Principal Enterprise Architect

Job summary

Can you shape and deliver enterprise architecture strategy at scale?

Do you influence senior stakeholders to drive complex technology decisions?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

This is an exciting time to join the Digital, Information and Security Directorate within the Department for Transport as we restructure our directorate to ensure we are ready for future challenges, building a more sustainable, skilled and in-house capability.

You will shape strategy, influence decision-making, and take ownership of the results and service impact of enterprise architecture decisions across the Department for Transport.

As a Principal Enterprise Architect, you will lead the development of enterprise architecture strategy, target-state architectures and strategic roadmaps, ensuring business and technology investments deliver measurable value. You will work closely with senior business, service, delivery, and technical stakeholders to understand and challenge needs, explain options and trade-offs, and build agreement on complex decisions. You will not operate only at a strategic distance: where work is high risk, business critical or blocked, you will get directly involved, manage architectural risks through to resolution, and remain accountable for the effect of your advice on live services, users, and business outcomes.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers and within the Government Digital and Data Profession.

Job description

Join the Department for Transport as a Principal Enterprise Architect and play a leading role in shaping the technology strategy that supports the UK's transport system.

You'll be responsible for defining and driving enterprise architecture across a complex digital landscape, ensuring technology investments, services, and capabilities align with organisational priorities and long-term objectives.

Working with senior leaders, technical specialists, and business stakeholders, you'll provide expert architectural leadership, influence strategic decision-making, and establish standards that enable secure, scalable, and innovative digital services. You'll guide the development of technology roadmaps, oversee governance and assurance activities, and ensure architectural decisions support both current and future business needs.

This is a high-impact role where you'll help shape the future direction of digital, data, and technology across the Department. You'll identify emerging trends, champion best practice, build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups, and support the successful delivery of transformational programmes. You'll also develop architectural capability across the organisation, inspiring and mentoring others, while helping to build a strong, future-ready profession. In addition, you'll actively engage with architecture communities across government, contributing to cross-government collaboration, sharing best practice, and helping to influence the wider public sector architecture profession.

If you're passionate about strategy, innovation, and leading change at scale, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Leading the development and implementation of enterprise architecture strategy, principles, standards, patterns, and roadmaps aligned to departmental priorities and business needs.
• Taking ownership of the results and service impacts of architectural advice and decisions, including becoming directly involved in complex, high-risk or business-critical work to resolve issues and unblock delivery.
• Building trusted relationships with senior business, service, delivery and technical stakeholders; understanding and constructively challenging needs; agreeing priorities; and communicating complex options, trade-offs and decisions clearly.
• Identifying, communicating, and managing architectural risks through to resolution, balancing delivery pace with security, resilience, compliance, operational stability and value for money.
• Making clear where constraints in the technology offer limit what can be delivered, and managing the consequences for users, live services, operations, and wider business outcomes.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - while all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Additional Information

The role is part of the Government Digital and Data Framework profession and utilises an enhanced Capability–Based Pay Framework which provides access to a Digital and Data allowance.

The base pay is £72,281. In addition to this the role includes a Digital and Data allowance of up to £21,350.

The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated through the selection process. Here are more details on the pay framework.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Enterprise architecture leadership. You have substantial experience leading enterprise architecture across business, application, data, technology and security domains, connecting organisational strategy and user outcomes to coherent target architectures and roadmaps.
• Operating model, governance and assurance. You have experience designing or evolving enterprise architecture operating models, governance structures and decision-making processes, and applying standards and reference architectures to support an integrated technology plan.
• Making and guiding decisions. You can make and guide complex, high-impact architectural decisions, build consensus across services and stakeholders, and balance delivery pace with security, resilience, compliance and operational stability.
• Ownership of outcomes and service impact. You can demonstrate where you became directly involved in complex or high-risk work, took ownership of the results of architectural decisions, and managed their impact on live services, users and business outcomes, including where technology constraints limited the available offer.
• Stakeholder engagement and risk management. You have a strong track record of building trusted relationships with senior business, service, delivery and technical stakeholders; understanding and constructively challenging business needs; and identifying, communicating and managing architectural risks through to resolution.
• Investment and commercial insight. You have experience influencing technology investments, business cases and strategic priorities through architectural evidence and governance, with a clear focus on value for money, lifecycle cost and the management of technical debt.
• Understanding the whole context. You understand digital trends, technology opportunities and cross-organisational dependencies, and can assess their implications for the department, its people, services and major transformation programmes.
• Communicating between the technical and non-technical. You can explain complex choices, options, costs, risks and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders, mediate difficult discussions and influence senior leaders.
• Strategy and transformation. You can define and connect strategies, standards, policies, patterns, roadmaps and vision statements, and translate them into practical architectural direction that enables cloud adoption, platform modernisation and the transition from legacy services.
• Problem definition and technical design. You can frame complex business problems, challenge assumptions and guide the design of systems characterised by high levels of risk, impact and business or technical complexity.
• Professional and capability leadership. You have experience building architecture capability through mentoring, communities of practice, standards development, workforce planning or profession leadership, creating an inclusive environment in which technical specialists can develop and succeed.
• Enterprise architecture tools. You have experience rationalising tooling and using enterprise architecture tools and modelling standards to maintain a trusted source of information that supports strategic investment, dependency management and technology lifecycle decisions.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full-time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

While we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 35 hours per week.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Principal enterprise architect – Enterprise Architecture – Level: Expert
• Principal enterprise architect – Making Architectural Decisions – Level: Expert
• Principal enterprise architect – Strategy Design – Level: Expert
• Principal enterprise architect – Architecture Communication – Level: Expert

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £72,281, Department for Transport contributes £20,939 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).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

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

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

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's experience, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1000-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• Defining and implementing enterprise-wide technology strategies, standards, roadmaps and target architectures that support organisational objectives and transformation outcomes.
• Influencing and guiding senior stakeholders to make complex technology and investment decisions, building consensus across organisational boundaries and competing priorities.
• Establishing and applying architecture governance, assurance and standards to enable coherent decision-making, manage risk and support strategic delivery across a complex organisation.
• Assessing emerging technologies, industry trends and organisational needs to shape strategic direction and identify opportunities for improved business outcomes.

The sift will take place on Wednesday 25th November 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Leadership
• Technical skills – Enterprise Architecture, Making Architectural Decisions, Strategy Design, and Architecture Communication
• Experience

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place on Wednesday 9th December 2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site.

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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.

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 : Gavin Gaunt
• Email : Gavin.Gaunt@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.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, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.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 Here

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (docx, 98kB)Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window (docx, 492kB)