IT Solution Architect

Kent Fire and Rescue Service; Maidstone; Hybrid; GBP 58,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

32 days holiday

Annual pay progression

Blue Light Card

CSSC Card

EAP

Family friendly policies

Internal clubs

Health and wellbeing services

Gym facilities

Free parking

Job summary

Kent Fire and Rescue Service is seeking a Solution Architect (Grade 9) on a fixed-term 18-month contract at Service Headquarters, Maidstone. Hybrid role with at least three days in the office.

The role shapes the Service's technology strategy and governing standards across systems and digital initiatives. You will work with stakeholders, projects and suppliers to understand requirements, assess implications and ensure solutions align with the wider tech landscape and strategic direction.

Qualifications

• Relevant technical qualification or demonstrable experience in IT/solution architecture.
• Proven ability to design and assure technology solutions in a complex organisation.
• Experience implementing and integrating COTS solutions with existing platforms.

Responsibilities

• Act as a self-sustaining technical adviser balancing business requirements, cost, time, security and sustainability.
• Engage with stakeholders early to understand outcomes and translate requirements into practical tech solutions.
• Assess technology options within the existing landscape, identifying dependencies, risks and impacts.
• Identify technical risks early and provide pragmatic recommendations where trade-offs are required.
• Produce clear solution designs and communicate options, risks and decisions to tech and non-tech audiences.
• Collaborate with internal teams, suppliers, project teams and business stakeholders across infra, apps, cyber security and operations.
• Ensure operational sustainability with support arrangements, monitoring and lifecycle management.

Skills

Tech qualification

Solution architecture

COTS integration

System integration

Stakeholder collaboration

Architecture assurance

Education

Relevant technical qualification

Job description

Job Title: Solution Architect (Grade 9) – 18 Month Fixed Term Contract

Location: Service Headquarters, Tovil, Maidstone, ME15 6XB – Hybrid working with minimum 3 days per week in the office

Hours: Full Time – 37 Hours per Week,

Pension: Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme – career average pension scheme with 16.5% employer contribution

Holidays: In addition to bank/ public holidays you will receive 32 days holiday

Base Salary: £58,439 - £66,686 per annum depending on experience

Reference: R001084

Being a part of Kent Fire and Rescue Service

Everyone is unique. Everyone has value. Everyone helps to make Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) a great place to work. We are one team. Together with our customers we are creating a safer future for Kent and Medway.

Our vision is for a connected, resilient and intelligence-led service: one that understands risk earlier, makes confident decisions and equips our people to deliver outstanding outcomes for our customers. Joining us at this defining point offers the opportunity to turn strategic ambition into practical, lasting change. We are looking for talented, purposeful people who can connect strategy with delivery, bring clarity to complexity and build trusted relationships across the service. For further information about careers in Transformation see our website - Transformation careers | Kent Fire and Rescue Service

Being the Solution Architect

As a Solutions Architect, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of technology across the Service, providing practical architectural guidance and assurance for new and evolving systems, services and digital initiatives.

Working closely with stakeholders, project teams and suppliers, you will become involved early in business change programmes and technology procurement activities, helping to understand requirements, assess technical implications and ensure that proposed solutions align with the Service's wider technology landscape and strategic direction.

With a strong focus on commercial off-the-shelf solutions, integration and technology enablement, you will help ensure that solutions are designed with long-term success in mind from the outset. Rather than a traditional "buy, build and hand over" approach, you will champion consideration of technical, operational and support requirements throughout the lifecycle, ensuring solutions can be effectively adopted, supported and embedded within the existing IT operating model.

This is an exciting opportunity to influence technology decision-making, work across a broad range of business and technical initiatives and make a tangible contribution to the Service's ongoing digital transformation journey.

What you’ll do

• Act as a self-sustaining technical adviser and constructive challenger, balancing business requirements, user needs, cost, timescales, security and long-term sustainability to support informed decision-making.
• Engage with stakeholders at an early stage to understand desired business outcomes, challenge proposals where appropriate, and translate requirements into practical technology solutions and architectural considerations.
• Assess the suitability of proposed technologies within the existing technology landscape, identifying integration requirements, dependencies, duplication risks and potential impacts, while providing proportionate assurance around security, resilience, supportability and operational readiness.
• Identify technical risks, constraints and dependencies early in the delivery lifecycle, ensuring they are visible to decision-makers and providing pragmatic recommendations where trade-offs are required.
• Produce clear, proportionate solution designs and effectively communicate technical options, risks, dependencies and architectural decisions to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams, suppliers, project teams and business stakeholders, particularly across infrastructure, applications, cyber security and operations
• Ensure operational sustainability by ensuring support arrangements, service ownership, monitoring, resilience, documentation and lifecycle management requirements are addressed prior to implementation and throughout live operation.

What you’ll bring

• Relevant technical qualification, professional qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience in IT, solution architecture, software engineering, infrastructure or a related discipline.
• Proven experience designing, reviewing or assuring technology solutions within a complex organisational environment, supported by a practical and pragmatic approach to architecture.
• Experience implementing and integrating commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions, ensuring alignment with existing technology platforms, services and architectural standards.
• Strong knowledge of system integration, technical dependencies and architectural risk management, with the ability to identify challenges, assess impacts and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Experience working collaboratively with project and procurement teams throughout the delivery lifecycle, from requirements gathering and solution design through to implementation and transition into service.
• The ability to provide credible technical challenge and architectural assurance, balancing business objectives with operational readiness, resilience, security, lifecycle management, cost, risk and delivery timescales.

Benefits

• Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Enhanced Annual Leave entitlement
• Annual Salary increase - Increase of 1 scale point per year within Grade to the top of the Grade.
• Blue Light Card discount scheme supported by a number of high street retailers
• CSSC Card - Discount provider for civil servants and public sector workers
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - Confidential support service designed to help manage personal or work-related issues that may affect health, wellbeing, or job performance.
• A range of family friendly policies promoting work-life balance
• Free to join internal clubs and colleague forums
• Access to health and wellbeing services and advice
• Access to Gym FacilitiesFree parking
• Above all you’ll become part of a service that is committed to the safety of our community

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We know that great minds don’t think alike, so we rely on diverse thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and backgrounds to create the best working environment that we can possibly offer.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service, its employees, and volunteers are committed to safeguarding, protecting, and supporting children, young people, and adults at risk. As part of our safer recruitment process, we will undertake pre-employment checks to verify your suitability for the role. These checks will include your references and a standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Enhanced DBS check with barred lists are carried out for roles with direct and unsupervised access to children, young people, and adults at risk. Risk assessments will be undertaken on any disclosures identified as part of the pre-employment checks.

As a Public Sector organisation with added responsibilities under the Equality Act, 2010 the candidate must demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and how this fits in with their everyday work.