eRegister – covering source data assessment, cleansing requirements, target mapping, validation rules, reconciliation logic, and cutover architecture.
Ensure that records design, admissions data, registration transactions, and academic standing information are structured for control, traceability, and downstream reporting use.
Support reporting and analytics readiness by ensuring the SIS captures and exposes the right data to serve operational, management, and regulatory reporting requirements.
Vendor Governance & Implementation Oversight
Act as RUA's internal architecture lead for eRegister during requirements finalization, implementation, testing, and go-live – serving as the primary technical and functional counterpart to the eRegister vendor.
Review and challenge vendor solution designs, configurations, extensions, and technical documentation – providing architecture assurance to confirm alignment with RUA's academic, governance, and integration requirements.
Escalate design risks, configuration weaknesses, integration gaps, and product limitations with structured recommendations and clear decision rationale.
Establish and govern the change management and release process for all SIS configuration changes, ensuring traceability, testing, and rollback capability throughout the program and beyond go-live.
Testing, Quality Assurance & Operational Readiness
Define and oversee the SIS testing strategy across functional flows, academic rules enforcement, integrations, access controls, data integrity, and exception handling scenarios – ensuring test coverage reflects realistic student and administrative journeys.
Lead testing and validation of critical academic processes – including application handling, offer and status changes, registration and add/drop workflows, grade processing, term rollover, academic progression determination, and records updates.
Lead operational readiness planning for key student lifecycle milestones – including admissions cycle launch, first registration window, and first semester-end grade processing.
Lead post-go-live stabilization – identifying, prioritizing, and sequencing structural improvements for future phases and releases.
Compliance, Documentation & Institutional Capability
Maintain comprehensive architecture documentation including interface maps, configuration registers, data definitions, academic rules specifications, decision logs, and solution standards for the SIS domain.
Ensure the SIS supports institutional compliance with applicable Saudi Ministry of Education requirements, academic quality frameworks, and student records governance standards.
Develop and maintain user-enablement materials and operational guidance for Registrar, Admissions, and Academic Affairs staff who will operate and govern eRegister on a day-to-day basis.
Build internal D&T knowledge of eRegister over time, progressively developing RUA's capability to own, configure, and evolve the SIS independently – reducing dependency on vendor support for operational and configuration queries.
Contribute to the SIS roadmap beyond initial launch – identifying future-state enhancements to student-facing capabilities, self-service functionality, and academic administration aligned with RUA's institutional growth.
Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Education Technology, or related field; Master's preferred.
Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in SIS architecture, student systems, enterprise application implementation, or academic technology platforms, with at least 3 years in a lead or solution architect role.
Proven SIS experience in higher education with prior experience with eRegister strongly preferred;
Strong knowledge of student lifecycle operations: admissions, registration, enrolment, add/drop management, academic records, grade processing, and academic standing – at both policy and configuration level.
Why joining RUA:
RUA represents a platform for discovery, a space where talent is nurtured, and a gateway for Saudi art and culture to the world. We welcome you to join us on this exceptional journey. Together, we will shape the ambitious cultural future of the Kingdom and inspire the world.
As the first of its kind in the MENA region, RUA serves as a center of creativity, knowledge, and innovation, contributing to shaping the future of Saudi Arabia’s cultural ecosystem and creative economy, driving the growth of Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030.
