Job summary
These are exciting times in the Department for Education.
Our digital services have been migrated onto public cloud and we�re on a journey of maturing our technology, and how we work, to take full advantage of cloud-native and network technologies. Our goal is to make our digital delivery faster, cheaper and more secure.
Our diverse and inclusive culture in DfE reflects the society we live in - this helps us to achieve better outcomes for all our users. We typically work in Agile teams, so we can innovate and radically improve services that: raise education standards and provide the best start in life for children; support disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people; and drive economic growth.
This role is based in the Infrastructure Services team. If you are successful, you will be working in the physical and cloud infrastructure domain, across multiple projects, on problems that require broad architectural thinking. You will lead architectural assurance for infrastructure services and will play a pivotal role in the design, build and operation of the Department�s hosting platforms and networks. You will design and deliver services used by digital delivery teams which, in turn, deliver digital services across the education and care sector to millions of users.
Platforms have a lifecycle, and your role will play a part in every step. DfE seeks new, innovative opportunities for efficiencies, economies of scale or new value to users. We need to scale up and continuously improve established platforms - making a better service for users, increasing value for money and finding new opportunities to take complexity out of DfE�s hosting platforms.
Job description
As a Lead Technical Architect, your main responsibilities will include:
1. Defining, maintaining, and championing the technical strategy for the network, infrastructure and platforms domain - keeping up to date with the latest technologies and trends, whilst delivering working software early and often.
2. Leading technical specialists in multiple projects and services, on problems that require broad architectural thinking.
3. Defining how to build and operate user-centred, open source web systems in an agile environment, to serve a variety of citizen and government needs.
4. Being responsible for the technical design and development of your service(s), including how they interact with their surroundings, and how they evolve over time.
5. Challenging entrenched practices and influencing decision-makers, looking for deeper underlying problems to solve, and larger opportunities for digital transformation.
6. Communicating the vision for government services to developers and non-developers alike, working in multi-disciplinary teams that bring policy and delivery together.
7. Playing an active role in the DfE architecture community, where you will share knowledge of tools and techniques, as well as joining related communities of practice and events where appropriate, such as product, user research, design, platforms, security, etc.
8. Helping to build a diverse, inclusive culture across the architecture community.
9. Working with the Head of Profession, colleagues and peers on profession-based activities (and cross-profession), such as defining standards and guidance around best practice.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
Applications will be assessed against the following essential criteria:
Assessed at application and at both interview stages:
10. Experience leading technical teams and delivering user-centred services in an agile environment.
11. Experience working with cloud-first architectures and how to build applications that take advantage of the opportunities they offer.
12. Experience of developing infrastructure strategies, architectures and roadmaps, in-depth knowledge of networking principles, security and design, and modern engineering practices, such as continuous integration/development (CI/CD), DevOps and cloud computing services, such as Microsoft Azure.
Assessed at application and at second interview stage:
13. The ability to build consensus between diverse and often conflicting interests, working with technical and non-technical stakeholders to achieve agreement on technical plans.
14. The ability to look beyond immediate technical problems and identify the wider implications.
15. Practical knowledge at many levels of the web stack, from front-end code, down to infrastructure and networking.
Desirable Criteria
Applicant�s evidence against the following desirable criteria will be used at interview in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision:
16. Experience of using cloud-based automation techniques to configure services, automate processes and extract information, such as Azure Automation, PowerShell, Command-Line Interface (CLI), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), interacting with RESTful APIs, and basic knowledge of programming languages, such as Python or Ruby.
17. Experience using automated tests to continuously validate your work.
18. Experience of applying the UK Government Service Standard and service assessment.
19. Experience of mentoring and supporting colleagues in multi-disciplinary teams, one-to-one or in groups.
20. Ability to work with stakeholders to produce effective strategies for technology choices, using the most appropriate languages, frameworks and tools to meet user and business needs.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �68,623, Department for Education contributes �19,880 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department�s transfer / promotion policies.
As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.
You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years� service. In addition, all staff receive the King�s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days� bank and public holidays.
We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending�at least 60% of�their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in�exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the�line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.
Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.