Senior Solution Architect - Payments Architect

HM Revenue and Customs

Apply before 11:50 pm on Wednesday 30th October 2024

 

Details

Reference number

374192

Salary

£54,439 - £60,183
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

Grade 7

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

HMRC - CDIO - Chief Technology and Design Officer

Type of role

Architecture and Data
Information Technology

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

Manchester, Edinburgh, Telford, Worthing, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Bristol

Job summary

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC.

   

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.

Are you interested in cloud computing and joining one of the most digitally advanced tax authorities in the world and one of the largest and most dynamic IT estates in Europe? Then HMRC will surprise you with an exciting opportunity to help shape the future digital landscape of one the largest departments in the Civil Service.

At HMRC, we are entering an incredibly dynamic time as we undertake a major transformation to deliver cutting-edge digital services, ensuring that we will be an enterprise wide, digitally advanced organisation which will benefit all our customers and colleagues. This includes several key strategic digital priorities, such as real-time transactional information and a single customer account, enabling customers to access all their data and undertake all their interactions with HMRC in one place.

We work with leading technologies often supported by the companies behind them - Amazon Web Services (AWS), SAP, SAS, Pega, Azure, and Microsoft Power Platform to name a few, to develop and implement solution designs.

In this role you will be using these technologies and more to architect IT solutions that work on a UK wide scale across all of HMRC’s tax and benefits including Self-Assessment, VAT, Corporation Tax, and Counter-Fraud, as well as designing systems that support all the UK’s international trade.

As the tax authority that collects money to fund our UK public services and provide financial support to the people that need it, almost every individual and business in the UK is a direct customer of HMRC.  By joining the Chief Digital & Information Office (CDIO) as a Solutions Architect you will be playing a role in helping define HMRCs technology direction and create IT solution designs that make an impact that really matters on a national scale.

See what it’s like to work at HMRC: find out more about us or ask our colleagues a question. Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Job description

We’re bolstering our solution architecture function – working on some of the most complex problems for the UK; simplifying how citizens engage with HMRC, managing the border and driving down on those who try to avoid their obligations for the benefit of our citizens.Your responsibilities in this role will include:

  • Leading a team of solution architects within one or more strands of IT Change Programmes, setting direction for the team and delivering results.
  • Accountability for producing technical IT Solution Designs on projects that align to the HMRC IT Strategy and deliver business outcomes.
  • Responsibility for authoring costed design documentation, working closely with business stakeholders and technical architects to create cohesive solutions that meet the business and user needs.
  • Working with Delivery Teams and partners to ensure the Solution Design is delivered and implemented.
  • Building strong relationships with key business and CDIO partners

This role may require travel and overnight stays.

Person specification

Our ideal candidate will be someone who has a fascination with how technology is evolving, understands that the world is changing, and wants to be a part of that change through creating IT solution designs. They will enjoy being involved in building out technology projects that deliver results and will have an interest in, or knowledge of, machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.

Essential criteria:

  • Experience and knowledge of Architectural Governance
  • Experience architecting payment solutions at scale.
  • Ability to lead, shape and develop solutions for digital and technological services to meet business and user needs.
  • Ability to pick up new technologies and architecture concepts and styles quickly, understand their strengths and weaknesses and apply that learning.
  • A collaborative problem solver – working with colleagues to identify root causes allowing you to create and deliver pragmatic IT solutions.
  • A track record of communicating, collaborating, and influencing stakeholders.
  • Ability to work at pace, identify, and manage architectural risks appropriately, and have your solutions approved through architecture governance boards.

  Desirable Criteria:

  • Strong inter-personal skills, especially in handling diverse stakeholders across all levels within the organisation.
  • Experienced in working within significant large scale IT Change/Transformation programmes.
  • Possess or willing to work towards TOGAF, BCS or CITP qualifications.
  • Ability to translate viewpoints, particularly speaking on behalf of technical teams to the business stakeholders and on behalf of the business stakeholders to technical teams.
  • An understanding of ITILv4.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

  • As part of the interview, we will ask you to present the skills you have from the list below.
Alongside your salary of £54,439, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £15,770 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

  • Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 27% of their salary.
  • Family friendly policies.
  • Personal support.
  • Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it’s really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

How to Apply

Application must include:

A CV including education, professional qualifications and full employment history, giving details of key achievements for each role/job. 
 
When giving details in your CV you should be explicit in highlighting your experience in line with the essential criteria & technical skills listed in the advert. You should therefore include details of the work and projects that you have been involved in, and the role you played. 
 
Important information:

  • Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
  • If your CV contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn. 
  • Desirable skills will not be scored but will only be used in the event of a tie break situation.

Interview:

During the Microsoft Teams interview, you will be assessed against the essential & technical skills and your experience. You will also be asked to prepare a presentation - further details will be provided prior to interviews. Interview Dates to be confirmed. 

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process in order to manage numbers.

Interviews will take place via video call.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk – Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Additional Security Information

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process. 

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

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).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

  • Name : Jonny Langley
  • Email : jonny.langley@hmrc.gov.uk
  • Telephone : 03000 551665

Recruitment team

  • Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles.

In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.

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