Lead Technical Architect - MHCLG - G7

Location

Bristol, Darlington, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton

About the job

Job summary

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people's lives. 

Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we're all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you're thinking of joining us, there's never been a more exciting time.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Digital Planning Programme, our mission is to modernise the planning system through digital transformation; making it more transparent, accessible, and efficient for everyone.

As a Technical Architect , you will own the technical architecture for key planning data products and platforms, responsible for setting and governing the technical strategy for data standards, APIs, integration patterns, cloud architecture, and information governance. You’ll guide delivery teams to make the right technical and design decisions, ensure interoperability across services, and balance innovation with pragmatic delivery.

You will influence senior stakeholders and external partners (e.g., local authorities, vendors, and other government departments) to drive adoption and reuse. With a genuine passion for next-generation technologies, you will drive innovation, security, and scalability, helping to shape the future of public services.

Job description

As a Lead Technical Architect You'll;

• Own and deliver the overarching technical strategy, guiding architectural decisions that balance risk, complexity, and delivery timelines. 

• Lead governance and assurance processes, ensuring solutions remain secure, robust, and aligned with government technology code of practice.

• Collaborate with senior stakeholders to advocate for digital transformation initiatives, influencing decisions through clear, data-driven insights. 

• Mentor and guide architects and engineering teams, nurturing a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous learning. 

• Oversee integration of new systems, developing detailed plans that align with broader organisational and cross-government strategies. 

• Assess current systems to identify areas for improvement, analyse potential risks, and promote emerging best practices in the field. 

• Facilitate stakeholder discussions, serving as the key escalation point for complex or high-risk design challenges. 

• Drive continuous improvement, incorporating lessons learned into future strategies and ensuring consistency in architecture across multiple domains 

• Champion the use of software with publicly available source code and operating transparently, fostering collaboration, trust, and innovation 

 • Lead technical assessments, assure designs, and contribute to spend controls, service assessments and technical governance.

Person specification

As a Lead Technical Architect You'll have;

• Proven Technical Architecture leadership in complex, data-intensive services at scale 

 • Strong knowledge of data modelling, metadata, cataloguing, quality management, and governance for open and shared data. 

• Hands-on understanding of cloud-native architectures (AWS/Azure/GCP), including IaC (Terraform/ARM), CI/CD, observability and cost management. 

• Demonstrable application of security by design, privacy, and access controls in multi-tenant data platforms. 

• Excellent communication skills: ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear options and narratives for non-technical stakeholders. 

• Track record of delivering solutions on time and within scope, balancing budget, security, and quality considerations. 

• Experience managing diverse technology landscapes, including third-party suppliers and cloud environments