Principal Enterprise Architect

Government Recruitment Service; Swansea; Hybrid; GBP 72,000 - 73,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

25 days annual leave

Flexible working

Job summary

Department for Transport is seeking a Principal Enterprise Architect to shape and deliver enterprise architecture strategy at scale across a complex digital landscape. You will lead the development of strategy, target-state architectures and strategic roadmaps, ensuring business and technology investments align with organisational priorities.

You will influence senior stakeholders, manage architectural risks, and directly engage when delivery is blocked.

Qualifications

• Experience shaping enterprise architecture strategy across a large organisation.
• Ability to influence senior business, service, delivery and technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of enterprise architecture strategy, principles, standards, patterns and roadmaps.
• Take ownership of results and service impacts of architectural advice, including involvement in high-risk work.
• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and communicate complex options clearly.
• Identify and manage architectural risks through to resolution while balancing delivery, security and value for money.
• Develop architectural capability and mentor others across the organisation.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

Stakeholder management

Roadmapping

Governance

Job description

Principal Enterprise Architect

Can you shape and deliver enterprise architecture strategy at scale?

Do you influence senior stakeholders to drive complex technology decisions?

If so,we’dlove to hear from you!

This is an exciting time to join the Digital, Information and Security Directorate within the Department for Transport as we restructure our directorate to ensure we are ready for future challenges, building a more sustainable,skilledand in-house capability.

You will shape strategy, influence decision-making, and take ownership of the results and service impact of enterprise architecture decisions across the Department for Transport.

As a Principal Enterprise Architect, you will lead the development of enterprise architecture strategy, target-state architectures and strategic roadmaps, ensuring business and technology investments deliver measurable value. You will work closely with senior business, service, delivery, and technical stakeholders to understand and challenge needs, explain options and trade-offs, and build agreement on complex decisions. You will not operate only at a strategic distance: where work is high risk, business critical or blocked, you will get directly involved, manage architectural risks through to resolution, and remain accountable for the effect of your advice on live services, users, and business outcomes.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensionshere
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays aprivilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about whatit'slike working atDepartment for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers and within the Government Digital and Data Profession.

Join the Department for Transport as a Principal Enterprise Architect and play a leading role in shaping the technology strategy that supports the UK's transport system.

You’ll be responsible for defining and driving enterprise architecture across a complex digital landscape, ensuring technology investments, services, and capabilities align with organisational priorities and long‑term objectives.

Working with senior leaders, technical specialists, and business stakeholders, you'll provide expert architectural leadership, influence strategic decision-making, and establish standards that enable secure, scalable, and innovative digital services. You'll guide the development of technology roadmaps, oversee governance and assurance activities, and ensure architectural decisions support both current and future business needs.

This is a high‑impact role where you'll help shape the future direction of digital, data, and technology across the Department. You'll identify emerging trends, champion best practice, build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups, and support the successful delivery of transformational programmes. You'll also develop architectural capability across the organisation, inspiring and mentoring others, while helping to build a strong, future‑ready profession. In addition, you'll actively engage with architecture communities across government, contributing to cross‑government collaboration, sharing best practice, and helping to influence the wider public sector architecture profession.

If you're passionate about strategy, innovation, and leading change at scale, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Your responsibilities will include, butaren’tlimited to:

• Leading the development and implementation of enterprise architecture strategy, principles, standards, patterns, and roadmaps aligned to departmental priorities and business needs.
• Taking ownership of the results and service impacts of architectural advice and decisions, including becoming directly involved in complex, high-risk or business-critical work to resolve issues and unblock delivery.
• Building trusted relationships with senior business, service, delivery and technical stakeholders; understanding and constructively challenging needs; agreeing priorities; and communicating complex options, trade-offs and decisions clearly.
• Identifying, communicating, and managing architectural risks through to resolution, balancing delivery pace with security, resilience, compliance, operational stability and value for money.
• Making clear where constraints in the technology offer limit what can be delivered, and managing the consequences for users, live services, operations, and wider business outcomes.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - while all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Additional Information

The role is part of the Government Digital and Data Framework profession and utilizes an enhanced Capability–Based Pay Framework which provides access to a Digital and Data allowance.

The base pay is £72,281. In addition to this, the role includes a Digital and Data allowance of up to £21,350.

The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated through the selection process. Here are more details on the pay framework.

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