Department Overview The Technology Directorate helps enable the Bank to deliver on our collective mission to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability. In Technology, we support a large diverse set of technical solutions and platforms to deliver services to both the Bank and external users. These include critical systems and services that underpin the UK economy, financial supervision, evolving data analytics, collaboration and research. This role sits within the Technology Strategy and Architecture (TSA) division in the Technology Directorate who are accountable for technical strategy, you'll work with team who is passionate about the setting the direction for strategic change. Working in a creative team as a trusted partner across the organisation, you will focus on the future of technology within the organisation. You will collaborate closely with key partners throughout the Bank and colleagues in Technology to help understand the organisation's business outcomes, define roadmaps and shape our future landscape. The Architecture team within TSA is responsible for developing and maintaining an enterprise architecture practise that supports the Technology directorate and the wider Bank in achieving its strategic objectives. The Senior Architect role reports into a Lead Architect within the architecture team, and provides technical thought leadership, with the autonomy to make key design decisions. The role requires technical breadth and depth as well as a proven track record of working at an experienced level. Key Responsibilities As a senior member of the Team, you will be: Taking a leading role on programmes and projects, understanding business imperatives and developing solutions that deliver against the requirements aligned to business and technology strategies Responsible for translating business strategic goals and objectives into supporting enterprise-wide technology strategies Responsible for understanding the technology estate and strategic direction to develop architecture and roadmaps with a focus on re-use, rationalisation, simplification and decommissioning Responsible for designing and producing architectural artefacts for end-to-end solutions, baseline and target architectures, solution blueprints, including high-level design, technical options that are aligned to architecture standards, principles and patterns taking into consideration the impact to the enterprise, technology and business Contributing to the development and enhancement of the architecture, strategy and roadmaps of products and platforms Guiding and supporting programmes and projects in delivery and implementation of end-to-end solutions Responsible for ensuring architectural artefacts are governed and maintained through the appropriate review boards within Technology Being a technology ambassador, representing architecture and technology at governance forums and being an advocate for the solutions, strategies and roadmaps produced by the team Identifying opportunities for technology-driven innovation and shaping proposals that delivers quick-win and business benefit within the boundary of platform and product roadmap Responsible for contributing to the development and maintenance of the architecture building blocks, architecture repository and continuous improvement initiatives. Helping to improve architecture processes and mentor junior architects within the team Job Requirements Essential / Core Competencies Experience as a solutions architect designing platforms, products, systems and components on multiple programmes and projects Experience with complex large scale data and analytics solutions including design of data lifecycle capabilities Experience with different database technologies (SQL, NoSQL / time series etc) Experience of best practice solution architecture and general cross-tower and interdisciplinary understanding across data, security, and infrastructure Experience in architecture planning for large initiatives/programmes, developing architecture blueprint, high level design and implementation of the following aspects of solution architecture: Services, Applications, Integration, Technology, Security and Data Experience with different methodologies e.g. agile and/or waterfall environment, proof of concepts and prototyping Experience of cloud technologies and cloud based data services e.g. on MS Azure Consistent track record of defining, implementing and driving technical change through innovation, architectural evolution, simplification, and capability exploitation. Commercial awareness and ability to provide architectural inputs to procurement of products or services Superb communication skills, including articulating and negotiating complex solutions across a variety of stakeholders, senior management and at governance forums across IT and business Excellent stakeholder management skills, ability to build relationships and influence across teams and organisational boundaries Critical thinking, including the ability to research and provide summarised results and recommendations Strong understanding of Financial Services and the challenges of working on projects or programmes in a regulated business environment Ability to adapt and prioritise, work under stress and meet timelines Ability to anticipate problems, issues and act appropriately Collaborative self-starter, able to quickly absorb new information and deal with ambiguity, pro-active and self-motivated Desirable Experience working with architectural methodologies and frameworks (e.g. TOGAF, Zachman) and experience in architecture modelling tools Knowledge and exposure of financial regulation / financial services is desirable Awareness of industry trends across wider technology e.g. RegTech, Cloud, Big data & Analytics, and Cyber security etc. Experience of working in a public, private Enterprise or FTSE 100 organisation Our Approach to Inclusion The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve. At the Bank of England we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it's by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we'll continue to make the best decisions for the public. We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed. For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders. Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme. You can find more information on what this means here. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the 'Candidate Personal Information' under the 'Disability Confident Scheme' section of the application. Salary and Benefits Information This specific role offers a base salary of circa £69, 230 - £87, 750 per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis. We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate. In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below: A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool. A 7% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. (Note that from April 2023 and for the Benefits year 2023/24, this will increase to 8%) 26 days' annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits. Private medical insurance and income protection. National Security Vetting Process Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice at Privacy and the Bank of England | Bank of England. The Application Process Important: Please ensure that you complete the 'work history' section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It's therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process. The closing date for applications is 31/10/2023 The assessment process will comprise of two stages. Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.