About the job

Job summary

The Security Architect role sits within the Enterprise Design Authority – Technology (EDA-T) team of the Chief Technology Office (CTO) in Digital, Data & Technology (DDaT), which works across the Agency to develop and establish mechanisms for aligning the enterprise, technological solutions and technology architectures to the NCA’s strategic direction.

Job description

There's no such thing as a typical NCA officer. We come from different backgrounds and cultures, speak many languages, and have diverse skills and experiences. What we have in common is dedication and a commitment to protecting the public from serious and organised crime. We are deeply committed to building our future capability, our people are proud to protect and enabling their future success is critical to our mission.

NCA officers work at the forefront of law enforcement. Building the best possible intelligence picture of all serious and organised crime threats, relentlessly pursuing the most serious and dangerous offenders, and developing and delivering specialist capabilities on behalf of law enforcement and other partners.

Digital, data and technology are at the heart of everything we do within the NCA, from operations to the back-office, enabling the agency to lead the UK’s fight against serious and organised crime. The pace of change within the digital and tech world means we need to be agile and innovative in how we respond to threats while exploiting the opportunities this presents.

The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Directorate is responsible for creating a cutting-edge technology and information environment that connects, empowers, and enhances our officers’ crime fighting capabilities.

We are responsible for defining and delivering our data and technology strategy, policy, and architecture, building and sustaining resilient services which are critical to our mission success. We work closely with our operational teams to help them do their job in the most effective and efficient way, understanding their challenges and combining this with emerging technologies/techniques to obtain and exploit data in innovative ways to ensure we stay ahead of the criminals who are committing some of most serious crimes and inflicting harm to our society.

Are you ready to join the team?

Person specification

Key responsibilities

• Working to the Chief Architect, set the strategic direction for all IT related 
  domains in the NCA and ensure coherence with the wider government approach 
  to IT.
• Establish and maintain architectural principles, standards, blueprints, roadmaps 
  and transitions states that underpin all IT design and delivery in the NCA.
• Take responsibility for evolving, working with and supporting other staff in wider 
  governance; lead the work with projects to embed the architectural design gates 
  with the overall governance process ensuring reference information is published, 
  maintained and readily available.
• Maintain a broad and up-to-date knowledge of current state and emerging 
  developments across technology areas including infrastructure, networks, 
  applications and data; bring this knowledge and expertise to bear in the design 
  of systems.
• Manage, coach and develop staff, work cooperatively with colleagues and 
  stakeholders to promote high performance, and manage issues relating to the 
  performance and conduct of officers in line with NCA principles. 

The following criteria is Desirable for the role:

• Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Certification (Programme Delivery) 
• Industry-recognised qualification: ITIL foundation certification OR Microsoft Project/Jira/Confluence experience
• Membership of relevant professional bodies 
• Proven experience of delivering a HMT Green Book Business Case. 
• Bachelor’s degree in technology related subject such as Digital 
Communications, ideally advanced degree or equivalent experience. (Innovation 
& Proposition) 
• You will be TOGAF certified with the ability to build and lead the enterprise 
architecture function across the NCA 
• Ability to direct and manage systems engineering activities across a range of 
technologies and environments
• Understanding of the differing needs and capabilities of the stakeholders within 
the LE and UKIC Community including how law enforcement acquires and uses 
information regarding the digital communications of target investigations

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,675, National Crime Agency contributes £16,652 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.

If you wish to apply for this vacancy, you must submit your application form to NCA-SMSA@global-resourcing.com by 23:55 on Monday 1st July 2024.

For further application guidance please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/applying-and-onboarding

A panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set.

Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift results are expected to be released w/c Monday 22nd July 2024.

Interview Details 

You will then be asked to attend an interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence. 

Interviews will take place in August 2024 - locations to be confirmed. Please be advised that the type of interview (eg. virtual/face-to-face) may be subject to change and successful candidates will be notified of this prior to attending. However the interview is conducted, the interview criteria will remain as detailed within this advert.

The above sift and interview dates are an indicative timeline.

Should you be successful at sift but cannot attend on the interview date(s) listed the recruitment team cannot guarantee an alternative date. Please contact Callum Randle at NCA-SMSA@global-resourcing.com.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Any instances of plagiarism including copying of examples/answers from internet sources will result in a withdrawal of your application. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Interview Outcome 

Candidates will be alerted of the outcome of their interview via email.  We will be retaining a candidate pool of successful applicants to draw from as vacancies arise for up to 12 months.

If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible. 

Once we make you an offer you will then go through our vetting and pre-employment checks processes.

All Appointments will be made in merit order. 

The NCA is a law enforcement agency & as such we are part of the Criminal Justice System. Therefore if you are going into an operational role we need to be aware if any of our officers have, either before they join us or afterwards, any of the following:

• Any criminal conviction (including by Court Martial), or caution or fixed penalty notice for disorder or theft;
• Any adverse judicial findings;
• Any charges or summonses where the proceedings are not complete;
• Any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete.

You will be asked to complete a declaration form covering the above if offered a role with the NCA. 

Each case will be considered on its merits and a positive declaration does not automatically mean that your application will not be progressed. However, should you fail to disclose a relevant matter then your application or employment will be adversely affected. If in doubt, please declare it at this stage.

Multi-Location

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role.

Please note, only advertised location can be offered. 

Hybrid Working

Here at the NCA we have a hybrid working arrangement in place enabling officers to work a proportion of their role remotely. Eligibility and the degree of home working will vary depending on the requirements of the role. Further details can be discussed at offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. As part of our application process you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process that you may need. If you have a disability or long-term condition (a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Callum Randle at NCA-SMSA@global-resourcing.com as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Please tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Inclusion and Accessibility

We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process. For details of the available group please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/benefits-and-support

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, the NCA require certain personal details about you on submission of your application. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application. You will be asked to complete an E-consent survey asking for permission to share this data with the NCA to be used for statistical/monitoring purposes only, refusal of consent to share the information will not impact your application.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact NCA-SMSA@global-resourcing.com

Additional Information 

• The NCA is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.
• Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.
• Successful candidates may be required to undertake a medical. If required, the medical will take place in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.
• If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted. You will remain on the reserve list for a max of 12 months.
• This role is being advertised on a permanent basis. If preferable, Loan or Secondment options will also be available for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited NDPBs or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

VETTING REQUIREMENTS - SC

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for SC is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

• successful completion of the BPSS
• UK criminal record and identity checks
• credit reference checks
• relevant personnel and medical checks (if required)

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA careers page for further information please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers

If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the advert, please contact: NCA-SMSA@global-resourcing.com

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.