Lead Business 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

Our Lead Business Architects play a leading role in the oversight, coordination, design and development of the NCA’s key capabilities and business architecture. They use their expert knowledge and experience to direct the work addressing high level and complex business scenarios. As a Lead Business Architect, you will be working with internal and external senior stakeholders, business leads and colleagues in Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) and other enabling functions to deliver our mission and strategy. You will lead and direct the application of architectural principles, methods and tools to business scenarios. You will use architectural methods to form a view of the whole enterprise in a way that is easily understood by stakeholders, and will provide overall direction, guidance and definition of business architecture to support strategy. 

This role aligns to Lead Business 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 Enterprise Design Authority for Business (EDA-B) provides strategic, architectural and design expertise and direction for the National Crime Agency. EDA-B works with all areas of the NCA to make sure initiatives are aligned to strategies, mission priorities and relevant Operating Models as appropriate.  

This role sits within the EDA-B team, which works across the Agency to develop and establish mechanisms for aligning the enterprise, technological solutions and technology architectures to the NCA's strategic direction. The role will work closely with Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) through the Architecture Community of Practice that aligns all architecture domains across the Agency. DDaT are at the heart of everything we do within the NCA, enabling the Agency to lead the UK s fight against serious and organised crime (SOC). The pace of change within the digital and tech world means we need to be agile and innovative in how we respond to threats while exploiting the opportunities this presents.

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

• Support the Head of EDA-B to lead the Business Architecture and Design activities that support NCA strategy and delivery of the Transformation Programme and related projects.
• Provide specialist business architecture expertise to the Chief Architect, other members of the architecture team, and the wider NCA, leading on working with business directorates across the Agency.
• Support the development and maintenance of, and adherence to, the NCA’s Business and Enterprise Architecture to facilitate delivery strategies, operating models and programmes.
• Build the enterprise business capabilities model, working with the team to help define and maintain enterprise wide business standards, practices and design patterns, ensuring these align with the enterprise architectural plan, HMG strategies, policies, standards and industry good practice.
• Create and maintain a roadmap for business strategy for operational needs and ensure these align with strategic direction.
• Build artefacts such as business capability maps and value streams to help bridge the gap between strategy and execution.  
• Establish and embed standards for business quality and its measurement. Act as a key stakeholder in the NCA’s approach to the assurance of programme and project design and delivery.
• Collaborate with the EDA team on design assurance, standards, practices and making recommendations to design authorities as needed.
• Lead workshops and similar consultations with users and others to identify business needs.
• Support the delivery of the NCA’s portfolio through business-led design. Provide business architecture and design leadership, architectural and design assurance and delivery advice.
• Look across the Agency and externally to identify and learn from business information architecture developments and trends.

Person specification

• Demonstrable experience leading business architecture in large-scale transformation programmes, including development of target operating models, business capability frameworks and business design standards. 
• Proven ability to drive alignment between business strategy, service design, and technology delivery across diverse stakeholders and functions. 
• Extensive experience in business process modelling, capability mapping, and value stream definition using recognised frameworks and tools. 
• Strong track record of embedding business architecture into governance, programme delivery and investment planning, including working with design authorities and assurance forums. 
• Ability to translate complex organisational structures and operating models into clear, actionable designs that support prioritisation, planning and decision-making. 
• Experience in shaping business architecture methods and developing reusable artefacts, standards and best practice guidance. 
• Knowledge of enterprise and business architecture frameworks (e.g. TOGAF) and practical experience applying structured design approaches. 
• Familiarity with public sector standards, government digital and data strategies, and experience aligning business design with strategic policy outcomes. 

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:

• Knowledge of enterprise and business architecture frameworks (e.g. TOGAF) and practical experience applying structured design approaches.
• Demonstrable experience leading business architecture in large-scale transformation programmes, including development of target operating models, business capability frameworks, and business design standards.