Enterprise Architect - Ref 1376

MI5 are currently seeking individuals to join our Enterprise Architect team. We are very interested in applicants from a broad range of relevant backgrounds such as Solution Architecture, Business Architecture and Enterprise Architecture.

Whatever your role at MI5, you’ll be contributing to keeping the country safe from threats to national security including terrorism, cyber and espionage.

The Role

At MI5, our Architects have a key role in one of the world’s most exciting and innovative environments, working with some of our best minds on complex problems. If you are passionate about using your skills to crack business challenges through creative use of technology, this could be the perfect role for you.

Senior Enterprise Architects provide the context and direction necessary to ensure that MI5 obtains maximum benefit from longer term technology investments. You can expect to be bringing together business, information, application, technology and security specialists to create deliverable strategies and solutions to meet business outcomes.

Depending on your background and level of experience, you could also be asked to work in closer proximity to the technology delivery area to drive business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Understand MI5’s business vision, goals and outcomes, then help your assigned business area prioritise these. Produce technology scoping architectures, roadmaps or solutions ahead of delivery

• Triage business problems and map them to strategic technology architectures

• Conduct pre-project market scans for MI5 wide enterprise technologies

• Keep ahead of the technology curve, spotting innovative ideas and pulling those back to support business challenges

• Present option papers, briefings or new portfolio bids to key business areas, non-technical stakeholders and director level audiences

• Identify and develop technology opportunities in an assigned business area, and develop business capabilities in conjunction with product centres, LEAN and business change experts

The Person

We are looking for enthusiastic, passionate technologists, who really enjoy being challenged and get excited by fixing big business issues. Being able to deal with ambiguity and make empowered risk based design decisions is key.

We are looking for architects with a variety of backgrounds and experience levels in enterprise, solution and technical architectures. You will need to have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present design solutions to senior stakeholders in the context of the end business benefit.

It is essential to be a good facilitator, as you will be bringing to life challenging concepts for different technical and business communities, potentially across multiple organisations.

Recruitment Process

Initially we will ask you to complete our pre-screening questions to discover if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet these criteria we will then ask you to begin an application.

You will be required to create a log in and provide your full name, email address and a memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete an initial registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities monitoring information.

Subsequently you will be invited to upload your CV and complete an online application form, whereby our recruitment team will conduct a sift of your application. Successful applicants will be invited to a telephone interview, which will include some competency based questions and will explore your motivation to work for MI5.

Assuming you pass the telephone interview, you will be invited to attend a competency based face to face interview to further explore your skills. If you are successful, you will be required to attend an additional face to face interview at MI5. This will be followed by a security interview with a vetting officer. We advise you to read about the vetting process to satisfy yourself that you meet the criteria outlined in the vetting pages of the How to Apply section prior to submitting an application.

Giving misleading information or omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously. You should ensure that you follow our guidance from when you apply.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme we offer an interview to all candidates with a disability who meet our minimum criteria for the job vacancy that they are applying for. This is known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS).

Along with the standard eligibility requirements for this post, your application will be assessed on how far you meet the job requirements. Your application must score the minimum amount of points set. On successful completion of this stage, you will be invited to interview. This will normally be a telephone interview and is our guaranteed interview.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must meet our residency criteria. You must be a born or naturalised British citizen and one of your parents must be a British citizen or have substantial ties to the UK.

Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for nine out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. However, we will still consider you if you’ve served overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majesty’s Government, studied abroad, or lived overseas with your parents.

Due to vetting requirements you will need to be 18 years old, or above, to apply. Your application may take around six months to process.

Owing to the sensitivity of our work, we do not publicly disclose the identities of our staff. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

The Security Service is committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect.