Business Architect

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

GDS Local is a specialist unit within the Service Transformation Directorate that bridges central and local government digital delivery, ensuring GDS platforms and expertise reach all levels of public service to create seamless citizen experiences.

Our current priorities are

• making GDS products available: starting the journey of making more GDS products and platforms actively available to local authorities
• unlocking data potential: breaking down barriers to data sharing across services and creating environments for innovation
• developing the foundations for a new, joined-up approach to buying and building technology that aligns with the goals of the blueprint for modern digital government

Job description

As Business Architect in GDS Local, you will align service design, operating models, and technology, leading the development and application of business architecture to support digital transformation across local public services.

You will shape direction, influence senior stakeholders, to ensure technology is applied appropriately within operating models, supporting services that are user‑centred, interoperable, and aligned with the wider priorities of the Government Digital Service.

Key responsibilities include

• providing business architecture leadership across GDS Local, shaping how services, operating models and technology come together to support digital transformation and improved outcomes across local public services
• leading the development of shared business architecture artefacts such as capability models, value streams, operating models and reference architectures that underpin coherent service design, delivery and reuse across local and central government
• translating complex service, policy and organisational challenges into clear, actionable architectural approaches, helping teams and decision‑makers make informed choices about structure, technology and delivery models
• enabling innovation through architectural insight, identifying opportunities to redesign services, operating models and system boundaries in response to emerging technologies, delivery models and policy intent
• championing open standards, reusable patterns and shared platforms, promoting consistency, interoperability and cost‑effective reuse across the local government service and technology landscape
• setting direction for architectural governance and assurance, ensuring business and service designs are coherent, sustainable and aligned with wider GDS and cross‑government standards while remaining practical for local adoption
• working collaboratively across organisational boundaries, partnering with local authorities, central government departments and other partners to co‑design service and operating models that meet real user and place‑based needs
• influencing senior stakeholders and building confidence in architectural approaches, clearly communicating trade‑offs, risks and options to both technical and non‑technical audiences
• supporting capability building within GDS Local, mentoring colleagues, strengthening business architecture practice and contributing to a growing cross‑government architecture community of practice

Person specification

The role combines architectural leadership, cross‑government collaboration, and capability building to enable sustainable, technology‑enabled operating models that improve outcomes for citizens and communities who use local public services. We will be looking for the following qualities and experience:

• extensive experience leading business architecture at enterprise or system scale, using capability models, value streams and operating models to shape strategic direction across complex, multi‑organisation environments, rather than within a single service or programme
• demonstrated ability to operate at whole‑system level, aligning business architecture with technical architecture across local government, central government and shared platforms to enable sustainable, interoperable operating models
• proven leadership in digital or service transformation, framing options where outcomes, organisational maturity and delivery constraints must be balanced over the medium to long term
• expert judgement in the selection and application of architectural methods, tools and standards, including when and how to promote open standards, reuse and shared platforms
• experience shaping decisions on adoption, scale and sustainability, including how organisations onboard to shared products or platforms, and the ability to articulate costs, benefits, risks and trade‑offs to senior decision‑makers
• strong stakeholder leadership and influence, with a track record of influencing senior leaders across organisational boundaries, often without direct authority, and translating complex architectural issues into clear, actionable insight
• architectural leadership and capability building, including setting quality expectations, mentoring other architects and practitioners, and growing business architecture maturity through communities of practice
• good understanding of local government service delivery and the need to improve outcomes for citizens and communities

Benefits

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

Any move to Government Digital Service 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

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and to answer 2 application questions
• A video submission stage
• a 60 minute video interview

Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.

In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is: Describe a time when you took a whole system view to shape how technology supported your organisation’s operating model or transformation strategy.

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Business Architect role:

• Business architecture
• Methods and tools
• Strategic design and business change
• Stakeholder relationship management

Want to know more about who Government Digital and Data are? Click Here

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: 20/4/2026

Video Submission Task: Starting from 20/4/2026

Panel interviews: Week Commencing 4/5/2026

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

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

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Sponsorship

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact gds-complaints@dsit.gov.uk in the first instance.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.