Solution Architect

Job summary

We are currently looking to recruit a Solution Architect to support the design, governance, and assurance of technical solutions across a portfolio of major transformation programmes. Our Solution Architects form part of the Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Directorate, with some posts supporting the National Data Exploitation Capability (NDEC).

As a Solution Architect, you will be responsible for translating complex business and user requirements into scalable, secure, and supportable architectures that align with enterprise strategy and delivery standards. You will ensure that all solution designs adhere to architectural principles, comply with internal governance processes, and pass assurance at key design stages. Operating at the heart of multidisciplinary delivery teams, you will drive technical coherence, support decision-making, and enable successful implementation from discovery through to transition.

This role aligns to Solution Architect within the Government Digital and Data career framework.

Job description

DDaT is responsible for creating a cutting-edge technology and information environment that connects, empowers, and enhances our officers’ crime fighting capabilities.

We are responsible for defining and delivering our data and technology strategy, policy, and architecture, building and sustaining resilient services which are critical to our mission success. We work closely with our operational teams to help them do their job in the most effective and efficient way, understanding their challenges and combining this with emerging technologies/techniques to obtain and exploit data in innovative ways to ensure we stay ahead of the criminals who are committing some of most serious crimes and inflicting harm to our society.

As part of NDEC you will lead and drive the technical delivery of novel applications and services including ensuring the reliability, availability and performance of services to meet operational demand.

Are you ready to join the team?

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on architecture support throughout the full solution lifecycle, from early discovery through to implementation and transition into service.
• Translate business, user, and operational requirements into feasible, pragmatic technical solution designs that balance long-term sustainability with delivery constraints.
• Ensure all solution designs align with enterprise architecture principles, patterns and standards, and comply with internal governance and assurance processes at each relevant stage.
• Lead design assurance activities, proactively managing trade-offs between time, cost, security, performance and risk, ensuring solutions meet both functional and non-functional requirements.
• Champion secure-by-design principles across all solutions, ensuring security requirements are identified early, embedded throughout the design process, and compliant with Agency and government standards.
• Guide engineering and delivery teams to implement solutions in line with approved architectures, offering direction on technical decisions, integration approaches and issue resolution.
• Act as a senior design authority across multiple programmes, workstreams and supplier environments, providing clear technical oversight and decision-making support.
• Promote architectural reuse, technical consistency and coherence across platforms and services, helping to build a stable, secure and adaptable technology landscape for the Agency.

Person specification

• Experience designing and assuring end-to-end technical solutions for complex, multi-disciplinary delivery programmes, ensuring solutions are fit for purpose, deliverable and aligned to strategic objectives.
• Knowledge of systems integration approaches, cloud architecture models (including hybrid and multi-cloud) and modern application design patterns that enable flexibility, scalability and maintainability.
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams including business analysts, engineers, testers, product managers and security specialists to land viable, value-driven solutions in real-world delivery environments.
• Understanding of architecture governance processes and assurance frameworks, with the ability to ensure compliance, manage risk and maintain alignment with enterprise strategy and technical standards throughout the delivery lifecycle.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• Experience designing and assuring end-to-end technical solutions for complex, multi-disciplinary delivery programmes, ensuring solutions are fit for purpose, deliverable and aligned to strategic objectives. [Lead Criteria]
• Understanding of architecture governance processes and assurance frameworks, with the ability to ensure compliance, manage risk and maintain alignment with enterprise strategy and technical standards throughout the delivery lifecycle.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,575, National Crime Agency contributes £16,100 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).

Other benefits include:

• Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
• Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
• Learning and Development opportunities
• Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
• Housing schemes - Key Worker status
• Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway , Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
• Staff support groups/networks
• Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

Further information is available on the NCA Website.

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 we will assess you

Your application will be assessed against the following:

Application Sift

Statement of Suitability - A 1,250 word Personal Statement. The Personal Statement should demonstrate your skills, including any key achievements, and should be aligned to the person specification detailed in the job description.

CV - Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate. Your CV should consist of your career history and qualifications. It will be used to provide further context on your personal statement and scored against the person specification, detailed in the job description.

Interview and Presentation

Experience Criteria - will be assessed at interview via a 10 minute presentation:

• Architectural thinking, relevant experience and how you approach complex delivery within the given domain, aligned to the person specification, detailed in the job description.

The presentation will assess your ability to clearly articulate your architectural thinking, demonstrate relevant experience, and show how you approach complex delivery within the given domain, aligned to the person specification, detailed in the job description. The presentation scenario will be provided ahead of the interview.

Interview Criteria - As well as the Presentation detailed above, the interview will also include questions on the Behaviours and Technical Criteria:

• Experience designing and assuring end-to-end technical solutions for complex, multi-disciplinary delivery programmes, ensuring solutions are fit for purpose, deliverable and aligned to strategic objectives. [Lead Criteria]
• Understanding of architecture governance processes and assurance frameworks, with the ability to ensure compliance, manage risk and maintain alignment with enterprise strategy and technical standards throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Leadership.
• Seeing the Big Picture.

You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.

We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended. Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.

For guidance on the application process, visit:
NCA Applying and Onboarding

Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months. Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.

In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:

1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used

Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.

You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.

Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.

We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.

Full advert details for this vacancy can found on the advert on the NCA Recruitment Portal. Please follow the link to apply at advertisers' site.

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.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

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.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 : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
• Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Further information

If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk (quoting the vacancy reference).
If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

We are Government Digital and Data Opens in new window (pdf, 3445kB)