The posting
This role will be mainly remote but require flexibility to travel to client sites, and our offices based in London, Sheffield, and Bristol.
About the role
As Technical Architect, you will operate across services, programmes and portfolios, working with service and product owners, delivery teams, cyber security, data, commercial colleagues and senior leaders. You will be accountable for the quality and consistency of significant architecture decisions and for making trade-offs visible to decision-makers.
You will guide the use of Microsoft Power Platform, Copilot Studio, approved AI services, Azure and pro-code integration patterns without assuming that one tool is suitable for every need. You will shape guardrails, reference architectures and assurance proportionate to risk, including identity, information protection, integration, resilience, operability and responsible AI.
The role also provides professional leadership. You will coach architects, improve architecture practice and create the conditions for multidisciplinary teams and suppliers to make timely, evidence-based decisions.
Key responsibilities
• Technical architecture across the Application Platforms portfolio and connect service-level decisions to organisational strategy, enterprise architecture and technology roadmaps.
• Own or assure complex and high-risk designs covering Power Platform, automation, AI agents, Microsoft 365, Azure, APIs, data services and bespoke applications.
• Define and maintain reference architectures, principles, standards and reusable patterns that enable delivery while managing security, data, accessibility, operational and lifecycle risks.
• Chair or lead proportionate design assurance, record significant decisions and ensure that exceptions, risks, technical debt and dependencies have clear owners and treatment plans.
• Advise leaders on architectural options, benefits, costs, constraints and consequences, translating technical complexity into decisions about services, users and organisational capability.
• Shape platform and supplier choices with commercial, financial and service-management colleagues, including whole-life cost, licensing, exit, portability and supportability considerations.
• Work across organisational boundaries to resolve conflicting needs, align roadmaps and manage dependencies between platforms, shared services and delivery teams.
• Use evidence from delivery, operations, risk and technology trends to improve strategy, resilience and investment priorities.
• Coach solution architects and strengthen the architecture community through peer review, knowledge sharing and consistent professional practice.
Requirements
• Substantial experience leading technical architecture for complex, high-risk or organisation-wide digital services and technology portfolios specifically in Microsoft products.
• Ability to set technical direction across multiple teams and to make or assure decisions that balance user need, strategy, security, delivery feasibility, cost and service sustainability.
• Experience designing and governing cloud-based application ecosystems, including enterprise platforms, APIs, identity, data and integration services.
• Ability to communicate architecture clearly to technical and non-technical audiences and build support for high-impact decisions where evidence, risk or stakeholder views conflict.
• Strong understanding of architecture governance, including decision records, standards, risk-based assurance, service assessments and management of exceptions and technical debt.
• Commercial awareness, including the architectural implications of sourcing, licensing, suppliers, contracts, portability and exit strategies.
• Experience shaping strategy and roadmaps that connect technical, user, operational and organisational perspectives.
• Evidence of coaching architects, developing professional capability and improving practice across teams or communities.
Desirable Skills:
• Architecture experience with Microsoft Power Platform, Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365, Azure and associated governance and integration patterns.
• Experience assuring AI-enabled or agentic solutions, including grounding, tool access, human oversight, evaluation, monitoring and responsible AI controls.
• Understanding of regulated, justice, public-sector or security-conscious environments.
• Relevant architecture, cloud or Microsoft certifications, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience contributing to portfolio investment decisions, technology strategy or enterprise architecture.
This role will require you to have or be willing to go through Security Clearance. As part of the onboarding process candidates will be asked to complete a Baseline Personnel Security Standard; details of the evidence required to apply may be found on the government website Gov.UK. If you are unable to meet this and any associated criteria, then your employment may be delayed, or rejected. Details of this will be discussed with you at interview.
Benefits
By joining us you can expect
- Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience
- Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society
- Strong, inspiring and thought-provoking leadership
- A supportive and collaborative environment
As well as this, we offer:
- Development access to LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme and training
- Wellness 24/7 Confidential employee assistance programme
- Social - Breakfast Tuesdays, Thirsty Thursdays and Pizza on the last Thursday of each month as well as commitment to charitable causes
- Time off 25 days a year
- Pension Salary Exchange Scheme with 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution
- Life Assurance of 4 times base salary
- Private Medical Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included)
- Worldwide Travel Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included)
