Senior Solutions Architect

College of Policing

United Kingdom

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 2 weeks

Flexible

£66,360 per year

Job summary

This post can be based at our sites in either Ryton-on-Dunsmore (CV8 3EN), Durham (DL15 8DS), Harrogate (HG1 1EP) or London (E14 4PU). Hybrid working opportunities can also be discussed prior to you taking up your post. This role is also available as a designated homeworking role.

About us:

Our mission is: Leadership, Standards, Performance. This guides our work with individuals, forces, and policing partners towards our vision. We exist to support police officers, police staff and volunteers to deliver the best service to the public. Only through high quality leadership, consistent standards and continual performance improvement can everyone in policing reach their full potential. Our mission guides our work with individual, forces and partners towards our vision.

Although we are a relatively small organisation, our work has a big reach. We are uniquely placed to work both with national policing organisations and local forces to support frontline officers, staff and volunteers in their day-to-day roles.

We offer a supportive and inclusive environment for people to thrive. Our extensive flexible-working policy, employee wellbeing support, family friendly policies, employers’ network for equality and inclusion membership (ENEI silver award winners), and status as a disability confident leader means everyone can bring their whole self to work.

Additional Information:

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

Due to our status as Public Servants, we are not eligible to participate in the Civil Service transfer process. Therefore, while successful candidates can transfer in on their existing terms and conditions, any subsequent transfer out of the College to the Civil Service cannot be guaranteed on existing terms and conditions, and new starter/modernised terms may apply.

The College embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we comply with the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and apply the minimum selection criteria at sift stage of the recruitment process.

Our Vetting

If you are successful at interview, you will be required to undertake pre-employment security checks. You will be sent a security questionnaire which must be accessed within 24 hours.

Please note, these checks can take up to 10 weeks. You will only be offered a start date after the checks have been completed. If the outcome of these checks is not satisfactory, your recommendation for employment will be withdrawn.

Job description

This post is open to applicants who can meet the College’s nationality, UK residency and vetting requirements.

You will be joining the College’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team at a watershed moment as we accelerate the design and delivery of innovative, AI enabled and data driven solutions across the organisation and wider policing. In this pivotal role, you will design and deliver solutions that translate business needs into coherent, robust and future proof architectures. The tools and platforms you create will transform how frontline officers and staff access and apply policing standards, learning and the evidence base, driving better outcomes for policing and the service.

Reporting to the Digital and Solutions Innovation Lead, you will be responsible for defining, assuring and governing end to end technology solutions. The role also involves ensuring these solutions are scalable, secure, cost effective and aligned to strategic architecture principles, supporting organisational objectives, operational effectiveness and long term transformation.

This role would suit someone with both technical expertise and a sense of vocation, looking to apply their skills to public service, fighting crime and keeping people safe.

Person specification

Some of your responsibilities will include:

Lead on the design of key technical solutions, setting direction for how systems and services are built and ensuring they are secure, effective and sustainable.
Providing architectural assurance across programmes and projects, ensuring compliance with agreed standards, principles, and reference architectures.
Turn operational, legal and organisational needs into secure and reliable technical designs that work across our systems, data and infrastructure and meet national policing standards.
Engaging with national policing bodies, suppliers, and partners to assess solution proposals and ensure alignment with policing strategies.

To be successful in this role you’ll need:

Extensive experience working as a technical solutions architect or backend software developer creating applications using Microsoft and AWS technologies.
Strong track record in designing and assuring complex digital, data, and technology solutions within large, regulated organisations.
Proven success in providing architectural leadership across programmes and services, acting as a design authority where required.
Hands‑on delivery of solutions involving AI
A proven ability to engage and influence senior stakeholders across business, operational, and technical domains.

Please see the attached job description which contains full details of the role.

Behaviours

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

Delivering at Pace
Changing and Improving
Managing a Quality Service
Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

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

Technical Design throughout the Lifecycle: You can create technical designs characterised by high risk, impact, and complexity and lead and guide others in creating technical designs that achieve organisational objectives.
Problem Definition and Shaping You can frame complex or high‑risk problems so solutions can be developed, helping others challenge assumptions, refine requirements, and spot opportunities when defining issues and potential options.
Architecture communication: You can lead the communication of complicated, complex or risky architecture topics with technical and non-technical stakeholders
Making Architectural Decisions You can make and guide architectural decisions of medium risk and complexity, identify and address cross‑team or cross‑domain risks, and contribute to developing architectural governance and assurance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £66,360, College of Policing contributes £19,224 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

College staff have Public Servant status. As a Public Servant, you are eligible to join the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

The College is a great place to work. We're passionate about our people and offer a wide range of benefits, including (but not limited to):

Defined benefit pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
Up to 31.5 days holiday (this is in addition to 8 public holidays and 1 privilege day)
Continued professional development and structured career paths
Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
Flexi-time (for certain grades)
Benenden Healthcare
National Dental Plan
Discounts for on-line shopping
Free employee support line
Interest free season ticket loans
Rewards and recognition scheme
Learning and development tailored to your role.
An environment with flexible working options.
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.

We also have a number of thriving staff networks that provide the opportunity for advice, support and to drive change. A place to get your voice heard, share experiences and challenge our working practices to ensure equality of opportunity for all.

For more information about our benefits and staff networks, visit What we offer as an employer , College of Policing

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.

Vacancy reference: 7102

Anticipated interview dates: Monday 27th April 2026

An initial sift based on the lead technical skill -Technical Design throughout the Lifecyclemay be held if a large number of applications are received. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

Internal applicants who are at risk of redundancy or in need of redeployment and pass the recruitment process, will be given priority over other applicants.

How to apply and contact information:

For further information visit our ‘Work for us’ page.

What it's like working at the College of Policing

If you would like to discuss the role in more detail please contact. Jayen Parmar, Digital Solutions & Innovation Lead, jayen.parmar@college.police.uk

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 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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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.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

Salary range

£66,360 per year