48953 - Senior Technical Architect
We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.
Introduction
These are exciting times at MOJ Digital and Technology. We have a clear vision - to develop a digitally-enabled justice system that works more simply for users - and we’re looking for talented people to help us achieve it.
As well as doing great work, we’re creating a place that’s great to do work in. We offer tip-top kit, brilliant training opportunities and support from expert colleagues. On top of that, you’ll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued.
To find out more about what we do and how we’re doing it, read our blog.
The Role
As a Technical Architect at MOJ Digital & Technology you will be designing and building web systems that make a genuine difference to people’s lives. You’ll define how we build and operate our web systems, keeping up to date with the latest technologies and trends, whilst delivering working software early and often.
At MOJ you’ll be leading development of our acclaimed open-source public services, with user needs at the heart of everything, helping us transform Government for the future. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, you’ll be helping define how we do what we do, and making sure that our systems are built to be changed rapidly.
Technologies
Our Technical Architects have a good understanding of a broad range of technologies and are able to converse easily with and translate between non-technical stakeholders and technical practitioners. They are able to switch between different problems and responsibilities and are directly involved in service delivery. You will have demonstrable experience of agile development in Node, Java, JavaScript, or similar, and their associated frameworks, and will ideally have working knowledge of several programming languages. You should have practical working knowledge of modern cloud-first architectures, and how to build applications to take advantage of the opportunities they offer.
A solid background in version control with Git is essential, as is experience of automated testing techniques, continuous integration, automated deployment pipelines and associated infrastructure.
You will:
- Undertake structured analysis of technical issues, translating this analysis into technical designs that describe a solution
- Look for opportunities to collaborate and reuse components, communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Lead technical teams and deliver user-focused services in an agile environment
- Transform government into a more agile organisation by helping to embed modern development practices
- Build user-centred, open source, RESTful web systems to serve a variety of citizen and government needs
- Be responsible for design and development of projects of various sizes, how they interact with their surroundings (including other projects and teams), and how they evolve over time
- Challenge entrenched practices and influence decision makers, and look for deeper underlying problems to solve, and larger opportunities for digital transformation
- Align your team’s work with department and government technology strategy, participating in strategic technical decisions and challenging previous decisions where needed
- Help build and maintain a diverse, inclusive culture across the development community, growing awareness, inclusivity, and balance
- Occasionally participate in 2nd line support during office hours, and sometimes out of hours (for which you’ll be paid an allowance and further hourly payment when on call)
- Help with hiring, taking part in recruitment of other developers and technical architects
Senior Technical Architects, in addition to the above, will also:
- Define strategy and are key to assuring services
- Regularly collaborate and find agreement with senior stakeholders, providing direction and challenge
- Proactively identify problems and translate these into non-technical descriptions that can be widely understood
- Mentor and coach junior colleagues
If this sounds like an exciting challenge and you want to join our team please read on and apply!
This is a Grade 7 role offering a total package of £54,274 to £87,440 which may include an allowance of up to £33,166 (London), or £50,427 to £81,598 which may include an allowance of up to £31,171 (National) plus great benefits:
- A generous pension scheme on average of up to 22%
- 25 days leave, plus bank holidays, plus 1 privilege day usually taken around the Queens’ birthday
- 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years in post
- Flexible working - whether it’s working from home or remotely, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours, we have people doing it and are happy to discuss options with you
- Access to industry leading training and development through Civil Service Learning, GDS Academy and Pluralsight
- Great maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
- Bike loans and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
- Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers, and eye-care vouchers
- Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.
- Up to 5 days paid leave for voluntary work you may wish to undertake
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.
Person Specification
Essential:
- You should have experience of design and architecture leadership and governance to delivery teams
- Practical working knowledge of modern cloud-first architectures, and how to build applications to take advantage of the opportunities they offer
- Demonstrable experience of agile development in Node, Java, JavaScript, or similar, and their associated frameworks, and ideally working knowledge of several programming languages
- A solid background in version control, and experience of automated testing techniques, continuous integration, automated deployment pipelines and associated infrastructure
- The ability to quickly learn new technologies and willingness to pick the right tool for the job
- A systematic approach to solving problems in an agile environment
- Enthusiasm for sharing knowledge and working in a multi-disciplinary team
Desirable:
- Experience working with cloud infrastructure
- A working knowledge of unix-like operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X
- Experience of introducing practices such as DDD, TDD, continuous integration, continuous delivery, and DevOps to teams
- Practical knowledge at many levels of the web stack, from front-end code down to infrastructure and networking
- An ability to build consensus between diverse and often conflicting interests, to achieve agreement on technical plans
- Experience using automated tests to continuously validate your work
- Passion for building a diverse, inclusive team
- Experience leading or mentoring technical teams and supporting your colleagues, whether one-to-one or in groups
- Knowledge of open source principles and technologies
- Passion for defining and enabling strategic technical solutions with senior stakeholders.
How to Apply
All candidates must submit a CV and Statement of Suitability (of up to 750 words) which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above.
We recruit using the Success Profiles Framework and will assess your Experience and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating & Influencing
- Leadership
- Seeing the Bigger Picture
Your application will be reviewed and sifted against the Person Specification by a diverse panel.
Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference.
Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on the Leadership behaviour will be conducted prior to the sift.
Further Information
Please review the following Terms & Conditions which set out the way we recruit and provide further information related to the role.
Please note for existing civil servants successful in this role, the position would be offered as a departmental loan with the option to extend further or make permanent at a later date.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk
24/10/2021, 23:55 hours.
To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why.
For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).
If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:
- You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
- You were studying abroad
- You were living overseas with parents
In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.
Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.
We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.
Application form stage assessments
Interview stage assessments
A Great Place to Work for Veterans
The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
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) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
· 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) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
This Vacancy is closed to applications.