About the job

Job summary

The Government People Group exists to work with departments, professions, and functions to build a modern, effective Civil Service.

We support the government workforce with the right skills and capability. We are working with leaders to get the right people in the right jobs, with the right skills and continuous learning to excel in their roles.

We provide leadership, and in turn, create leaders with exceptional line management capability across departments, influencing partners in the wider public sector and beyond. This involves getting our retention and reward strategy right, to nurture specific skills, and create pride and resilience in our workforce.

Our role is also to provide system leadership across central government in pulling together back office services. Collectively, we help support the Cabinet Office’s priority to drive efficiencies, and reforms that will make government work better, to ultimately provide a better service to the public.

Within GPG, the Platforms, Data and Interoperability (PD&I) directorate provides first-class platforms and services for over 400,000 civil servants, including recruitment, data analysis, skills and learning solutions.

We are looking for an experienced Solutions Architect or an architect looking to take the next step in their career, to join our Architecture Services Team and play a critical role in developing and implementing technological solutions for the GPG enterprise. As a Solutions Architect, you will assess business needs and devise strategies to leverage technology solutions effectively. Your expertise will ensure the balance between investing in technology and solving business problems while aligning technical solutions with the overall goals of the organisation. Additionally, you will be responsible for creating architecture roadmaps for service and technology, serving as the Solutions Architect for a Business Advisory Group (BAG), and being part of the Enterprise Architecture Assurance Board (EAAB).

Job description

Reporting to the Head of Architecture Services, the role of Solutions Architect will have an expanded set of responsibilities, including:

Service and Technology Roadmaps: Develop and maintain comprehensive architecture roadmaps for services and the technology that underpins them. These roadmaps will align with the organisation's long-term goals and provide a clear path for implementing and evolving solutions.

Business Advisory Group: Act as the Solutions Architect for our Business Advisory Group, working closely with stakeholders to review and design solutions proposed by different teams. Your expertise will ensure that proposed solutions meet business requirements, align with enterprise architecture standards, and are in line with the service and technology roadmaps.

Enterprise Architecture Assurance Board: Be an integral part of the Enterprise Architecture Assurance Board (EAAB), contributing to the development and enforcement of architectural principles, standards, and guidelines. Your input will play a crucial role in ensuring that solutions are consistent, scalable, and compliant with the overall enterprise architecture.

Solution Development:

• Problem Definition – clearly define the problem and understand its scope, impact and stakeholders
• Research and Analysis – Gather relevant information, data, and insights to better understand the problem and identify potential solutions
• Ideation – Generate a variety of potential solutions to the problem, considering different approaches and perspectives
• Solutions Design – Create detailed solutions design artefacts
• Refinement and implementation – Refine the solutions iteratively based on feedback and ensure development teams implement the agreed design.

Technology Evaluation: Evaluate and select the appropriate technology stacks, software, hardware, and infrastructure to create cohesive and efficient digital ecosystems.

Business Alignment: Collaborate with stakeholders at all levels, including senior management, to understand business needs and ensure that solutions align with their specific requirements.

Project Management: Quality assurance of projects through their entire lifecycle, ensuring effective roll-out of new solutions and raising architectural risk with EAAB.

Testing Requirements: Establish and outline testing requirements to ensure the success and reliability of solutions.

Person specification

To be successful in this role, you should possess the following skills and qualities:

Essential Criteria:

Solution Development and Design: Turning business problems into solution design. You can work with business and technology stakeholders to translate business problems into solution design. You can create optimal designs through iterative processes, aligning the business requirement with technology capabilities and functionality.

Technology and Development Experience: Demonstrated expertise in a mixture of IT infrastructure, cloud-based solutions, software engineering, network administration, and database management.

Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively convey technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Ability to document new systems and present technical information clearly.

Analytics: Strong analytical skills to guide decision-making, implement data-driven processes, and assess the benefits and risks of new technology implementations.

Project Management: Proven project management skills to ensure successful implementation, resource allocation, and risk mitigation throughout the project lifecycle.

Architecture Roadmaps: Experience in developing and managing architecture roadmaps across a variety of domains.

Enterprise Architecture Method & Assurance: Familiarity with enterprise architecture methods such as TOGAF 9.2 and experience in an enterprise architecture authority is a plus.

Desirable Criteria:

Enterprise Applications and Systems: Experience or knowledge in 1 or more of the following enterprise-scale technologies

• Enterprise Case Management (Salesforce, ServiceNow & Freshdesk)
• Integration Hubs
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
• Identify & Access Management (IDAM)
• Learning & Skills Experience or Management Platforms
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,400, Cabinet Office contributes £14,418 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 Experience.

Application process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.
2. A Personal Statement against the skills and experience (maximum 500 words)

Your CV and Personal Statement are your opportunities to show us how your experience means that you meet the criteria for this role. Your CV should cover your skills, qualifications, job history, and achievements to date and your Personal Statement is the chance to further expand on this and give specific examples of where you have demonstrated the desired skills. Giving examples rather than just saying you're experienced with a certain requirement will strengthen your statement and enable the sift panel to understand more about your suitability for the role.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the CV. Candidates who pass the initial
sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Selection process

An initial sift will be conducted on the CV and Personal Statement. Candidates successful at the sift stage will be invited to interview.  Interviews will be held virtually and more information will be provided once you progress to the interview stage.  The success profiles to be assessed at the interview are listed in this advert.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 05/03/2024

Expected interview date/s – TBC

Interview location - Virtual

Further information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, 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 Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
• Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to 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.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

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.