Are you looking to begin or grow a career in IT architecture? Or perhaps you are currently working as an architect and looking for a new challenge? Social Security Scotland has an exciting opportunity for an Enterprise Architect to join the team and drive our young and growing organisation further forward, developing strategies, improving its business processes and shaping the future of its technology, all making a positive impact on our clients’ lives.
This is a Fixed Term Appointment opportunity for 47 months with the possibility of permanency dependent on business requirements.
You may already be working as an analyst and looking to step up into a more senior design role, or you may be a technical architect with a desire to work on an enterprise-wide canvas. In any case you can expect to work with a friendly, dynamic, talented and self‑motivated team with a great opportunity to apply your experience and ideas and make direct and tangible improvements to the services we deliver to our clients and colleagues.
The post will be based in either Dundee or Glasgow with regular travel to provide leadership across all sites as well as engage extensively with Scottish Government colleagues based in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Responsibilities
Enterprise Architects are leaders working across different levels within an organisation to translate the business strategy into business change and technical delivery.
They Are Responsible For
* Identifying change priorities to enable rapid delivery.
* Leading and influencing cross‑cutting capability delivery for change.
* Owning the enterprise architecture vision, strategy, and road‑maps, covering current, future, and transitional states across business, technology and data.
* Facilitating collaboration across the organisation.
* Understanding the ecosystem and inter‑dependencies, including reference architectures.
* Taking a strategic view across all architectural domains, portfolios, and programmes.
* Guiding decisions on business, technology, and data to promote reuse, sustainability, and scalability, maximising value and reducing risk.
* Establishing architectural principles, policies, and standards.
* Collaborating with stakeholders to ensure decisions align with EA strategy.
* Developing the architecture community.
* Conducting horizon scanning to identify industry trends and their potential organisational impact and opportunities.
Additional Duties
* Engage with projects and partners to understand scope and design appropriate enterprise architectures.
* Collaborate with senior stakeholders to provide direction and challenge, reaching consensus.
* Identify problems proactively and translate them into understandable non‑technical descriptions.
* Act as the enterprise architecture expert in stakeholder engagement and scene setting.
* Support domain assurance functions aligned with governance principles and standards.
* Contribute to developing architecture strategies.
* Deeply understand Social Security Scotland’s business strategy to identify suitable solutions and road‑maps.
* Analyse options thoroughly to recommend appropriate approaches across environments and organisational models.
* Act as a ‘critical friend’ to stakeholders on best practice technology use.
* Promote a culture of continuous delivery and improvement, guiding governance, digital, and organisational design.
* Produce and maintain enterprise architecture deliverables throughout the project life‑cycle and beyond.
* Collaborate with cyber security colleagues to ensure architectures are robust, scalable and secure.
* Review external technical proposals and contribute to implementation recommendations.
* Work within agile, multi‑disciplinary teams, applying agile methods where appropriate.
* Foster an open, collaborative approach to knowledge sharing.
* Contribute to the development of an enterprise practice within the wider Architecture team.
* Act as a communicator between technical and non‑technical audiences and stakeholders.
Success Profiles
We use an assessment framework called ‘Success Profiles’ which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about the framework here.
Essential Experience
* Enterprise architecture frameworks for managing design governance, strategic development and stakeholder communication.
* Defining aligned business and technology strategies by means of developing and maintaining technology road‑maps and architectural models.
Behaviours
* Leadership (Level 4)
* Communicating and Influencing (Level 4)
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Technical/Professional Skills
This role is aligned to the Senior Enterprise Architect job role level within the Digital, Data and Technology Profession. These skills will be tested during the Technical Assessment if you are successful at sift stage. They will not be assessed at application stage. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations: Enterprise Architect - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework
How to Apply
Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 750 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profiles above.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.
Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted based on the first Experience criteria.
Candidates who pass the initial sift will have their applications fully assessed.
Candidates who are successful at sift stage will be invited to attend an Interview and Technical Assessment. The interview will further assess the Experience and Behaviours listed in the job advert and the Technical Assessment will evaluate the Technical Skills relevant to the role.
Candidates who pass the sift and are invited to the Interview and Technical Assessment stage will receive a Technical Assessment Candidate Pack, which will outline the skills to be assessed and the assessment methods to be used.
We aim to provide feedback on request. However, if we receive a large number of applications it may not be possible for us to provide specific feedback on your application. We will provide feedback on request to candidates who attend an interview/assessment.
Information Session
We are holding a candidate information session for this role to provide you with information about the application and interview process as well as further information on the role and team.
We Will Be Talking About
* The Enterprise Architect role and Architecture and Design team
* About Social Security Scotland
* Our recruitment process
* Q&A with the hiring manager
The session will be held on Friday 6th March at 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm.
Please join us using the link below to find out more about the role and working for Social Security Scotland.
Expected Timeline (subject to change)
* Sift – w/c 16th March
* Interview – w/c 30th March
Location – In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow
Reserve List
In the event that there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list will be kept for up to 12 months.
About Us
Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Our benefits help people from all walks of life in Scotland. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve. Find more about us here.
We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.
As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
DDaT Pay Supplement
This post is part of the Scottish Government Digital, Data and Technology (DDAT) profession and as a member of the profession you will join the professional development system. This post currently attracts a £5,000 annual DDAT pay supplement, applicable after a 3 months competency qualifying period. The payment will be backdated to your start date in the role. Pay supplements are reviewed regularly and there is one currently underway. Changes will be communicated when the review is concluded.
Working Pattern
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options, depending on the needs of the role. We embrace a hybrid working style where all colleagues will spend time in either our Glasgow or Dundee offices. There is an expectation of a minimum 2 days per week in your assigned location, which will be either Glasgow or Dundee.
Security Checks
Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre‑employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).
You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.
Equality Statement
Social Security Scotland are committed to equality and inclusion, and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.
Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us at Recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.
Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.
Right to Work in the UK
Social Security Scotland is an approved sponsor under the UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. Please note that UK immigration guidance, including skill and salary thresholds and eligible occupations, is reviewed regularly and subject to change. If you require visa sponsorship, you should check the latest criteria to confirm whether this role meets current requirements before applying. You can find further advice on Gov.UK - Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK
Further Information
This post is a temporary Fixed Term Appointment for 47 months with the possibility, but no guarantee, of permanency.
Candidates that are already established Civil Servants or from non‑departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will come to Social Security Scotland on a loan basis and will need to request permission from their Home Department for the loan prior to applying for this vacancy.
The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 3 years unless successful in gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.
Social Security Scotland’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the recruitment principles of the Civil Service Commissioner, which outline that selection for appointment be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition - Recruitment - Civil Service Commission (independent.gov.uk)
If you feel at any time your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you can make a complaint, by contacting Social Security Scotland at recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commissioner.
Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.
Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.
If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.
Apply before 23:55 on Wednesday 18th March 2026
Contact Name - Resourcing Team
Contact Email - Recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot
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