Business Architect - Government Digital Service - G7

Location

Bristol, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

GDS Local is a specialist unit within the Service Transformation Directorate that bridges central and local government digital delivery, ensuring GDS platforms and expertise reach all levels of public service to create seamless citizen experiences.

Our current priorities are

• making GDS products available: starting the journey of making more GDS products and platforms actively available to local authorities
• unlocking data potential: breaking down barriers to data sharing across services and creating environments for innovation
• developing the foundations for a new, joined-up approach to buying and building technology that aligns with the goals of the blueprint for modern digital government

Job description

As Business Architect in GDS Local, you will align service design, operating models, and technology, leading the development and application of business architecture to support digital transformation across local public services.

You will shape direction, influence senior stakeholders, to ensure technology is applied appropriately within operating models, supporting services that are user‑centred, interoperable, and aligned with the wider priorities of the Government Digital Service.

Key responsibilities include

• providing business architecture leadership across GDS Local, shaping how services, operating models and technology come together to support digital transformation and improved outcomes across local public services
• leading the development of shared business architecture artefacts such as capability models, value streams, operating models and reference architectures that underpin coherent service design, delivery and reuse across local and central government
• translating complex service, policy and organisational challenges into clear, actionable architectural approaches, helping teams and decision‑makers make informed choices about structure, technology and delivery models
• enabling innovation through architectural insight, identifying opportunities to redesign services, operating models and system boundaries in response to emerging technologies, delivery models and policy intent
• championing open standards, reusable patterns and shared platforms, promoting consistency, interoperability and cost‑effective reuse across the local government service and technology landscape
• setting direction for architectural governance and assurance, ensuring business and service designs are coherent, sustainable and aligned with wider GDS and cross‑government standards while remaining practical for local adoption
• working collaboratively across organisational boundaries, partnering with local authorities, central government departments and other partners to co‑design service and operating models that meet real user and place‑based needs
• influencing senior stakeholders and building confidence in architectural approaches, clearly communicating trade‑offs, risks and options to both technical and non‑technical audiences
• supporting capability building within GDS Local, mentoring colleagues, strengthening business architecture practice and contributing to a growing cross‑government architecture community of practice

Person specification

The role combines architectural leadership, cross‑government collaboration, and capability building to enable sustainable, technology‑enabled operating models that improve outcomes for citizens and communities who use local public services. We will be looking for the following qualities and experience:

• extensive experience leading business architecture at enterprise or system scale, using capability models, value streams and operating models to shape strategic direction across complex, multi‑organisation environments, rather than within a single service or programme
• demonstrated ability to operate at whole‑system level, aligning business architecture with technical architecture across local government, central government and shared platforms to enable sustainable, interoperable operating models
• proven leadership in digital or service transformation, framing options where outcomes, organisational maturity and delivery constraints must be balanced over the medium to long term
• expert judgement in the selection and application of architectural methods, tools and standards, including when and how to promote open standards, reuse and shared platforms
• experience shaping decisions on adoption, scale and sustainability, including how organisations onboard to shared products or platforms, and the ability to articulate costs, benefits, risks and trade‑offs to senior decision‑makers
• strong stakeholder leadership and influence, with a track record of influencing senior leaders across organisational boundaries, often without direct authority, and translating complex architectural issues into clear, actionable insight
• architectural leadership and capability building, including setting quality expectations, mentoring other architects and practitioners, and growing business architecture maturity through communities of practice
• good understanding of local government service delivery and the need to improve outcomes for citizens and communities