About the job

Job summary

c.£92,000 per annum
London Based
Hybrid Working (on site once a week)
Permanent

“This is an exciting time to work in the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) at Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), which has been formed to make Pensions Dashboards a reality for people in the UK. We’re creating something that will change the pensions landscape and the experiences people have with their pensions.

Here is an insight to the Pensions Dashboard Programme: 

Pensions dashboards will enable people to access key information about their UK pensions, private and State, in one place online, revolutionising how people engage with their pensions throughout their lives. Enabling the delivery of pensions dashboards will require up to 52m adults in the UK to be connected with around 43,000 pension providers and schemes to search for their pensions.

Development work by industry has already taken place, as a concept. The goal is now to turn it into a delivery solution for the benefit of UK citizens. MaPS has created a Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) which will be responsible for delivering the digital architecture and governance framework that will allow multiple parties to be connected as part of the pension’s dashboards ecosystem. This hugely significant development has the potential to improve the financial wellbeing of millions of people.

The Programme is working in close partnership with DWP, TPR and FCA who all have related delivery responsibilities. Industry has had, and will continue to have, a crucial role to play in designing and developing the necessary components to make pensions dashboards possible.

“This vacancy offers hybrid working, with a London based office currently based in Holborn.  As of January 2024, the office will be moving to Caxton House (Westminster).  Both offices are in central London and easily accessible via public transport.”

Job description

Overview of the Role

The Pensions Dashboard Programme is responsible for the infrastructure project which enables private sector organisations to inter-operate, forming an eco-system which delivers pensions dashboards for members of the public or their financial advisors to access all of their pension data in one digital transaction. The PDP provides the infrastructure, processes and standards to support the ecosystem; private sector organisations provide many dashboards for end users, and pensions data comes from the many pension schemes which are obligated in legislation to integrate with to the service.

The team you lead will work with out-sourced system provider and service operator to deliver technology infrastructure, functionality and support services to provide this service to the public and their advisers.

The technology standards on which the PDP integration programme is based can be found at https://www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/standards/.

The Purpose of the Role

PDP is seeking a Lead Technical Architect to cover Solution, Identity and Integration Architecture.

This client-side role spans the entire life cycle: the programme has developed requirements and an architecture and is currently in a development and incremental delivery to operation. There will be at least two more major design and build phases before on-going maintenance and enhancement phases. The role covers requirements, design, deployment and operational assurance.

The Lead Architect assumes responsibility for the ecosystem technology architecture, and leads all aspects of PDP’s client-side technical team, working with suppliers to define and assure the solution architecture, design, build and test through to implementation, and operations.

As the role holder, to deliver the service outcomes for the public, you will:

• Manage suppliers of the technical solution across its life cycle of design, development, operational service and ongoing enhancement
• Provide critical, high level and far reaching contributions to the programme design authority
• Enhance and iterate open standards for technical integration, eco-system operation and security, technical and business trust frameworks
• Work with stakeholders across the ecosystem to determine requirements and resolve integration and interoperation issues
• Contribute to the Pension Dashboard’s Governance and Trust Frameworks on technical and design matters
• Create technical solutions and resolve issues with the supplier teams
• Assure all technical programme products
• Lead technical teams (security architect, business and risk analysts, testers, assurers)
• Coordinate with other client-side roles to determine the programme’s approach to architecture, design and technical delivery issues
• Ensure integration and interoperation with an external federated identity service which meets the needs of the working age public
• Lead and assure integration with third party products across the connected organisations (i.e. dashboards provided by both many commercial providers and by MaPS in a separate project, and the hundreds of pension data provider endpoints)
• Provide architecture and technical support as the service it is rolled out across many connected organisations
• You will constantly demonstrate extensive practical technical and business experience in working across organisational boundaries with suppliers and stakeholders.

Person specification

Key Accountabilities

• Manage all architectural and technical aspects of the solutions delivery, working with industry subject matter experts, user researchers, product owners and suppliers to the programme.
• Create and manage the application of technology related policies, standards and processes and their continued assurance
• Own the technical roadmap, strategy, technical standards, technical architecture, design and delivery of the ecosystem architecture
• Working with stakeholders, map and own a view of the technical landscape associated with all parties: users, dashboard operators, pension data providers, encompassing the whole life-cycle from architecture through implementation to onboarding of ecosystem participants.
• Provide risk management (technical, delivery and security risks) and technical assurance of all stages of the lifecycle.
• Develop test scenarios and oversee assurance teams (across suppliers and organisations)
• Support the Design Authority and Assurance processes and manage project change requests.
• Evaluate improvements to the system during and after staging launches.
• Lead the technical team, especially the client-side technology team, in collaboration with their supplier-side counterparts, to ensure a holistic and assurable architecture, design, delivery and operational vision and plan.
• Assure all technical artefacts as the client-side Technical Authority
• Communicate the architecture, design, solution and technical operations appropriately to all stakeholder groups.

