Senior Enterprise Architect

Bristol, Corsham, London

Job Summary

The role is strategically important to the people Function because it helps to sets the technological and digital direction and thus future success. The Senior Enterprise Architect works closely with the Lead Enterprise Architect and other architecture teams, Product Managers, Data and Business Analysts, and User Researchers and User experience engineers from across the Civilian, Military (Regular and Reserve members of the Armed Forces), and the Veteran communities to put in place a future enterprise and business architecture that meets user’s needs. The Senior Enterprise Architect understands, interprets, and helps contextualises the People Strategy by communicating between the technical and non-technical stakeholders and develops enterprise architecture artefacts that enable strategic initiatives defined in the Strategy to be turned into delivery-focused, user-centric initiatives.

The Senior Enterprise Architect will support strategic design and business change by supplementing the vision from the People Strategy with supporting enterprise architecture principles and advice, ensuring compliance with strategic objectives, initiatives, standards and commercial processes across the People Function, which is underpinned by effective governance and assurance. The role is also responsible for influencing the quality of People products and services and are expected to use their enterprise architecture knowledge and experience, understanding of user needs and business goals to support problem definition and shaping work, and advise on priority setting for the DDaT team.

The work of the Senior Enterprise Architect forms an integral part of ensuring the objectives defined in the People Strategy deliver quality People products and services by ensuring that wholeforce digital and data perspective are considered when making and guiding decisions. They will also play a vital part in ensuring the technology and digital products being used across the function are being exploited to the maximum.

The role supports Defence Architecture work, driving community collaboration and coherence by supporting the work of the People Digital Authority by identifying and driving opportunities for coherence, and driving good architectural practices. A key part of this role will be to apply and support development of best practices and robust architecture processes that support business outcomes.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job Description

Main duties

As the Senior Enterprise Architect your main duties are to:

• provide digital leadership and support to at least one community and or team by being a key adviser on best practices and use of enterprise architecture.
• network and communicate with stakeholders across enterprises, and actively seek opportunities for improvement and alignment with the People Strategy and user needs.
• support the development of People Products and Services to ensure they compliance with relevant policy, rules, and guidance, enabling greater alignment between business needs, user needs, and digital solutions.
• build strong, lasting, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders and delivery teams to support successful delivery of the long-term People strategy and underpinning enterprise architecture.
• guiding the People Function to make appropriate business, technology, and data decisions by recommending reuse, sustainability, and scalability, to achieve value for money and reduce risk.
• Support horizon scanning work, identifying emerging trends and their potential impact and opportunity for the Function from an application, business, data, and technology perspective.
• Support work to set the overall direction of business and digital capabilities, supporting the development of the enterprise architecture vision, strategy and roadmaps from a business, technology, and data perspective, including ‘as is’ and ‘to be’ and transitional states.
• Collaborate with policy and process leads across Defence to better understand the business processes that deliver HR policy and capability and the systems that support this, thereby building a detailed model of People enterprise architecture.
• advise and guide the People Function on application, business, data, and technology standards, principles, tools, and appropriate technologies.

Person specification

Technical Skills

As The Senior Enterprise Architect, You Will Use The Following Government Digital And Data Profession Capability Framework Skills At working level:

Commercial perspective

Commercial management involves exploring commercial opportunities whilst complying with the regulations on how we conduct and manage both internal and third-party relationships.

You Can:

• understand commercial processes and the appropriate internal contacts within a government department
• understand different sourcing strategies and when to apply them

Community Collaboration

Collaboration in the Government Digital and Data profession typically involves working in a multidisciplinary project team and contributing to working groups and wider professional communities. It requires a broad understanding of the technologies, principles, and perspectives of related professions.

You Can:

• contribute to the work of others
• motivate and empower teams
• create the right environment for teams to work in, and can identify the best team makeup depending on the situation
• recognise and deal with issues

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Communicating between the technical and non-technical involves conveying information using the most effective medium and language for the audience.

You Can:

• communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• support and host discussions within a multidisciplinary team, with potentially difficult dynamics
• be an advocate for the team externally
• manage differing stakeholder perspectives

Enterprise and business architecture

Enterprise architecture involves analysing how to achieve an organisation's objectives by designing and aligning its IT applications and technologies. Business architecture involves defining the business strategy, governance, and most important processes of the organisation.

You Can:

• work with limited direction to translate business drivers, goals, and constraints into business objectives
• help to define required capabilities and support organisational changes to create operating models that meet business objective

Governance and assurance

Governance and assurance involves defining and ensuring adherence to an organisation's quality control and compliance processes.

You Can:

• understand how governance works and what governance is required
• take responsibility for the assurance of a service and know what risks need to be managed

Digital and Data perspective

You Can:

• demonstrate a working understanding of design, technology, and data principles
• understand the variety and complexity of users’ digital needs, and how the product will meet those needs
• show an awareness of assisted digital support and can explain why it’s important
• design services and make decisions to meet user needs

Making and guiding decisions

You Can:

• make decisions characterised by managed levels of risk and complexity, and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase
• resolve technical disputes between wider peers and indirect stakeholders, considering all views and opinions

Problem definition and shaping

You Can:

• help to frame a problem characterised by managed levels of complexity, complication, or risk so that a solution can be created
• help to create options for solving problems at an appropriate level

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership

Technical skills

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

• Communicating Between the Technical and Non-technical
• Community Collaboration
• Enterprise and Business Architecture
• Digital and Data perspective

Alongside your salary of £44,590, Ministry of Defence contributes £12,917 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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%

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments.

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.

This post may be eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £11,400 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview against the 4 core technical skills only and reviewed annually in line with departmental policy.

An opportunity to be considered for Reward and Recognition - £250-£5000 per year.

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.

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.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

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

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability. (1250 - Word count)

Your CV and personal statement will each be scored 0-7 and make up part of your overall score to assess your suitability to be invited to interview.

At sift, you will be assessed against your CV, Statement of Suitability, behaviours and technical skills:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating Between the Technical and Non-technical
• Community Collaboration
• Enterprise and Business Architecture
• Digital and Data perspective

At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours and technical skills:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating Between the Technical and Non-technical
• Community Collaboration
• Enterprise and Business Architecture
• Digital and Data perspective

When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

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. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa.

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.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard 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)
• 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Contact point for applicants:

Job Contact:

• Name: Shaun Ruddick
• Email: shaun.ruddick682@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team:

• Email: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information
Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application.