Head of Architecture

NLA media access limited represents the intellectual property rights of prominent publishing brands in the UK – more than 14,000 newspaper and magazine print and web titles, from over 300 publishers. The company also operates a database providing content and services to media monitoring agencies and publishers, containing ~250 million articles from print and web publications.

We are looking for a Head of Architecture for our technology department. You will work closely with engineering, SRE, product and data teams to define and guide the overall architecture of our digital platforms and services. The role is responsible for ensuring our systems evolve in a coherent, scalable and secure way as the business continues to modernise its technology and data platforms.

To be successful in this role you will be an experienced technology leader who is comfortable operating across both the business and technical domains. As a key member of the technology leadership group, you will need the skills and experience to guide architectural decisions across internal teams and external delivery partners. Technically, the role stretches from understanding our existing systems, integrations and data landscape, through to defining a clear target architecture and ensuring that new initiatives and platform changes align with that direction.

You will work closely with engineering, SRE and product teams to balance pragmatic delivery with long-term platform integrity. The role reports into the Chief Digital Officer and works closely with the Head of Engineering and other technology leaders as part of the Technology & Digital team. The technology team works remotely, and our Sales and Finance teams are hybrid with a mix of working from home and from our headquarters in Royal Tunbridge Wells. This role will be remote, with an expectation of one or two days per quarter in the office. The office is less than a 5 minute walk from the train station, with trains directly into London and elsewhere.

• Alongside engineering, SRE, product and data teams your primary focus will be guiding the architectural direction of our digital platforms and ensuring systems evolve in a coherent, scalable and well-governed way.
• Drawing on both your own and your wider teams’ knowledge of system design, delivery approaches and user needs, you will be able to guide architectural decisions which support reliable services, efficient delivery and long-term platform sustainability.

• Define and evolve the target architecture across our digital platforms and supporting systems.
• Establish and maintain architectural principles, standards and reference patterns to guide engineering teams and external partners.
• Ensure new systems, technologies and integrations align with the broader platform strategy and long-term technical direction.
• Maintain visibility of emerging technologies and industry practices to inform future platform evolution.

• Provide architectural leadership across application, data, integration and infrastructure domains.
• Work closely with engineering teams and external delivery partners to review and guide system designs and technical approaches.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, rationalise or modernise parts of the technology landscape.
• Support evaluation and proof-of-concept work to de-risk major technology choices or platform changes.

• Establish and operate architecture governance processes, including review and approval of significant changes or new technologies.
• Provide architectural guidance to ensure engineering teams and external partners build solutions aligned with the target architecture.
• Resolve cross-team architectural challenges where system-wide trade-offs are required.
• Ensure architectural considerations such as scalability, resilience, observability and security are incorporated into solution designs.

• Work closely with engineering, SRE, product and data teams to align platform architecture with product and delivery plans.
• Provide architectural input into major initiatives, technology investments and transformation programmes.
• Communicate architectural decisions and technical trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Support technology leadership in ensuring the organisation’s platforms remain robust, scalable and fit for future business needs.

• Strong experience designing and governing modern digital platform architectures.
• Experience working with cloud-based infrastructure and distributed systems.
• Experience designing systems that integrate across multiple services, data platforms and APIs.
• Good understanding of modern engineering practices such as CI/CD, infrastructure as code and cloud-native architectures.
• Experience evaluating new technologies and guiding technology adoption.

• Experience defining and maintaining architectural standards and governance processes.
• Experience guiding architecture across multiple teams and delivery partners.
• Ability to balance long-term architectural strategy with pragmatic delivery constraints.
• Experience supporting platform modernisation or transformation programmes.

• Excellent communication, analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work effectively across engineering teams and business stakeholders.
• Ability to clearly explain complex technical concepts and architectural trade-offs.
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills when working across teams without direct authority.
• Strategic thinking combined with a pragmatic approach to delivery.

You MUST be able to demonstrate prior relevant architecture or senior engineering experience. You MUST be based in the United Kingdom and eligible to work in the United Kingdom.

Private Healthcare Plan, Pension Plan, Life Assurance, Remote with occasional ‘team days’ and meetings in the office or in London, Training & Development, Employee Assistance Programme, Bonus scheme, 25 days annual leave, increasing with service.

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