Skills & Experience

• Technical skills in large scale open data/open banking/regulatory programme, APIs, interfaces, messaging and cloud platforms possibly in the Financial Services industry.
• Strong understanding and expertise in solution and integration architecture, designs and concepts which include enterprise software solutions, web services, monitoring and integration technologies
• Expertise in open standards related to API design and authentication, and authorisation, OAuth2, JSON, data payload representation and transformation
• Expertise in open standards of identity proofing and authentication (e.g. GPG45, GPG44, KYC/AML, Open ID Connect), preferably have experience of User Managed Access 2 (UMA2), token design, protocol design and profiling
• Experience of distributed service design across organisational boundaries, inter-organisational integration patterns and solution test and delivery.
• Experience of cloud based open standard and open-source deliveries (cloud native architecture, continuous integration/test/delivery)
• Demonstrable appreciation of risk and security issues of large-scale public internet facing services managing sensitive personal data, directing the work of, and taking advice from, Security Architect and Security Risk Analysts
• Demonstrable experience of working as the authoritative architect on bids and programmes of work (on either client or supplier side) preferably in a government procurement context
• Ability to present complex technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• An in-depth understanding of the challenges faced throughout the technology lifecycle, essentially including inter-organisation integration programmes
• Practical understanding of technology development governance principles, and project governance principles.
• It is likely that you have over 10 years of experience as an architect, achieving Lead or Principal Architect status, at least SFIA level 5, preferably level 6.

Benefits

• At the heart of the Money and Pensions Service are our values – caring, connecting and transforming, which are the foundation of our success. They permeate every area of our work and define all our business relationships and the way we work with each other. We’re not only looking for the best people in and around Bedford to come and work for us, but we need people who align themselves to our values: -

  • Caring
    We care about our colleagues and people whose lives we are here to transform.
  • Connecting
    We will transform lives through our ability to make positive connections.
  • Transforming
    We are committed to transforming lives and make a positive societal impact.
  
  

  About MaPS

  At MaPS, we help people – particularly those most in need – to improve their financial wellbeing and build a better, more confident future. Working collaboratively across the UK, we make sure customers can access high-quality money and pensions guidance and debt advice throughout their lives, however and whenever they need it.

  
  

  Our inclusive working environment

  By fostering our values, we are immensely proud of the inclusive working environment that we have created. The diversity of our people is a strength that we embrace and wish to build upon, so we are committed to attracting people of all backgrounds.

  We work hard to ensure that we have a progressive approach to inclusion, equity and belonging.  We really do want our colleagues to “bring their whole selves to work.”

  By way of brief example, we have an enviable ethnic diversity mix, equal gender balance with a zero mean gender pay gap and thriving colleague and ally networks, including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, women’s health, men's health, ethnicity, and diversity.

  
  

  What Money and Pensions Service can offer you?

  • Generous Annual Leave – 30 days plus Bank Holidays
  • Pension scheme – contributions matched 2 to 1 (up to 10% of your salary)
  • Interest-free loan to help you buy season tickets for buses and trains
  • Cycle to work Scheme
  • Subsidised eye test & flu jabs
  • Life assurance scheme
  • Give as you earn scheme
  • Employee assistance programme (EAP)
  • PAM Assist and PAM Life scheme (Wellbeing)
  • Enhanced family and sick pay
  • Paid volunteering (2 days a year)
  • Recognition Scheme
  • Discounts portal to numerous retailers
  
  

  At MaPS, we take pride in our flexible approach to work.  Most of our roles can operate on a hybrid basis with a minimum of 2 days in the office per week. Hybrid working is a voluntary, noncontractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business needs, but personal and other relevant circumstances will also be considered. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

  This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&C’s are found https://maps.org.uk/

  The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact the Money and Pensions Service via email: recruitment@maps.org.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.

  
  

  Job Reference: MaPS00516

  Close Date: 06/02/2024

Things you need to know

Selection process details

c.£92,000 per annum

London Based

Hybrid Working (on site once a week)

Permanent

 

“This is an exciting time to work in the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) at Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), which has been formed to make Pensions Dashboards a reality for people in the UK. We’re creating something that will change the pensions landscape and the experiences people have with their pensions.

 

Here is an insight to the Pensions Dashboard Programme: 

Pensions dashboards will enable people to access key information about their UK pensions, private and State, in one place online, revolutionising how people engage with their pensions throughout their lives. Enabling the delivery of pensions dashboards will require up to 52m adults in the UK to be connected with around 43,000 pension providers and schemes to search for their pensions.

Development work by industry has already taken place, as a concept. The goal is now to turn it into a delivery solution for the benefit of UK citizens. MaPS has created a Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) which will be responsible for delivering the digital architecture and governance framework that will allow multiple parties to be connected as part of the pension’s dashboards ecosystem. This hugely significant development has the potential to improve the financial wellbeing of millions of people.

The Programme is working in close partnership with DWP, TPR and FCA who all have related delivery responsibilities. Industry has had, and will continue to have, a crucial role to play in designing and developing the necessary components to make pensions dashboards possible.

“This vacancy offers hybrid working, with a London based office currently based in Holborn.  As of January 2024, the office will be moving to Caxton House (Westminster).  Both offices are in central London and easily accessible via public transport.”

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.