Job summary

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office pursues our national interests and projects the UK’s role in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners. We employ more than 17,000 staff in 179 countries and territories, across our diplomatic and development offices worldwide, which consists of 282 officially designated Posts. Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street, London, Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and in Milton Keynes.

Job description

These positions provide an exceptional opportunity to make a difference in one of the most exciting parts of Government. As a Senior Technical Architect, you will assure other services and system quality, making sure the technical work fits into the broader strategy for the FCDO. You will be responsible for leading the technical design of systems and services, including detailed plans for integration. You will also explore the benefits of cross-government alignment of systems and services. You will work on multiple projects or teams on problems that require broad architectural thinking.

As a Senior Technical Architect, you will:

be responsible for managing the technical design of systems and services, justifying and communicating design decisions
assure other services and system quality, ensuring the technical work fits into the broader strategy for government
explore the benefits of cross-government alignment
provide mentoring within teams
provide guidance and work with other architects

You will have many opportunities to learn, deepening your technical expertise, understanding how an international organisation works and building your own personal leadership. You will have access to a great online learning platform, attend industry events and network with technology leaders in other government departments.

Roles and responsibilities

Architect for the whole context. Align your work with the work being done by other architects and technical professionals, track emerging issues, strategies, roadmaps, patterns and technologies over time to assess opportunities and risks to your work, identify how other teams contribute to delivering outcomes through change. (Skill level: Working)
Architecture Communication. Lead the communication of complicated, complex or risky architecture topics with technical and non-technical stakeholders, communicate with senior stakeholders across your organisation, adapt your message and communication techniques to your audience, advocate on behalf of a team to other stakeholders, manage stakeholder expectations effectively. (Skill level: Practitioner)
Community Collaboration. Work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others, adapt feedback to ensure it is effective and lasting, use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them, identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses. (Skill level: Practitioner)
Making architectural decisions. Work with others to make architectural design decisions characterised by managed levels of risk and complexity, identify and address architectural risks relevant to your team or domain, for example, business, data, or security, engage with architectural governance and assurance to effectively manage decisions and risks, with support. (Skill level: Working)
Strategy Design. Support the development of a strategy or vision that aligns with organisational objectives, challenge requirements and assumptions, and identify opportunities to develop strategy, support the implementation of a strategy or vision, for example, by using a roadmap or plan, use architectural principles, patterns, and constraints when appropriate. (Skill level: Working)
Technical design throughout the life cycle. Create technical designs characterised by medium risk, impact, and complexity, maintain appropriate quality and architectural coherence of a technical design in response to change, use feedback to optimise and refine technical designs throughout the life cycle. (Skill level: Practitioner)

Data jobs

Senior Technical Architects

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