Senior Business Architect Ref. 2630

About Us

We’re the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6.  We work with the UK’s foreign partners to support global stability, by combating international terrorism and the spread of weapons. We work secretly around the world gathering intelligence to promote and protect the UK’s interests and help stay ahead of our adversaries.  

The Role

Architecture and technology are core to MI6’s successful operations and intelligence delivery. There is a constant need to develop and maintain capabilities that provide us with mission advantage in an ever rapidly changing, technology and data driven world. Digital transformation is key to ensure success and to enable MI6 to operate with digital Government and partner Intelligence Communities.

You will lead and build a Business Architecture team providing services across the organisation to understand and transform the way that MI6 operates, guiding investment decisions across the enterprise.

Working to the Head of Enterprise Architecture within the Chief Technology Office you will:

•    Lead the development and capture of the organisation’s Business Architecture and use that architectural understanding to shape investment and capability delivery activities.
•    Work closely with the strategy development teams to shape the future strategies and understand business impact of change and transformation. 
•    Use the understanding of the business architecture to guide and structure transformation at different levels of the organisation and support delivery of that transformation. 
•    Develop and drive dashboard and risk reporting from the business architecture to inform decision making and prioritisation. 
•    Mature and grow the business architecture practice and team.
•    Have contractor line management responsibilities.

About You

You will be an experienced Business Architect or Business Analyst, with experience of the application of business architecture in technology and data-orientated complex organisations. In addition to experience of the role, you are likely to :

•    Be a self-starter and have worked within a multi-disciplinary integrated Architecture team.
•    Have shaped and influenced senior decision makers and change through data and persuasion.
•    Have a strong interest in technology and how technology can transform a business. 
•    Have experience of business architecture tools and techniques and ideally experience of introducing and building maturity in a business architecture practice.

Training and Development

Learning and development are central to our architecture ethos and we invest heavily in our people. As part of your MI6 career we will support you in broadening and deepening your technical and non-technical skills. We have access to a wide variety of classroom and online learning, as well as our own development programmes and schemes. We work with external bodies to support and fund accreditation for our staff.

There will be opportunities to both grow as an Expert in Business Architecture or develop in other areas of the CTO Architecture Practice. 

Rewards and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary as stated above plus other benefits including: 

-    25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays.
-    Investment in Learning & Development
-    Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs
-    Interest-free season ticket loan
-    Excellent pension scheme
-    Cycle to work scheme
-    Facilities such as a subsidised gym and restaurant, and on-site coffee bars
-    Paid parental and adoption leave 

Culture and Working Environment 

As part of our team, you’ll discover an inclusive workplace that’s welcoming, supportive and encouraging. You’ll be part of an organisation where people want to support one another and make a difference. Aside from fostering an open culture, we’ve got a range of growing affinity groups. For example:  
 
•    Ethnic Minority and gender equality networks
•    Groups supporting wellbeing, mental health, neurodiversity and disability 
•    Faith/No Faith communities for staff to come together 
•    LGBTQ+ support networks

You’ll also find a variety of sports, activity, interest and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests. 

Before You Apply

To work at MI6, you need to be a British citizen. We do have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI6. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘Apply Now’ section. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough. Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously.

The role is based in Central London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application.

Equal Opportunities

At MI6 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.

We’re Disability Confident

MI6 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme.  This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.  Being Disability Confident, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview where practicable; this is known as ‘Offer of an Interview’. To secure an interview for this vacancy, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are: 

•    Previously worked in a business architect role.
•    Have experience developing / using strategy to shape business architecture and vice versa.

If you meet the minimum criteria you will be invited to a Technical Telephone Interview 

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. One of your parents must be a British Citizen or must have the nationality or citizenship from our approved list of countries. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. You can apply at the age of 17 years, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the 'Apply Now' section.

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    A completed Application form 
•    Technical interview via Telephone
•    An Assessment Centre Day which will include but not limited to a face to face technical scenario interview with the hiring team and a HR Motivation based interview. Scenario will be provided prior to the interview.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Our Vetting

To work in this role you will need the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community has to go through and it can take some time. As part of the DV process you will be asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire and attend an interview with a vetting officer. In your interview the vetting officer will have a thorough, compassionate and honest discussion with you about you as a person and your life experiences, to ensure holding a DV clearance is right for you. You don’t need to do any preparation for your vetting interview, just be honest and be yourself. All applicants for DV are treated impartially and consistently, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics. 

Right to Withdraw Statement: 

Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.