Lead Solution Architect

We’re looking for a Lead Solution Architect to join our digital transformation consultancy building user-centered software and digital services for public sector clients. Lead Solution Technical Architects work closely with clients and development teams to design software architecture and guide delivery teams to turn the design into reality.

As a Solution Architect, you will:

• Design technology solutions that are scalable, secure and user-centred
• Guide and support clients to make technology choices
• Own documentation and drive governance on behalf of development teams

You will bring a technology-agnostic approach to solution design, ensuring that technology solutions meet the needs of users and stakeholders and help the client to deliver effective services. You'll operate as a trusted advisor, liaising with client stakeholders at all levels across business and technology functions. You will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across design, technology, data and delivery on time-bound delivery projects. You will lead smaller projects or play a senior role on larger ones. You will be the source of technical oversight and advice for the wider team and for the client. You will also support the development of junior colleagues and contribute to team culture and business development.

Responsibilities

• Technical architecture
• Design technical solution architecture for software and digital services
• Conduct technical assessments and provide actionable recommendations for clients
• Produce high-quality artefacts and documentation including high level and low level designs, diagrams, architecture models, and written briefs
• Support development teams to implement your designs
• Technical governance
• Take your designs through architectural governance processes, proactively ensuring alignment with enterprise, data, and security standards
• Support architecture quality by reviewing designs of colleagues and client teams and giving constructive feedback and advice
• Delivery
• Lead project workstreams or small/medium client engagements in technology engagements
• Create technical roadmaps and contribute to delivery planning to support agile product development
• Stakeholder management
• Collaborate with client teams to align technical solutions with organisational strategies and user needs
• Facilitate architecture decision-making with clients
• Develop and maintain strong client relationships, building trust with senior stakeholders
• Communicate complex technical information to non-technical stakeholders
• Internal responsibilities
• Contribute to the continual development of our technology and data practice, mentor or line manage more junior consultants and contribute to internal learning
• Contribute to bids, proposals and marketing
• Maintain a strong understanding of emerging trends and technologies

About You

Professional knowledge and experience

• Essential skills:
• Strong experience designing architectures for complex software and digital services
• Demonstrable knowledge of enterprise systems, APIs/integration, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and modern development best-practice
• Experience developing and reviewing architecture artefacts and applying architecture modelling standards (e.g. C4, ArchiMate, UML)
• Strong verbal and written skills and experience of communicating technical concepts and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven ability to work with stakeholders at multiple levels across organisations
• Experience taking your designs through architecture governance processes
• Experience working with agile product delivery teams, from solution design through to delivery
• Experience delivering projects in a consultancy environment
• Committed to personal and professional development, staying abreast of industry trends
• A technology and platform agnostic perspective
• Awareness of user needs and user centered design in the context of technology
• Desirable:
• Experience working with public sector architecture standards and platforms (e.g. Technology Code of Practice, GDS Service Assessments, gov.uk PaaS, NHS Spine)
• Experience working in diverse, remote, and multi-disciplinary teams

Skills

• Communicating between the technical and non-technical – ability to interpret and negotiate between needs of technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Requirements definition and management – ability to advise on requirements management approaches and coordinate requirements prioritisation
• Strategic thinking – ability to contribute to the development of strategies and policies
• Technology systems analysis – ability to lead the analysis of IT system capabilities
• Governance and assurance – ability to assure services and support clients to define governance
• User focus – ability to champion user research and define approaches to understanding user needs
• Lifecycle perspective – ability to manage the delivery of products and services at different phases through the product lifecycle
• Sourcing technology assets and solutions - ability to lead supplier discussions as part of procurement processes
• Solution architecture - ability to lead development of solution architecture in line with standards

To Apply

If you would like to express interest in this role, please apply by submitting your CV and a cover letter max 2 pages highlighting your relevant experience against the essential requirements for the role.

We are committed to having a positive impact on the clients and the communities we serve. We actively encourage applications from all genders, ethnicities, disabled people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Don’t meet 100% of the criteria? We still want to hear from you. Please let us know if you require any adjustments during the recruitment process.

Approach to Working

We are a hybrid organisation. We have offices in London, Bristol, Manchester, Chesterfield and Edinburgh. You are welcome to work from the office as much or as little as you like, and we have occasional required in-person events. Depending on client engagement, you may need to attend client sites or other locations up to 3 days a week and this may not be in a location close to where you live. Most of our consultants travel on average one day per month.

About Us

People-Powered Transformation

We're a purpose driven organisation, supporting organisations to build a better future for people, places and the planet. Combining vast experience in the public, private and third sectors and expertise in human-centred design, data, experience and technology, we’re creating sustainable solutions ready for an ever-evolving world.

At the heart of TPXimpact, we’re collaborative and empathetic. We’re a team of passionate people who care deeply about the work we do and the impact we have in the world. We know that change happens through people, with people and for people. That’s why we believe in people-powered transformation.

Working in close collaboration with our clients, we seek to understand their unique challenges, questioning assumptions and building in their teams the capabilities and confidence to continue learning, iterating and adapting.

Benefits Include:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays
• 2 volunteer days for causes that you are passionate about
• Maternity/paternity - 6 months Maternity Leave, 3 months Paternity Leave
• Life assurance
• Employer pension contribution of 5%
• Health cash plan
• Personal learning and development budget
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to equity in the business through a Share Incentive Plan
• Green incentive programmes including Electric Vehicle Leasing and the Cycle to Work Scheme
• Financial advice
• Health assessments

About TPXimpact - Digital Transformation

We drive fundamental change in approaches to product and service development, delivery and technology. Our agile, multidisciplinary teams use technology, design and data to deliver better results, improving outcomes for individuals, organisations and communities.

By working in the open, in partnership with our clients, we not only transform their systems and services but also build the capability of their teams, so work can continue without us in the longer term. Our focus is sustainable change, always delivered with positive impact.

We’re an inclusive employer, and we care about diversity in our teams. Let us know in your application if you have accessibility requirements during the interview.