The role
Natural Resources Wales is looking for an experienced Principal Solution Design Architect to play a pivotal role in shaping how technology enables our organisation to protect and enhance Wales's environment.
This is a senior technical leadership role, working at the heart of our Digital, Data and Technology function. You will be responsible for setting the architectural direction for digital and technology solutions across the organisation, ensuring they align with our digital strategy, customer priorities and future ways of working. Your work will directly influence major transformation initiatives and long-term investment decisions, balancing opportunity, risk and value for money.
Working closely with senior leaders, service owners and delivery teams, you will provide architectural direction across a broad portfolio of change, including customer-focused digital services and large-scale transformation initiatives. You will play a key role in shaping common building blocks and standards that enable consistent, high-quality services, supporting a shift towards more joined-up, user-centred ways of working.
The role involves significant collaboration with external partners and strategic suppliers, as well as public sector organisations and delivery partners. You will help ensure that technology choices support partnership working, data sharing and interoperability, while protecting the integrity of NRW's technical landscape and delivering value for money. You will also work with major technology vendors, understanding and influencing their product roadmaps to ensure they meet NRW's needs over the long term.
You will be part of a small, highly skilled architecture team, providing technical leadership and assurance across the full lifecycle of digital services - from early concept and design through to delivery and live operation. While the role has no direct line management responsibility, it carries a high level of influence, guiding internal specialists and third-party suppliers and setting clear expectations for solution quality and alignment.
As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Travel will be required to our Bangor and Cardiff offices, meetings will be planned in advance.
To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Ian Johns at
Interviews will take place by 31 March 2026 through Microsoft Teams
What you will do Have a high degree of autonomy including having the definitive decision on ICT architecture and approval of all designs.
Be responsible for overseeing the effectiveness of the technical governance functions and be accountable for their alignment to the ICT strategy.
Lead and be accountable for the design architecture and strategic technical building blocks of NRW's ICT system.
Direct the technical and architectural work of the ICT Specialist.
Contribute to DDaT Strategy, leading much of it and ensuring target operating models are compatible with NRW digital strategy, security strategy and DDaT services.
Create and maintain the NRW (Technical) Target Operating Model (TOM),and supporting product roadmaps to achieve the TOM and the technical policies to protect the integrity of the TOM.
Remain technically competent in rapidly emerging technologies including predicting whether the ICT industry's declared plans are achievable in time to support NRW products or making the tough decision to use something else.
Be responsible for the initial solution concept and design and oversee/assure the technical implementation through delivery. Including designing (and assisting in the development of) technical solutions, ensuring all technical design adhere to the strategic Enterprise Architecture framework and best practice. Then provide and manage TOGAF artefacts including high level design, low level design and lead the implementation of physical, and virtual/cloud (or managed service/SaaS) solutions.
Liaise closely with stakeholders and the business to ensure the quality of the solution in all stages of the system life cycle.
Provide enterprise and solution architecture guidance across a broad spectrum of business initiatives and projects across the application, integration, data and technology domains.
Develop and maintain supporting documentation within the confines of an Architecture Content Framework to include current and future state views on infrastructure, data, service and application layers.
Work closely with Business Analysis and Programme Management functions to support the foundation of an agile and efficient enterprise.
Engage on all strategic discussions which include technology and assist in the development of portfolio services in line with the principles set out in the TOM and the associated roadmap.
Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post
Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post
Be committed to your own development and that of your staff through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
Required to take part in incident response activities.
Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.
Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills
In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method. Degree or equivalent in a technical ICT based discipline and extensive relevant experience such as background in development; application, integration and/or data development.
Experience of working in a complex environment interfacing equally comfortably with senior business/IT leadership and the end user community.
Experience of leading technical and expert staff, directly and through professional and matrix structures.
Very strong analytic, visualisation and communication skills with the ability to translate business requirements using analysis methods and requirements gathering.
Understanding and experience of the AGILE software development and ITIL support & service frameworks.
Experience in operating and using architecture modelling tools (TOGAF, Zachmann etc).
Ability to understand, analyse and create analysis models in various common modelling approaches and languages (eg BPM, UML, ERDs).
Extensive solutions architecture experience on the delivery end.
Experience managing solutions end-to-end.
Knowledge and skills that are both broad and deep and must be able to work across complex heterogeneous systems and environments.
Responsibility for remaining technically competent of emerging technologies.
Welsh Language level requirements Essential: Level A1 - Entry level
Welsh language levels
Please note if you do not meet the A1 requirement i.e., ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly, then NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us.
Additional information
Due to the nature of the work the successful candidate must be eligible for Security Check (SC) clearance. This generally requires five years' continuous residency in the UK. Further details on eligibility can be found on National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK. Offers will also be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check.
This role meets the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. Natural Resources Wales welcomes applications from non-UK citizens who are eligible to apply under this route, subject to confirmation by the Home Office.
Please note that while we may be able to support the Certificate of Sponsorship required for a visa application, the organisation does not cover the cost of the visa itself, including any associated fees for dependants.
The applicant must still meet the UK Skilled Worker Visa Eligibility and Requirement. For further information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
Benefits
This role will offer a range of benefits, including: Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 28.97% (successful internal staff will remain in their current pension scheme)
28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days
generous leave entitlements for all your life needs
commitment to professional development
health and wellbeing benefits and support
weekly wellbeing hour to use as you choose
See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.
Please keep reading
We're passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
We are committed to equal opportunities, and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.
We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on variety of topics, stay current in their field and continue to learn as their career progresses.
We are a Bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards. Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW, and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills.
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