Defence Digital – Technical Architect

Location

Corsham

About the job

Job summary

Would you love the opportunity to work on some of the UK’s leading Defence Technical IT Projects and Programmes, supporting our Armed Forces in current and future operations?

We provide digital and technology services to our Armed Forces, ensuring they can operate securely via radio, satellite, and the internet. Operating at scale, with an annual budget in excess of £2Bn and a diverse team of 2,500 colleagues, we're aiming to make our Armed Forces some of the most technologically advanced in the world. To do that we're growing our capabilities in disciplines like data science, automation and cyber security. If you can see yourself contributing to the world of Defence digital and technology, the next chapter of your career may be with us.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

Are you ready for a new challenge? We are looking for a hardworking and innovative individual who can work in a small technical team to help lead and accelerate the adoption of our cloud services across Defence through creation of the reference architectures and patterns.

• Working alongside other technical specialists, you will support the technology direction, target architecture, roadmaps, technical policies and standards, to drive coherence and align with Defence’s emerging Cloud Strategy.
• Using your technical experience, you will build an understanding of our diverse hosting ecosystem. The role will cover private and public Cloud hosting, as well as a legacy estate of virtual and physical hosting platform technologies. These include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and VMware, providing opportunities to build experience across multiple technologies.
• The candidate will have strong technical and ICT experience with superb interpersonal skills to successfully share their knowledge at all levels.

Person specification

• Deliver the architecture for hosting services for Defence, enabling ground-breaking change, in support of the Defence Digital Backbone and Common Technology Architecture (CTA).
• Build the enterprise architecture vision, strategy and roadmaps, for the domain area, including ‘as-is’, ‘to-be’ and transitional states.
• Use and promote Architecture and wider business frameworks and standards including The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), ArchiMate modelling, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices and Agile delivery.
• Develop architectural principles, policies, patterns and standards.
• Collaborate and advise partners across Defence, Government and Partners and industry, to assure business, technology and data decisions are aligned with Enterprise Architecture (EA) strategy
• Develop, and participate in, the architecture communities, specifically the Architecture Reference Authority (ARA) for Hosting.
• Carry out horizon scanning across industry, identifying emerging trends and their potential impact and opportunity, updating technical strategies and roadmaps, as appropriate.

The Cloud Technical Architect role aligns to the DDaT Technical Architect from the Technical DDaT job family. More information on the DDaT framework can be found through the following link;

Technical architect - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

This role may also suit those who have experience working in IT technical disciplines and are looking to transition to architecture. Training and development opportunities will be provided on the job.

Desirable

• Cloud experience/knowledge from one or more vendors.
• Membership with BCS.
• TOGAF certified
• Knowledge of ArchiMate

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Strategy. You can apply strategy, using and challenging patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements. You can provide guidance. (Skill level: working)
• Understanding the whole context. You can understand trends and practices outside your team and how these will impact your work. You can see how your work fits into the broader strategy and historical context. You can consider the patterns and interactio
• Turning business problems into technical design. You can design systems characterised by managed levels of risk, manageable business and technical complexity, and meaningful impact. You can work with well-understood technology and identify appropriate p

Benefits

• An environment with flexible working options

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service

• Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year

• 8 public holidays per year

• Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments

• Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year

• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave

• Employee Assistance Programme to support your wellbeing

• Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club and Gyms

• A highly competitive pension scheme.

• Additionally, please see the attached Benefits Leaflet

Learning & Development

In Defence Digital we have a strong learning and development ethos, supporting you to fulfil your potential by providing –

• Learning and development tailored to your role

• Professional and Personal Development of skills

• Access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning, some free or paid by MOD

• Ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications supported by MOD

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

 External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six month probation period.

Please note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD 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/.”

“MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment by 31st December 2022. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

To apply please complete the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard. You will be assessed against your relevant, employment history, skills, knowledge and experience which demonstrates the essential criteria listed within this advert.

All applicants will also need to provide a personal statement which should include a paragraph on each of the following Essential Criteria detailing your experience and suitability for each:  Each one will be scored 1-7 and make up part of your overall score to assess your suitability to be invited to interview.

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrate your technical background with a proven experience of an IT technical discipline.
• Experience of providing decisions and advice, that have influenced or advised an organisation's architecture, technical design and/or strategy.
• Understanding of ICT trends and how they influence the future technical landscape, roadmaps and strategic direction.
• Evidence of strong engagements with customers to collaborate, influence and inform architectures, technical designs and/or strategies. This should demonstrate experience of communicating between the technical and non-technical.

Equality and Diversity

The Department is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We value and welcome diversity. We aim to develop all our staff to enable them to make a full contribution to meeting the Department’s objectives, and to fulfil their own potential on merit. We will not tolerate harassment or other unfair discrimination on grounds of sex, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, religion or sexual orientation. We will promote and support the use of a range of flexible working patterns to enable staff to balance home and work responsibilities; and we will treat people fairly irrespective of their working arrangements.

Transformation

Defence Digital is currently going through a Transformation Programme which aims to ensure we have the right workforce, with the right skills to deliver the MOD's Digital Strategy. As the programme progresses, Defence Digital staff may be required to undergo an assessment to understand and develop their upskilling needs to support the delivery of this strategy. This post may be impacted by Transformation as the programme progresses.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include: job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: [email protected]

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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 Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

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.