Solutions Architect in Manchester

Closing date: 22 November

Interview dates: (in person) 01 December 2026

About us

At the Public Service Ombudsman, we are a modern, vibrant organisation full of passionate, committed people. We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the NHS in England. We work closely with people to understand where, how and why public services sometimes fall short and fail to put people first. And we find ways to put it right.

Based in the centre of Manchester, we employ over 600 people who are passionate about making a difference through public service. Together, we work to make sure people's voices are heard and used to drive improvements in public services. We are proud of our inclusive culture, where different perspectives are valued, colleagues are supported to develop, and everyone can contribute to meaningful change.

Please note that we were formerly known as The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

About the role

Join our Digital team as a Solutions Architect and help shape the technology behind our digital services. You will design secure, practical solutions that meet the needs of our users and support the way we work.

Join our Digital team as a Solutions Architect and help shape the technology behind our digital services. Design secure, practical solutions that meet the needs of our users and support the way we work.

The role covers a wide range of technology, including applications, data, cloud services, integrations and infrastructure. Turn business needs into clear technical designs and work closely with delivery teams to bring them to life.

Get involved from the early stages of an idea through to delivery and live operation. If you enjoy solving complex problems, making thoughtful technology choices and seeing your designs become working services, we would love to hear from you.

What we are looking for

• experienced in designing complex, integrated digital solutions across cloud and SaaS platforms.
• skilled at creating secure, resilient and maintainable solutions that work effectively in live service.
• confident leading technical design, influencing delivery teams and making pragmatic architectural decisions.
• able to communicate complex architecture clearly, balancing technical needs, business priorities and long-term value.

We recognise the value of lived experience. If you have experience of complaining about any public body, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Our benefits:

• Civil Service Pension scheme
• 32.5 days annual leave (plus bank holidays on top)
• hybrid working, 40% office based
• flexible working
• access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 advice and support from professionals and counsellors
• comprehensive learning and development programme
• employee discount scheme across hundreds of retailers
• one day paid volunteering leave per year
• bicycle loan scheme
• season ticket loan
• gym membership subsidy
• paid for professional memberships
• eye test reimbursement.

How to apply (and how to do well)

You will answer four scored questions at application stage. We use these to shortlist and longlist, so your answers matter.

• choose real examples (from professional settings)
• focus on what you did, not what “we” did as a group
• explain your thinking: what you looked at, what you decided, and why
• keep it clear and specific, avoid generic statements

Please do not use AI to write your answers. We need to assess your skills, and applications may be rejected if answers appear AI-generated.

If your examples are very short, mostly opinion-based, or don’t describe a specific situation and outcome, you are unlikely to score well.

Inclusion & Wellbeing

Equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are vital to the way we work and our culture. We want our colleagues feel included, valued, and supported at work. It is essential that we are representative and accessible for the people who work here and those who use our service.

Actions we take to embed this include:

• an anonymised shortlisting process to make sure it is fair and unbiased
• monitoring the demographic trends in our workforce and making measured, sustained efforts to improve our diversity at all levels
• providing wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development for all colleagues
• creating spaces for connection and engagement through our employee network groups and social clubs
• part of the disability confident scheme
• providing reasonable adjustments
• engaging in regular inclusion learning to enhance the cultural competency of our organisation.

We know the value of having diverse, representative teams across our organisation. Which is why we particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented within the team. These include people who are:

• Asian, Black, Mixed Ethnicity or another ethnic background
• disabled
• LGBTQ

Contact and important information

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Mark Muirhead, Assistant Director of Digital, Mark.Muirhead@ombudsman.org.uk

• Interviews: held onsite
• Feedback: we do not offer feedback at application stage
• Right to work: we can only consider candidates with the right to work in the UK.
• Sponsorship: we are unable to offer sponsorship (we do not have a licence).
• Applications: we do not accept CVs, please apply via the application form (‘apply now’).
• Agencies: no agencies; applications from individuals only.
• Early closure: we may close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications.
• Salary: non negotiable

Important notice: fraudulent job postings

We have been made aware that some websites are falsely advertising our job vacancies. We only tend advertise job vacancies through these official channels:
- our website

- LinkedIn

- Civil Service Jobs

- GOV.uk

- Indeed

- Ombudsman association

- BMEjobs.co.uk

- Disabilityjob.co.uk

- Neurodiversityjobs.co.uk

- LGBTjobs.co.uk

Do not share personal details with any other websites claiming to represent us. Contact our recruitment team to report any concerns at recruitment@ombudsman.org.uk