Senior Technical Architect
Companies House
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 1st December 2024
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About the job
Job summary
A fantastic opportunity has arisen to join the Companies House architecture team as a Senior Technical Architect, an important role in a small, high performing team within an organisation that truly values its staff.
The team is responsible for developing technical architectures that deliver business objectives, while supporting and encouraging one another to create the most effective designs with a focus on delivering value. Team working is highly valued along with a willingness to challenge established thinking and ways of working.
This is an opportunity to advance your knowledge and technical understanding in a high-profile role which has an impact across the organisation, developing systems that are used nationally and at high volume. We're currently fulfilling around 14 million search requests per day with users including the general public, businesses, the police and other government organisations. In this role you will work with the wider Digital and Technology Directorate, working closely with business stakeholders and other technical architects to develop technical designs that address business priorities and guide the development teams in creating robust, secure solutions. This is an opportunity to work with the latest cloud technologies, develop microservice architectures and shape the technical direction of the organisation. You will have excellent technical skills, a background in software engineering, and a willingness to pick up architectural design skills.
Companies House offers a flexible and welcoming culture that promotes a healthy work life balance as well as a proactive approach to wellbeing that allows us to be our best at work. We recognise that people are the key to our success so offer a fantastic benefits package including flexible working with no core hours, 30 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays and 1 privilege day as well as enrolment into the Civil Service Pension scheme with a contribution rate averaging 28%.
Find out more about what a great place Companies House is to work
Job description
We’re looking for a Senior Technical Architect whose responsibilities will include:
- Assisting lead technical architects with technical guidance and architectural designs to help shape the future digital services at Companies House.
- Helping establish and maintain architectural principles, strategy, governance and technical direction for Companies House services.
- Working closely with the architecture team to ensure designs are consistent and fit for purpose.
- Working closely with development teams, ensuring their output adheres to the architectural designs.
This is an exciting opportunity in digital services, designing and delivering quality services to our users. By helping us to shape our services, you’ll have the opportunity to be at the forefront of digital transformation in government.
Person specification
We are looking for someone to be part of our team in a time of great change and to play an integral part in shaping the architecture and design of future digital services that are used worldwide, help tackle economic crime at a national level and provide confidence to the UK economy. We want someone keen to improve their skills using new and exciting technologies and develop their career working on diverse projects with a focus on continuous improvement, while being part of a supportive high-profile team. We are seeking a talented individual who not only excels in architectural design but also possesses exceptional communication skills to effectively engage with colleagues and stakeholders across the business.
Experience
We are looking for the following experience, which will be assessed at sift and at interview. Please refer to the bullet points in bold below when writing your personal statement.
- Proven experience working with scalable, distributed services within a production environment.
- Technical leadership experience.
- Experience of building microservice architecture patterns.
- Experience of public cloud service offerings, especially IaaS / PaaS.
- Demonstrate experience of translating user requirements to solution designs.
- Demonstrate ability to think strategically whilst having a strong focus on technologies and operational service delivery.
Technical experience
We are looking for the following technical experience, which will be assessed at sift and at interview. Please refer to the bullet points in bold below when writing your personal statement.
Our current technology stack primarily comprises: node.js, Java/Spring, Kafka and MongoDB running in AWS and some exposure to these technologies would be beneficial.
Proven commercial experience of a selection of the following technologies/skills:
- Microservices Architectures
- API Development
- Cloud Computing Platforms
- Distributed Event Streaming
- NoSQL Databases
- Relational Databases
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Microservice architectures
Benefits
We believe that our success is driven by the well-being and satisfaction of our team members at all levels of the organisation. At Companies House we’re committed to providing a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary, ensuring your career journey with us is not only fulfilling, but also rewarding. We pride ourselves on offering a quality work-life balance with our employee wellbeing being central to our working practices.
Head to Our benefits - Working for us - Recruitment (companieshouse.gov.uk) to find out more about the fantastic benefits package we have at Companies House.
We celebrate diversity...
As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity, being committed to ensuring we’re representative of the citizens we serve and creating an inclusive environment. Everyone in Companies House brings something different, and so will you. To fulfil our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent we welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We also welcome applications from Welsh speakers.
We are proud to be a disability confident leader. Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments as needed through our process. These could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments and receiving interview questions in advance, to name a few. We will be happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments, please contact us by emailing recruitmentCH@companieshouse.gov.uk
Where will you be working?
You will be aligned to our Cardiff Office, where we are currently using a hybrid approach to the way we work. Our approach to hybrid working provides opportunities for you to be adaptable in the way you work so that you can achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life. The degree of choice you have will depend on business need, your role and your day-to-day work activities and will be discussed at offer stage. Most of our Digital workforce are currently working from home or in a hybrid approach and this will also apply to this role. The office base for this role will be our Cardiff Head Office as this is where most of the team are based. For those candidates who live further afield and not within a commutable distance, we will consider remote working. This can be discussed in more detail with the line manager.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
In your application form we’d like you to:
- Tell us about your employment history, including key responsibilities and achievements.
- We’d like you to write a personal statement of 750 words where you demonstrate how you meet the bold bullet points in experience and technical experience detailed in the person specification, and also listed below:
- Proven experience working with scalable, distributed services within a production environment
- Technical leadership experience
- Microservices Architectures
- API Development
- Cloud Computing Platforms
- Distributed Event Streaming
- NoSQL Databases
- Relational Databases
What will the process look like?
- We will sift applications and then invite successful candidates from the sift stage to attend a virtual interview.
- At sift candidates will be assessed against experience listed in the advert and are asked to supply work history/personal statement and reference any transferable skills using the job description for reference. The personal statement should address how you demonstrate the bullet points in bold listed in the experience section of the person specification.
- At interview candidates will be assessed against the behaviours listed in the advert and we will use Success Profiles Behaviours and Technical Skills.
- As part of the interview you will be asked to prepare a basic design and talk through your process with the panel. This will be assessing Technical Skill: Microservice architectures. Further details will be given in the interview confirmation email.
Companies House uses a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you. We use the Success Profile framework and at interview we will use Success Profiles assessing the Behaviours and Technical skills listed in the advert.
We’re committed to being diverse and inclusive, so please make your application anonymous by removing all identifying personal information (such as names and dates) from your employment history and personal statement.
We understand that you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of recruitment based on fair and open competition with decisions made on the basis of merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
Successful candidates must pass a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check before they can be appointed.
BPSS is an entry level security check. It uses the Police National Computer (PNC) to make sure a candidate has no convictions. The check returns evidence of any current criminal record and un-spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements for Security Check (SC) before they can be appointed.
To gain SC clearance you will normally need to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years and will need to successfully complete all stages of the vetting process. More information can be found at National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Nationality statement
Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. If you're applying for a role requiring security clearance, please be aware that foreign or dual nationality is not an automatic bar. However certain posts may have restrictions which could affect those who do not have sole British nationality or who have personal connections with certain countries outside the UK.
As part of our recruitment process, it is essential for all candidates to independently verify their eligibility to work in the UK before applying. This includes a thorough check of your right to work to ensure compliance with UK employment laws, being mindful of the recent changes to going rates detailed on GOV.UK. Please ensure you have the necessary documentation and permissions in place. Our team is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply. However, it is the candidate's responsibility to ensure they meet the UK's legal requirements to work.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Katie Jones
- Email : kjones6@companieshouse.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : recruitmentch@companieshouse.gov.uk
Further information
info@csc.gov.uk
Civil Service Commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road SW1A 2HQ
