Head of Architecture in Sunderland

An opportunity to shape the future of critical UK infrastructure. We’re partnering with a major organisation responsible for delivering essential services to millions of homes and businesses across the UK. As the sector undergoes rapid change, driven by digital transformation, decarbonisation and evolving customer expectations, this organisation is investing heavily in modernising its technology landscape.

This is a pivotal hire, offering the chance to build and lead a high‑impact architecture capability, influence enterprise-wide strategy, and play a key role in a multi‑year transformation journey. If you’re motivated by scale, complexity and genuine societal impact, this is a rare opportunity to make a lasting difference.

The Role

As Lead Architect, you will head up a team of domain and solution architects, taking ownership of defining the future-state architecture and creating a pragmatic, deliverable roadmap to get there. You will operate at the intersection of business and technology, shaping strategy, influencing senior stakeholders and ensuring that architectural best practice is embedded across a complex, evolving environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of architecture specialists, guiding business leaders, product owners and delivery teams through transformation and optimisation initiatives.
• Enable business and technology innovation by establishing clear architectural processes, standards and governance to ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to shape enterprise strategy, supporting investment planning, innovation initiatives and long-term technology direction.
• Maintain oversight of the full architectural landscape across applications, data and infrastructure, ensuring alignment to strategic objectives.
• Establish and mature a business architecture capability, increasing overall enterprise architecture maturity and upskilling the wider team.
• Build and lead a high-performing, collaborative architecture function, setting clear objectives and developing team capability.
• Develop and maintain multi-year architectural roadmaps aligned to business priorities, investment cycles and budget planning.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven experience leading and developing teams of architects or domain experts within complex environments.
• Broad architectural background spanning at least three disciplines, such as business, data, solution or technical architecture, application development, middleware, or operations.
• Strong understanding of modern technology ecosystems, including SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, APIs, microservices, event-driven architecture and data/analytics capabilities.
• Solid commercial awareness, including business and operating models, financial planning, cost-benefit analysis and risk management.
• Experience with enterprise architecture frameworks, tools and modelling techniques.
• Understanding of both project-led and product-led delivery models, alongside Agile principles and methodologies.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and consulting skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.
• Deep knowledge of enterprise architecture principles, frameworks and best practices.

Desirable

• Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline (e.g. computer science, engineering, business or systems analysis).
• Experience within large-scale, asset-intensive or regulated environments (e.g. utilities, infrastructure or similar).
• Knowledge of IT service management, SDLC, Agile/Lean delivery and enterprise frameworks such as ITIL.

Why Apply?

• Play a central role in a major technology transformation programme.
• Build and shape an enterprise architecture function with real influence.
• Work on systems that underpin critical national infrastructure.
• Join at a time of significant investment, change and opportunity.