Lead Solutions Architect (Apprenticeship) - Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - G7

Location

Location: Bristol, Swansea, Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle, Oldham (Chadderton), Birmingham (Garretts Green) or Uxbridge.

You can be based at any of the above locations, however if your chosen location is Yeading/Uxbridge please note:

This role is advertised as being based in Uxbridge; however, the contractual base will be Yeading.

While estate works are being carried out at the Yeading site, all roles will be temporarily located in Uxbridge. Successful applicants will therefore begin their employment at the Uxbridge location.

Please be aware that all employees will be required to work from the Yeading site once it reopens in 2028.

Employees based at Uxbridge will receive a London Weighting allowance of £4,000. This allowance will continue when the location moves to Yeading.

About the job

Job summary

Reporting to the Lead Technical Architect you will work in a team consisting of Lead Solution Architects and play a pivotal role within the architecture community at DVSA. 

The Lead Solution Architect will work within DVSA’s Enterprise Architecture practice helping to support reducing technical debt, improving customer and colleague services and reducing TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). 

Predominantly focussed on architecting cloud based digital services and responsible for providing technical and advisory support, solutioning and oversight to ensure business objectives can be achieved in a cost-effective manner. 

The Lead Solution Architect is responsible for the creation and maintenance of as-is, transition and to-be Solution Architectures which meet the needs of the DVSA, whilst delivering value for money for their designated business capabilities. 

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including: 

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here 
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday 
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance. 

Read more in the Benefits section below! 

Find out more about what it's like working at Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers 

Job description

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• The Lead Solution Architect will work within DVSA’s Enterprise Architecture practice helping to support reducing technical debt, improving customer and colleague services and reducing TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). 
  
  
• Predominantly focussed on architecting cloud based digital services and responsible for providing technical and advisory support, solutioning and oversight to ensure business objectives can be achieved in a cost-effective manner. 
• The Lead Solution Architect is responsible for the creation and maintenance of as-is, transition and to-be Solution Architectures which meet the needs of the DVSA, whilst delivering value for money for their designated business capabilities. 
• The Lead Solution Architect works with business and technology stakeholders to translate business problems into solution architectures. Creating an optimal design through an iterative process, aligning the user needs, functional and non-functional requirements, organisational objectives and alignment to the Enterprise Architecture principles, standards, and patterns. 
  
  
• Support the architecture governance frameworks that enable the DVSA to enhance its services though the delivery of strategically aligned digital solutions and the creation and maintenance of solutions architectures that meet the needs of the business whilst delivering value for money and alignment to DVSA’s Enterprise Architecture. 

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills set out in the Civil Service Line Management Standards.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience: 

• Demonstrated expertise in a digital/IT architecture role, involving active collaboration with stakeholders, translating business requirements into tangible solution design artifacts, and clearly communicating technical intricacies to non-technical audiences. 
• Proven track record in ensuring that designed solutions align with the enduring principles and guidelines established by an organization’s Enterprise Architecture practice. 
• Extensive track record in strategizing and executing transformation initiatives, with hands-on involvement in business change efforts leveraging AWS and/or Microsoft Azure cloud ecosystems. Proficient in integrating various products and cloud services within these dynamic environments. 
• Practical exposure to implementing Solution Architecture frameworks in the context of real-world business transformation scenarios. Proficient with well-known frameworks including TOGAF and/or Zachman, as well as familiar with ITIL practices and modelling notations such as Archimate, UML, and BPMN. 

DVSA Apprenticeship campaigns   

To be eligible for this apprenticeship (if you are not already qualified to a degree level in a Digital Development and Technology discipline) you must:   

• Be aged 18 or over.   
• Have the right work in the UK.   
• Hold the following qualifications:  Minimum level 3 qualifications in STEM subjects (e.g., 2 A Levels, BTEC Diplomas, Apprenticeship, or equivalent) 
• Not be in full-time education.   
• Not be in receipt of funding for other learning programmes at the point of enrolment for this apprenticeship.    
  
  
• Have valid and eligible residency status and be resident in the UK for 3 years before the start of the apprenticeship.   Full eligibility details can be found here at Annex A. If you are not sure if you meet the residency requirements then please contact us before applying.   

If you currently hold or are working towards a similar qualification of the same level or higher, then you will not be eligible to apply for this vacancy. In order to be eligible for our apprenticeship vacancy, any qualifications previously held or currently being worked towards must differ in content so that this apprenticeship provides substantial new skills. Additionally you must not already be over-qualified or over-experienced in this type of work.   

If you apply and are found to possess the above: your application will not be considered; any offer of employment will be withdrawn, and your contract will be terminated.   

This apprenticeship is expected to start  in January 2027 so the successful candidate will need to be available then.