Lead Enterprise Architect - NCA - G7

Location

Belfast; Birmingham; Bristol; Calder (Normanton); Leicester; London*; Warrington

* For roles based in London, your contractual place of work will be Stratford. While the Stratford site is expected to become operational from November 2025 – March 2026, you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall or another reasonable location on a temporary basis during the interim period. Please note that, as Stratford will be your contractual place of work, any subsequent move from a temporary location will not entitle you to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy.

About the job

Job summary

We are currently looking to recruit a Lead Enterprise Architect to provide strategic technical leadership and architectural direction at the heart of the NCA’s transformation agenda. This pivotal role will shape how technology enables the Agency’s mission by ensuring that all programmes, platforms and services are aligned to a coherent enterprise-wide vision. Working closely with senior stakeholders, delivery leads and other architects, you will drive the development and adoption of architectural roadmaps, standards and principles that support strategic outcomes, enable interoperability and reduce technical debt. You will play a key role in design governance and assurance, providing authoritative oversight to ensure that solutions are scalable, secure and fully aligned with business and operational objectives across a complex, multi-tiered estate. 

This role aligns to Lead Enterprise Architect within the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.

If you would like to find out more about this role and the application process we will be holding a virtual opening evening via MS Teams on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 6.00pm.

This event is by invitation only.

To register, please click on the following link DDaT VIRTUAL EVENT.

You will be asked for your name and email address. Please ensure that you spell your email address correctly.

Registration will close on Tuesday 16th September at 12:00pm. You will not be able to register after this date and time.

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Job description

The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Directorate is responsible for creating a cutting-edge technology and information environment that connects, empowers and enhances our Officers’ crime fighting capabilities.

We are responsible for defining and delivering our data and technology strategy, policy and architecture, building and sustaining resilient services which are critical to our mission success. We work closely with our operational teams to help them do their job in the most effective and efficient way, understanding their challenges and combining this with emerging technologies/techniques to obtain and exploit data in innovative ways to ensure we stay ahead of the criminals who are committing some of most serious crimes and inflicting harm to our society.

Are you ready to join the team?

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide strategic technical leadership and architectural direction to drive the design and delivery of capabilities and services that enable and enhance the Agency’s business and operational priorities. 

Working under the direction of the Chief Architect, define and continuously evolve the strategic direction for all IT-related domains within the NCA, ensuring coherence with wider HMG technology strategies and standards. 

Establish, own and maintain architectural principles, enterprise design patterns, reference models, blueprints and multi-year roadmaps that underpin all IT design and transformation activity. 

Embed enterprise architecture within project and programme lifecycles by leading the integration of design governance, including the operation of design gates, assurance checkpoints and decision forums. 

Ensure reference architecture documentation is accurate, accessible and maintained to support consistency, reusability and accelerated delivery across the Agency. 

Maintain a deep and current understanding of emerging technologies and industry trends across infrastructure, networks, platforms, cloud services, applications, and data — bringing this insight to bear on strategic planning and solution direction. 

Provide architectural oversight and assurance across the change portfolio, ensuring solutions align to strategic objectives, are technically viable, and comply with security, operational and regulatory standards. 

Act as a senior architectural representative at governance forums such as the Technical Design Authority (TDA) and Architectural Assurance Board (AAB), championing architectural principles, assuring technical quality and shaping enterprise decision-making. 

Shape and influence investment and transformation portfolios by contributing architectural insight to business cases, benefit realisation plans and technology evaluation. 

Foster collaborative engagement with delivery teams, suppliers, and partners to ensure architectural integrity across all layers of design and delivery. 

Act as a senior leader for the architectural community, supporting the professional development of solution, data, security, and technical architects through mentoring, coaching, and setting high standards. 

Manage, coach, and develop staff in line with NCA values and performance expectations, promoting a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and professional growth. 

Person specification

Demonstrable experience leading large-scale enterprise transformation programmes, including defining enterprise architecture vision, shaping multi-year roadmaps and ensuring coherent execution across multiple business domains and delivery workstreams.

Proven ability to drive strategic alignment across diverse business and technology functions, ensuring enterprise architecture effectively links organisational goals with technology decisions and programme outcomes.

Deep expertise in architectural governance, including the definition and maintenance of principles, standards and design patterns, and the operation of governance forums such as design authorities and assurance boards. 

Experience leading the development of reference architectures and enterprise-wide blueprints, and ensuring their adoption across project and programme delivery in complex environments. 

A strong track record in supporting and coaching domain architects (e.g. solution, data, security) to ensure enterprise consistency, technical integrity and alignment to architectural standards.

Practical experience working in hybrid cloud/on-premises environments, advising on legacy migration, digital enablement and technology modernisation across infrastructure, platforms, applications and data.

In-depth understanding of enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g. TOGAF) and practical application of structured architectural methods, tools, and modelling standards, 

Familiarity with public sector and government digital standards, including experience working within governance constraints and aligning architecture to GDS or equivalent frameworks.

Desirable criteria, only to be assessed in the event of a tie break

Experience leading complex, large-scale application rationalisation, consolidation and migration Programmes or projects, in an enterprise architecture role.    
The ability to work with business and technology stakeholders to translate business problems into technical designs for systems characterised by high levels of risk, impact and business or technical complexity.    
Experience identifying relevant technology for an organisation, including establishing the business case for its adoption and standards to govern its implementation.

Behaviours

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

Leadership
Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

Demonstrable experience leading large-scale enterprise transformation programmes, incl. defining enterprise architecture vision, shaping multi-year roadmaps, and ensuring coherent execution across multiple business domains and delivery workstreams.
Proven ability to drive strategic alignment across diverse business and technology functions, ensuring enterprise architecture effectively links organisational goals with technology decisions and programme outcomes.