Lead Enterprise Architect - Competition & Markets Authority - G6

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is one of the world’s leading competition and consumer agencies.

The Technology and Digital Department provides support and technical business solutions for staff in CMA HQ London- Cabot, Edinburgh, Manchester, Darlington, Belfast and Cardiff. The team is comprised of five sub-teams namely – Change Delivery, Service Desk, Infrastructure, Enterprise Application Solutions and End-User Computing (EUC).

As Lead Enterprise Architect, you will play a pivotal, high-level role in defining, developing, agreeing, and ensuring adherence to the CMA's enterprise architecture strategy. You will take a leading role in shaping the overall direction of business and digital capabilities, working closely with senior stakeholders across the CMA and potentially wider government bodies.

You will lead architectural thinking, identify strategic opportunities for improvement, perform horizon scanning for external influences and risks, find and use best practice and emerging technologies, and support the successful delivery of the CMA's long-term strategy. This contract role requires significant expertise and leadership to drive architectural coherence and strategic alignment.

Job description

As a Lead Enterprise Architect, you will define and connect enterprise-wide strategies and visions, aligning technology and business capabilities with CMA's objectives. You will lead and guide other architects and teams to ensure the architecture is understood and effectively utilised across the organisation to achieve these goals.

You will lead the framing of business and technology problems characterised by high complexity, complication, or risk.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Make and guide significant architectural design decisions characterised by medium-to-high risk and complexity, addressing architectural risks affecting multiple teams or domains.  
• Network and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership across the CMA and externally. Perform horizon scanning to anticipate policy changes, identify strategic risks/influences, and build resilience through architectural work. Work with people outside the organisation where necessary to inform policies and standards.
• Lead, mentor, and coach enterprise architects and potentially other DDaT professionals, helping them understand how to deliver objectives.
• Identify appropriate contractual frameworks and approaches, and identify, evaluate, and select appropriate suppliers where necessary to deliver architectural components or solutions.

Person specification

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application. For tips on how to make the most your application, please have a look at our guidance document.

• Proven experience operating as a Lead Enterprise Architect or Senior Architect with demonstrable leadership impact in a complex organisation (Lead Criteria)
• Ability to design comprehensive enterprise architectures (business, data, tech, people, process) and ensure their adoption across an organisation (Lead Criteria)
• Expertise in defining, connecting, and enabling the implementation of enterprise-wide strategies Demonstrable experience leading the framing of highly complex and high-risk problems, and coaching others in problem definition and solution optioning Track record of making and guiding significant architectural decisions with medium/high risk and complexity, impacting multiple domains, and contributing to governance development
• Good communication skills: ability to engage, influence, mediate, and gain support from senior stakeholders across organisational boundaries on complex, high-impact matters; coaching others in communication
• Deep understanding of architecting for the whole context, including horizon scanning, assessing external trends (societal, industry, tech), anticipating policy impacts, and coaching others in identifying trends
• Strong understanding and application of architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, Archimate) and methodologies and thorough knowledge and application of the DDaT Capability Framework, Government Technology Code of Practice, and public sector digital standards.

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Experience shaping architecture across organisational or governmental boundaries.
• Experience working within UK Government or similar regulatory bodies to the CMA.
• Familiarity with tools like ArchiMate or similar modelling tools.
• Experience working in Agile and iterative delivery environments at scale.
• Relevant professional certifications (e.g., TOGAF Certification, BCS Chartered IT Professional - Expert/Lead levels where applicable).

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Changing and Improving
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• During the selection process, you will also be assessed against the Digital, Data and Technology profession capability framework. Specifically, you will be assessed against the Lead Enterprise Architect capability framework