Business Architect - HO - G7

Location

London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair, and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration, and passports.

Homeland Security Group’s (HSG) mission is to reduce homeland security risks to the UK’s people, prosperity, and freedoms. This includes risks from terrorism, state threats, economic crime, and cyber-crime. We provide systems leadership across government and deliver strategic initiatives, working closely with operational partners, the Intelligence Agencies and other external organisations to protect the UK.

Within the Homeland Security Group you will join the National Communications Data Service (NCDS), which is responsible for delivering the UK’s communications data capabilities, in a changing technological environment, to prevent and detect crime and terrorism, protect the public and save lives. 

In this role, you will work at the intersection of business strategy and delivery, partnering with multidisciplinary teams to drive tangible outcomes that strengthen our public services and national security. You will draw on business architecture principles—like capability mapping, value streams, and operating model design—to create a common language, enabling leaders and teams to spot gaps, opportunities, and interdependencies with ease. Whether you’re developing long-term strategies, supporting portfolio decisions for transformative digital initiatives, or facilitating knowledge sharing within the architecture and business design community, your input will shape how the Home Office functions at every level.

Job description

On a typical day, you could be translating high-level policy goals into actionable design artefacts for a new service, or collaborating with technical architects to keep business and technology co-ordinated. Your ability to synthesize complexity, build consensus, and promote structured thinking will help deliver services that are more intuitive, integrated, and resilient - benefiting the public and advancing the Home Office’s overarching mission.

This specific role within NCDS will support New and Emerging innovation discoveries, projects, and strategy development across NCDS services and products. The role will be varied and will require strong stakeholder engagement skills across the users of NCDS services, with partner organisations, and the delivery teams working to deliver crucial law enforcement and UK Intelligence capabilities.

The business architect is also responsible for undertaking impact assessments against strategic threats, risks and opportunities affecting NCDS services and products and maintaining the Operating Model of those services. An understanding of Communications Data is key to ensure that delivery of the strategic five-year roadmap is deliverable and appropriate business architect standards are maintained during delivery.  

Key Responsibilities 

Develop and maintain business architecture artefacts (e.g., capability models, value streams) that clarify complex issues and guide change initiatives.
Influence portfolio/programme delivery, shaping priorities and aligning solutions with strategic objectives.
Work with technical architects, ensuring alignment between business needs and technology roadmaps.
Lead or support workshops on organisational design, capturing insights that inform strategy, solution development, and continuous improvement.
Taking responsibility for other areas of analysis or design (e.g., Business Analysis, Business Design).
Lead on assessment of innovation pipeline activities and provide impact assessments against innovation pipeline activities whether internal generated or from other partner organisations. 
Partner with stakeholders to define strategic options, supported by early architectural and operating model insights for emerging capabilities.
Review and input into NCDS or cross-partnership strategic threat, risk, and opportunities reviews through the production of impact assessments with clearly defined options and recommendations for changes to business design. 

Travel

The successful candidate may be required to attend external meetings within the UK based on business need which may include overnight stays. All related costs will be reimbursed in line with Home Office policy.

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of compressed hours working.  This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 5 days /  32 hours per week due to business requirements. Applications from job share candidates are welcome, but any job offer is conditional upon a viable job-sharing arrangement being available.

Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA)

Candidates with exceptional skills and experience may receive a recruitment and retention allowance (RRA). This allowance is subject to initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in-line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.

Person specification

Essential criteria 

Proficiency in recognized standards (e.g., Bizbok) to model capabilities, value streams, and operating models, ensuring clarity and consistency in deliverables.
Ability to bridge business and IT perspectives, collaborating across departments to translate strategic objectives into cohesive plans and solutions.
Experience guiding transformation initiatives, risk assessment, and investment decisions, using structured approaches that drive adoption and stakeholder buy-in.
Skilled at breaking down complex issues, spotting patterns or dependencies, and developing evidence-based recommendations that inform executive-level decisions.
Aptitude for presenting nuanced information to varied audiences, fostering consensus, and managing conflicting priorities or constraints.
Either possesses Business Architecture qualification or is actively working towards a Certified Business Architect qualification by the Business Architecture Guild.

The essential criteria listed above are reflective of the Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession Career Framework (based on the industry standard SFIA8 framework). Please see below for the relevant skills for your role.

Strategy and Architecture 

Advice and Guidance 

Consultancy (CNSL) – level 3
Innovation (INOV) – level 3

Strategy and Planning

Enterprise and Business Architecture (STPL) – level 4

Strategic Planning (ITSP) – level 4 
Change and Transformation

Change Analysis

Business Situation Analysis (BUSA) – level 4
Business Modelling (BSMO) – level 4

Desirable Criteira

Technical or solution architect experience
Knowledge of the Communications Data system and its associated products, and knowledge of digital data as used as evidence in the criminal justice system

Behaviours

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

Seeing the Big Picture
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

Innovation (INOV) – level 3
Enterprise and Business Architecture (STPL) – level 4
Business Modelling (BSMO) – level 4