Lead Technical Architect

Job summary

Corporate Operations Directorate, part of the DG Corporate family, leads efforts to enable Scottish Government to operate more effectively and efficiently, supporting both internal teams and shared service customers. Our critical technologies and services underpin operations across government, with a focus on digital transformation, automation and shared services. We bring structure and governance to the setting of priorities, and are responsible for delivering projects and programmes from a varied portfolio of transformational change.

Within the Directorate, the function of Corporate Architecture was formed to take ownership for a mission to make a material positive impact on the performance of the Scottish Government with a coherent, professional Architecture Operation. We are agents of change who support the organisation in making informed, people-centred decisions that align with our shared mission: In the Service of Scotland.

Our team brings together expertise in analysis, strategy and storytelling to help shape the future of the organisation. We act as a trusted partner - connecting people, ideas and evidence - to ensure the right voices are heard and the right decisions are made. Our architecture remit is the corporate space. We define that as business processes, applications, data and technology where staff and the business people we work with are affected, and the concern is shared across multiple lines of business.

Job description

Main Duties

• Presenting recommendations for technologies or improvements to enhance systems to support project goals clearly to senior management, based on knowledge of IT and analysis of systems’ needs.

• Evaluating the success of a project, once the solution has been integrated, identifying best practices and lessons learned.

• Providing feedback to leadership and incorporating best practices and lessons learned into future integration plans.

• Act as a key contributor to architecture governance activities ensuring the adoption of good working methods and best practice in the application of technology architecture standards.

• Leading the design and review processes for new solution and services, evidencing the inclusion of ‘Secure by Design” in the technical designs you produce, oversee and approve.

• Managing, coaching and mentoring more junior Technical Architects.

• Contributing to the overall technical strategy and road map for the department in your area of expertise.

• Creating optimal technical designs through an iterative process, aligning such factors as the user need within the system requirements, security and organisational objectives.

• Developing and documenting the proposed technical design for the integration and implementation of any solution, working with and across other areas of the Government Data and Digital Profession (GDD) and the business.

• Ensure designs meet security and operational requirements.

• Be seen across the department or division as a Subject Matter expert, contributing to the development of architectural practice, ensuring a coherent and consistent strategy across cybersecurity, cloud, data centre, storage, network, mobile and the user experience of infrastructure

Person specification

Success Profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.

Experience

1. You demonstrate an understanding of the complex landscapes of technologies and the required collaboration with 3rd party suppliers, internal and cross-government teams across multiple projects to deliver successful outcomes in line with business and technical requirements.
2. You have managed Human Resource activities, including interviewing, selection / hiring, and conducting performance assessments.
3. You have the experience, skills and personal qualities that allow you to be effective whilst working unsupervised in a dynamic environment with fluid priorities and high levels of uncertainty.
4. You can balance potentially conflicting requirements and interests, negotiate a consensus and justify your architectural design decisions.

Behaviours

• Changing and improving - Level 4
• Delivering at pace - Level 4

You can find out more about Success Profiles here: Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot

Technical

This role is aligned to the Technical architect role within the Architecture job family. You can find out more about the skills required: Technical architect - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

These skills are assessed by technical assessment, designed to represent the role. Candidates reaching this stage will receive a Technical Assessment Candidate Pack which outlines the specific skills to be assessed, plus the method of assessment.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £80,172, Scottish Government contributes £23,225 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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

Please apply via the link provided

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.

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

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 : thomas.buchendorfer@gov.scot
• Email : thomas.buchendorfer@gov.scot

Recruitment team

• Email : ellis.ridley@gov.scot

Further information

https://fa-evxn-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/3545/?utm_medium=jobboard&utm_source=CivilServiceJobs