IT Architecture – Specialist

This role will close at 00.01 on 27th October, we advise that you submit your application by midnight of 26th October.

Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day.

We make sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio.
We also oversee the universal postal service, look after the airwaves used by wireless devices, and also help to make sure people don’t get scammed and are protected from bad practices.

We have recently taken on the regulation of video-sharing platforms, and we are preparing for a role in protecting people from online harms.  Protecting consumers is at the heart of what we do.

Our culture is clear - we live by our values: Empowerment; Excellence; Collaboration; Agility and Respect. These define how we work to deliver our purpose, now and in the future. The behaviours which support these values set the path for a fully inclusive and innovative culture at Ofcom.

We focus not only on what we do, but how we do it. We pride ourselves on being an organisation of people who genuinely care about helping others.

Team Overview

Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we depend upon in the modern world. We make sure people get the best from broadband, telephone and mobile services. We oversee the universal postal service and manage the radio-spectrum used by wireless devices and have regulatory powers over TV and radio.

In addition to existing regulatory responsibilities, there will be exciting opportunities to contribute to Ofcom’s new duties in relation to the regulation of Online Safety. It is expected that this new area of work will expand the scope of activities at Ofcom in terms of the variety and volume of data we ingest and the systems we need to support this activity.

The candidate will have a good foundation in both business and technology, contributing to developing and implementing future state architecture and transition state architectures, liaising with colleagues across Ofcom.

Purpose of the Role

We are looking for a IT Solutions Architect with strong focus on developing their solution and automation skills, they should have a good understanding of business, data, applications and technology.

The Solutions Architect works closely with ICT and the groups across Ofcom. You will assist with the architect, design, implement and oversee the new solutions that empower colleagues to efficiently and effectively deliver their work. The role will have an enhanced focus on ensuring automation is adopted where possible.

You will design and develop no-code/low-code applications and solutions that encourage self-service where practical to support automation, integrations, and data flows solutions for internal and external clients.

Candidates will exhibit critical thinking skills, the ability to synthesize complex problems, and have relevant skills and experience for enabling the transformation of data to create solutions that add value to of business requirements.

You will lead the design and development of solution architectures in response to business requirements. This includes identifying and evaluating alternative architectures, their trade-offs in cost, performance and scalability. And ensuring that the relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices (including security) are applied correctly. The end-to-end solution will be fit for purpose and meet the needs of business, the agreed requirements, and support the strategic direction of Ofcom.

Key responsibilities

• Devising an automation strategy including - working with groups across Ofcom to identify areas suitable for automation, determining the most appropriate tools, rolling out these tools to production
• Build strong relationships with colleagues across the business, understanding their motivations behind projects and own technical activities to translate business requirements (both functional and non-functional) into a solution. Ensuring the required business value is delivered.
• Fostering a customer centric approach to ensure delivery of business value and an iterative approach that responds to feedback and changing needs. Perform deep dives into technical areas to solve a specific solution or design challenges. Using trials or POCs to prove or discount an approach, to critic your own design.
• Responsible for ensuring that the solutions you help deliver align with the wider reference architecture and domain roadmaps.
• Manage stakeholder expectations and be flexible, working on many different projects and topics at the same time period. Manage proactive and reactive communication. Facilitate difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders and external / 3rd parties as necessary.
• Provide documentation of solutions detailing the business, data, application and technology layers.

Skills, Knowledge and experience

• You must have excellent written and presentation skills,
• Possess good technical background and a desire to develop your skills in data and analytics.
• Ability to work within a technical environment performing technical design and/or system analysis roles across technical domains.
• Experience in designing end-to-end solutions and defining design pattern leveraging on cloud-based technologies and other emerging technologies.
• Ability to adapt new technologies and learn quickly
• Experience of building and maintaining good working relationships with colleagues at all levels of an organization
• Experience of working with external technology supplier and service providers to deliver business solutions
• Architectural experience with at least two of Ofcom’s strategic platforms which include: Microsoft Azure & Office, Workday and Salesforce

Ofcom is a forward-thinking, inclusive employer and recognises the value of diversity to truly “make communications work for everyone”. Here at Ofcom, our vision is to ensure people are part of an environment when they can truly strive and be themselves, therefore we aim to recruit from the widest pool of candidates possible – irrespective of social background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability. We are an organisation that strives to be truly representative of the whole of the UK and our aim is to be an employer of choice for everyone.

We champion flexible working and so wherever possible we support flexible working patterns including job shares.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview disabled applicants who meets the minimum selection criteria of the role as outlined in the job specification, if applicants would like to be considered under this scheme. We pride ourselves on ensuring all candidates are treated fairly throughout the application and selection process including making our process as accessible as possible. You can find more information on the scheme here. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/jobs/disability-confident-scheme

Should you require any adjustments to be made, please do contact us directly at resourcing@ofcom.org.uk or call 0330 912 1378

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