Lead Technical Architect

Job overview

Do you have significant experience and leadership in technical architecture, a proven track record of delivering technical solutions and a desire to make a difference? If so, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has an exciting opportunity for you to join us as a Lead Technical Architect (AWS).

Our Digital, Data and Technology team design, develop, test, support and operate applications from our digital transformation projects to support patients, colleagues and the public. We deliver relevant and valuable services to millions of users with various needs and abilities.

What do we offer?

Access to a wide range of benefits and high-street discounts!

We're working in a hybrid way, spending time at home and the office. This position can be based from either of our offices in Greater Manchester or Newcastle upon Tyne.

We want to support people in their chosen careers and welcome applications from previously unsuccessful applicants who have waited at least six months before reapplying.

Main duties of the job

The growth and innovation provided by our cloud providers challenge us to think and rethink optimal solutions that drive down the cost whilst providing better services. To harness this capability, the Lead Technical Architect (AWS) is responsible for driving standards and pattern development to ensure consistency in our service offerings, integrating a well-architected approach.

You will work closely with both the technical architecture community who are delivering technical designs on services, and cloud architects who are responsible for cloud infrastructure, to bring our cloud strategy to life. A strong and effective communicator, you will also be responsible for driving improvements through governance, carrying out peer reviews, assurance of 3rd party developments and introducing processes that target continued improvements to quality.

We're passionate about creating an environment that encourages learning and development. You'll be a vital part of our Architecture Community of Practice, sharing your experience, learning and ideas with other architects.

Technical architecture in the NHSBSA Digital, Data and Technology team embraces the drive to be customer-centric and, following fundamental principles, have designed award-winning services that surpass the requirements of end-users.

Working for our organisation

Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), what we do matters.

We manage the NHS Pension scheme, process prescription payments and much more. Our services are used by NHS organisations, contractors and the public: we take pride in being part of something so meaningful, that touches millions of lives.

Just as we design our services around the needs of our customers, we place our people at the heart of our organisation. That’s why when you join us, you’ll be empowered and given the right support to help your career grow.

As one of the UK’s Best Big Companies to work for, we’re all connected to our values: Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic. We care about our people, our purpose, and your progress.

We strive to offer a fantastic colleague experience, where every voice is heard, and every colleague is supported and respected. Wellbeing, diversity and inclusion is at the centre of this, so when you join us, you can connect with our Lived Experience Networks who help us to bring our authentic selves to work.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and circumstances. We are committed and proud to be a flexible employer and will endeavour to offer a working pattern that suits you wherever possible, whether that be hybrid working, flexible hours, job sharing and more.

Ready to join us on our journey to be a catalyst for better health? Apply today and see where the NHSBSA can take you.

We are people connected to care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

In this role, you are accountable for:

1. Communicating with others - you build relationships with stakeholders and influence expectations. You are flexible and communicate proactively and reactively using the most appropriate medium(s). You demonstrate excellent communication skills and can facilitate difficult and complex discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.
2. Communicating between the technical and non-technical - you identify the needs of business and technical stakeholders and interpret them in a way that is clear for both audiences. You effectively manage stakeholder expectations.
3. Community collaboration - you work collaboratively within a group, actively networking with others and varying feedback for the appropriate time to ensure the discussion sticks - both internally and across other government agencies. You use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You pull out issues through agile health checks to provoke the best responses.
4. Experience of working within constraints - you identify constraints and communicate about these and work within them. You challenge the validity of constraints. You ensure standards are being met.
5. Governance and assurance - you define and evolve governance within technical architecture. You take responsibility for working with and supporting other staff in wider governance. You assure multiple services across directorates, building consensus between them to deliver consistency. You contribute and subsequently utilise tools such as standards, guardrails and principles to effectively govern technical delivery.
6. Leadership and guidance - you build consensus between people. You engage in various feedback types, choosing the right style at the appropriate time and ensuring the discussion and decision stick. You bring people together to form a motivated team and help create the right environment for a team to work in. You facilitate the best team make-up, according to the situation.
7. Mentorship and training – you provide mentorship and technical training for other architects, offering advice and peer reviews to ensure the community both grows and remains consistent in approach. You are seen as the lead in your technical field.
8. Making and guiding decisions - you make decisions characterised by managed levels of risk and complexity and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase. You resolve technical disputes between wider peers and indirect stakeholders, considering all views and opinions.
9. Strategy - you apply strategy by creating, using and proactively challenging patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps that align with vision statements. You turn business outcomes into technical design. You provide guidance to the technical community, planning out the future technical landscape via the use of long-term roadmaps and plans.
10. Turning business problems into technical design - you are responsible for designing information systems characterised by medium levels of risk, impact, and business or technical complexity. You work across multiple services, justifying technical decisions that affect the whole landscape and turning these into patterns and standards. You look for opportunities to implement new technology or approaches that benefit the wider business.
11. Understanding the whole context - you understand trends and practices outside your team and how these will impact your work. You can drive improvements. You can see how your work fits into the broader strategy and historical context. You consider the patterns and interactions on a larger scale.
12. Value for money – you will contribute to the drawing up of financial initiatives across the organisation by proposing technical choices that are value for money are adopted as standard practice. You will review existing architecture to determine whether opportunities exist to create initiatives to provide financial benefit.

1. Undertake additional duties and responsibilities in line with the purpose of your role and as agreed by your line manager.
2. Demonstrate NHSBSA values and core capabilities in all aspects of your work.
3. Encourage an environment where your own and colleagues’ safety and well-being is promoted.
4. Contribute to a culture which values diversity and inclusion.
5. Follow NHSBSA policies, procedures, and protocols as they apply to your role.

Working relationships

Responsible for: No line management responsibilities

1. Technical Architects
2. Senior Technical Architects
3. Solution Architects
4. Enterprise Architects
5. Delivery Managers
6. Product Owners
7. Business Analysts
8. Developers
9. Testers
10. Interaction Designers
11. Service Designers
12. User Researchers
13. Stakeholders and Customers.

Person specification

Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent communication skills to listen and respond to the needs of a range of audiences and interpret them clearly for both audiences.
• Both proactive and reactive in communication. Able to engage in various feedback types, choosing the right style at the appropriate time and ensuring the discussion and decision stick.
• Able to cope in complex environments, prioritise effectively and identify and work within constraints.
• Able to develop and apply best practices, deal with challenging situations and adopt a flexible approach to work and working hours.
• Proven ability to transfer and develop skills and knowledge into new areas at short notice.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and guidelines and how to apply these standards to your work and others work.
• Knowledge of Node.js and Java.

• Knowledge of standards such as NHS Service Standard, GDS Service Standard and ISO.
• Familiar with popular design frameworks such as NHS design system, GOV.UK design system, BBC’s Global Experience Language (GEL). Experience with design patterns and their iteration.
• Knowledge of NHS organisations and healthcare.
• Knowledge of development techniques and development platforms environments/languages/technologies.
• Knowledge of management. Areas may include, Leadership and Change Management, organisational development or managing multidisciplinary teams.
• Knowledge of user-centred design practices for both public-facing and internal services and applications.

Experience

• Experience in setting direction, embedding good practice, and making important decisions to improve products and services.
• Experienced in strategic thinking and providing technical architecture consulting and leadership in any relevant area.
• Proven experience working as a technical architect supporting a product team and working with users, managers and stakeholders.
• Experience and technical acumen across applications, data, infrastructure, security, service management, business process and architecture capabilities.
• Able to demonstrate your process in designing and building new digital services or improving existing ones.
• Experience in working effectively with cross-disciplinary teams and ensuring that making decisions is based on knowledge, research and knowing the user journey.
• Skilled in creating prototypes and concepts to explore potential solutions and meet requirements.
• Experience in making complex things simple for users by distilling complex data and information into understandable and straightforward forms.

• Experience in working in an agile/lean development process.
• Experience in designing for users with low digital skills and/or designing for users with physical and cognitive impairments.
• Experience in contributing to “design systems”. For example, producing self-service systems for using common patterns, components and elements.
• Experienced in leading and mentoring staff within and outside your specialism
• Experience in measuring, evaluating and visualising outcomes.
• Experience in using GDS standards.
• Experience developing new functionality and services within an online or business.
• Experience working with communities of practice - leading discussions and fostering a culture of learning.

Qualifications

• Professionally qualified to degree level or equivalent professional experience or willingness to work towards.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.

• Additional practitioner level qualifications in technical architecture or related subject.
• Management and leadership qualification.
• Postgraduate qualification.

We also welcome applications from all those in the Armed Forces Community.

At the NHSBSA we pride ourselves on being a Disability Confident Leader, Stonewall Top 100 employer and we’ve recently been awarded the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion Gold Standard benchmark.

We offer an invitation to the first stage of the selection process for people with disabilities that wish to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme, and for members of the Armed Forces Community, where all of the essential criteria in the person specification are met.

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