Independent Football Regulator Technical Architect - Department for Culture, Media and Sport - G6

Location

Manchester, North West England, M2 3AW

About the job

Job summary

The Independent Football Regulator

We lead the Government's work on the future governance of football. At present, there is a Shadow Football Regulator made up of circa 60 members of staff, led by an interim Chief Operating Officer. This team will transfer out of DCMS to be the Independent Football Regulator in 2025, no earlier than October.

The team is currently undertaking a range of activities in preparation for the establishment of the IFR, which was created when the Football Governance Act became law in July.

While this role is being advertised through DCMS, it will be based in the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) and will not start until the IFR has been fully established as an independent body from 1 November 2025. 

You will be employed on the terms and conditions of the Independent Football Regulator. Please see slide 10 of the candidate pack for more information.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Define and lead the delivery of architectural strategy aligned to organisational and regulatory objectives
• Set and embed architectural principles, standards and patterns to guide solution design across teams
• Provide strategic technical leadership across programmes and portfolios, influencing senior stakeholders
• Design and assure complex, end-to-end solutions that are scalable, secure, and meet user needs
• Lead architectural governance and ensure compliance with digital, data and technology and GDS standards
• Collaborate with policy, product, delivery and data leaders to align technology with business outcomes
• Explore and promote the adoption of emerging technologies to drive innovation and service improvement
• Communicate complex technical ideas clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership

Person specification

Essential Requirements

• Ability to translate complex business and regulatory requirements into scalable, secure, and sustainable technical architectures that support digital, data and technology objectives
• Strong proficiency in designing and documenting technical solutions, including data models, system architectures, and integration patterns — ideally using Microsoft Azure, Power Platform, and related technologies
• Proven experience leading and mentoring development teams, ensuring alignment with architectural principles and technical best practice
• Skilled in identifying and resolving complex technical challenges, applying modern and emerging technologies to improve service delivery and resilience
• Ability to explain technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leaders
• Demonstrable experience influencing strategic technical decisions across programmes or portfolios in a public sector or regulated environment

Desirable Skills

• Experience working with government digital and data standards (e.g. GDS Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice)
• Familiarity with security and data protection principles in the context of public sector architecture
• Relevant qualifications (e.g. TOGAF, Azure Solutions Architect, BCS Certified Architect, or equivalent experience)

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Rebecca Norton Price, and will take place on:

• Tuesday 16th September at 13:30

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling out this form and you will be sent an invitation. The invites will be sent the night before the session. The sessions are not recorded.

Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to joseph.alford@dcms.gov.uk.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving

Technical skills

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

• Technical design throughout the life cycle