Lead Business Architect

Government Recruitment Service; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency is seeking a Lead Business Architect to develop business architecture artefacts and guide change initiatives while collaborating across departments. This role offers full-time or part-time working options and involves mentoring colleagues. Candidates with exceptional skills may receive a recruitment and retention allowance. The position is located in Cardiff, Wales.

Benefits

Recruitment and retention allowance

Flexible working hours

Travel reimbursement

Qualifications

• Experience in translating high-level policy goals into actionable design artefacts.
• Ability to collaborate with architects on transformation projects.
• Strong mentoring skills and knowledge-sharing capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain business architecture artefacts.
• Influence portfolio/programme delivery and align solutions with strategic objectives.
• Lead workshops on organizational design.

Skills

Business architecture principles

Capability mapping

Value streams

Operating model design

Job description

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair, and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration, and passports.

The Migration and Borders Group (MBG) is responsible for the Migration and Borders System, issuing British passports, running the Civil Registration system, as well as managing Asylum, Protection, Resettlement and Integration services. Its mission is to deliver an efficient, effective and innovative Migration and Borders System that supports the needs of UK citizens and labour market and protects the security of the UK.

System Design sits at the heart of MBG and supports Ministers, the Executive Committee, Policy and Operational Leads. It owns and develops the MBG end-to-end Strategic Design and Business Architecture and facilitates a cross-cutting system approach to services, capabilities and interventions. If you join us, you will find a passionate and encouraging team, committed to the work and to supporting each other.

In this role, you’ll work at the intersection of business strategy and delivery, partnering with multidisciplinary teams to drive tangible outcomes that strengthen our public services and national security. You’ll draw on business architecture principles—e.g., capability mapping, value streams, and operating model design—to create a common language, enabling leaders and teams to spot gaps, opportunities, and interdependencies with ease. Whether you’re developing long-term strategies, supporting portfolio decisions for transformative digital initiatives, or facilitating knowledge sharing within the architecture and business design community, your input will shape how MBG functions at every level.

On a typical day, you could be translating high-level policy goals into actionable design artefacts for a new service, collaborating with other architects to keep transformation project and business change in sync, or coaching a junior colleague through best practices in knowledgebase interrogation and management. You’ll also have a hand in defining and maintaining the department’s architectural tooling, standards, and approaches —ensuring decisions are consistently well-informed, user-centred, and forward-looking. Ultimately, your ability to synthesize complexity, build consensus, and promote structured thinking will help deliver services that are more intuitive, integrated, and resilient - benefiting the public and advancing the Home Office’s overarching mission.

As a Lead Business Architect, you will collaborate across the entire Home Office to align strategy, transformation efforts and ongoing operations, ensuring our critical services keep citizens safe and the country secure. Whether advising on organisational design for complex processes, guiding portfolio and programme delivery, or supporting common standards and tooling, your role is both varied and impactful. You will use established frameworks (such as Bizbok) to facilitate structured problem-solving, intentional design, and data-driven decision making, cultivating a holistic view across departmental silos. Alongside a supportive architecture community, you will mentor others, share knowledge, and foster collaboration. If you thrive on tackling diverse, high-stakes challenges and enjoy shaping the bigger picture, this may be the perfect opportunity to leave your mark.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain business architecture artefacts (e.g., capability models, value streams) that clarify complex issues and guide change initiatives.
• Influence portfolio/programme delivery, shaping priorities and aligning solutions with strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with architects, ensuring alignment between business needs and transformation roadmaps.
• Lead or support workshops on organizational design, capturing insights that inform strategy, solution development, and continuous improvement.
• Manage and update a central knowledgebase of standards, tools, and best practices, promoting consistency across teams.
• Mentor colleagues, sharing business architecture principles and methods to build internal capability.

Line Management

The successful candidate may have line management responsibility.

Travel

The successful candidate may be required to travel to other work locations occasionally based on business need. All related costs will be reimbursed in line with Home Office policy.

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of compressed hours working. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 30 hours per week due to business requirements. Applications from job share candidates are welcome, but any job offer is conditional upon a viable job-sharing arrangement being available.

Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA)

Candidates with exceptional skills and experience may receive a recruitment and retention allowance (RRA). This allowance is subject to initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in-line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.

MBG locations

MBG is currently prioritising recruitment to our Places for Growth locations. However, MBG operates a ‘right to remain’ policy for existing MBG staff currently working at a location outside those listed above. While ‘right to remain’ requests are contingent upon reasonable business need and existing terms and conditions, we will aim to ensure there is no need to move office while supporting your career and development within MBG.