Senior Technical Architect

Overview

About us

Have you considered working for Scotland’s devolved tax authority where the work we do and the taxes we collect positively contribute to Scotland’s public services? Do you, like Revenue Scotland, have a passion to make the best use of digital technologies? If so, we would love to hear from you.

We are a diverse, high performing organisation and have a reputation for delivering excellence and a commitment to continually improving the way we work while supporting the health, wellbeing, and development of our employees. Revenue Scotland is a great place to develop new skills and you will be supported in your role with learning and development to enable you to perform at your best.

Take a look at our Video to find out more about working for Revenue Scotland. If you would like to learn more about Revenue Scotland, please visit our website.

Our hybrid working principles require you to attend your assigned office at least 2/3 days each month. Our hybrid approach supports a blend of home and workplace working. This should be agreed with the line manager to achieve the right balance between collaboration, in-person engagement and flexibility. Your assigned office will be Victoria Quay, Edinburgh with the opportunity to work from our Glasgow hub office.

About the role

Based within Revenue Scotland’s DDaT team, the postholder will provide oversee the development of the technical architecture for Revenue Scotland, working collaboratively across the organisation and with partner suppliers to deliver improvements to Scotland’s devolved tax system. In addition to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Scottish Landfill tax (SLfT), a further two taxes are under active development; