Senior Solution Architect (CDIO Borders & Trade)

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Are you interested in cloud computing and joining one of the most digitally-advanced tax authorities in the world and one of the largest and most dynamic IT estates in Europe? Then HMRC will surprise you with an exciting opportunity to help shape the future digital landscape of one the largest departments in the Civil Service.

At HMRC, we are entering an incredibly dynamic time as we undertake a major transformation to deliver cutting-edge digital services, ensuring that we will be an enterprise wide digitally advanced organisation which will benefit all our customers and colleagues. This includes several key strategic digital priorities, such as real-time transactional information and a single customer account, enabling customers to access all their data and undertake all their interactions with HMRC in one place.

We work with leading technologies often supported by the companies behind them - Amazon Web Services (AWS), SAP, SAS, Pega, Azure, and Microsoft Power Platform to name a few, to develop and implement solution designs.

You will be using these technologies and more to architect IT solutions that work on a UK wide scale across all of HMRCs tax and benefits including Self-Assessment, VAT, Corporation Tax, and Counter-Fraud, as well as designing systems that support all the UKs international trade.

As the tax authority that collects money to fund our UK public services and provide financial support to the people that need it, almost every individual and business in the UK is a direct customer of HMRC. By joining the Chief Digital & Information Office (CDIO) as a Solutions Architect you will be playing a role in helping define HMRCs technology direction and create IT solution designs that make an impact that really matters on a national scale.

This is a challenging role, and we are looking for people who have the skills and determination and help us to realise our vision.

We are looking for people who can help us rise to meet the challenge, so we want people with the right skills, behaviours and mindset, people who:

Have a fascination in how technology is evolving, and you know the world is changing and want to be a part of that through creating IT solution designs.
Enjoy being a part of building out technology projects that deliver results.
Have an interest in, or knowledge of, machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.
Can solve real world business problems through creative IT solutions.
Can work collaboratively as part of a larger team.

If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then these roles may be just what you have been looking for.

Were bolstering our solution architecture function working on some of the most complex problems for the UK; simplifying how citizens engage with HMRC, managing the border and driving down on those who try to avoid their obligations for the benefit of our citizens.

Senior Solution Architects in HMRC

To undertake this role, you can:

Architect IT solutions our systems power the UK.
Design IT solutions that put users experience at their core - whether internal staff or external and that are also secure and scalable.
Use your experience of a range of leading technology (Azure, AWS, Python, etc.) to design solutions.
Pick up new technologies quickly, youre able to understand their strengths and weaknesses and apply that learning.
Collaboratively solve business problem working with colleagues to identify root causes and create pragmatic IT solutions.
Get hands-on with new technologies where necessary, testing their potential to solve the problem in hand.
Create POCs, Prototypes, Technical and Functional spikes to bring ideas to life and de-risk delivery.
Take an agile approach to solving problems from problem-shaping through design to delivery.
Understand the business needs and have a track record of developing a close trusted relationship within project teams.
Drive change at pace because it is important to you, but you also managing the architecture risks.

We believe in supporting the personal development of our staff and of course, IT is always changing, so we offer extensive tailored training and development opportunities.

See what its like to work at HMRC:find out more about us or ask our colleagues a question. Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Your responsibilities in this role will include:

Working with a team of solution architects within one or more strands of IT Change Programmes, setting direction for the team and delivering results.
Accountability for producing technical IT Solution Designs on projects that align to the HMRC IT Strategy and deliver business outcomes.
Responsibility for authoring costed design documentation, working closely with business stakeholders and technical architects to create cohesive solutions that meet the business and user needs.
Working with Delivery Teams and partners to ensure the Solution Design is delivered and implemented.

This role may require travel and overnight stays.

Essential Criteria:

The applicants need to demonstrate in the application the following essential criteria:

You will have led, shaped and developed solutions for digital and technological services to meet business and user needs.
You will be able to pick up new technologies and architecture concepts and styles quickly, understand their strengths and weaknesses and apply that learning.
You are a collaborative problem solver working with colleagues to identify root causes allowing you to create and deliver pragmatic IT solutions.
You have a track record of communicating, collaborating and influencing stakeholders.
You can work at pace, identify and manage architectural risks appropriately, and have your solutions approved through architecture governance boards.

Technical skills

This is the range of skills we use in HMRC. We do not expect you have all of these skills.

As part of the interview, we will ask you to present the skills you have from the list below.

Architecting IT applications, including making use of Cloud, IaaS, SaaS and PaaS.
Knowledge of a range of technology stacks and the ability to take a balanced approach to technology selection.
A good understanding of security and practical experience in ensuring that it is a central to all solution designs.
Decommissioning of legacy systems including migration and archiving of data.
Application integration and awareness of programming techniques and languages.
Awareness of Cost modelling/estimating particularly of cost drivers to support commercial challenge activity.
Approaches to managing technical debt whist delivering required functionality.
Big Data, Analytics and machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Desirable Criteria :

Strong inter-personal skills, especially in handling diverse stakeholders across all levels within the organisation.
Experience working within significant large scale IT Change/Transformation programmes.
Possess or willing to work towards TOGAF, BCS or CITP qualifications.
Able to translate viewpoints, in particular to speak on behalf of technical teams to the business stakeholders and on behalf of the business stakeholders to technical teams.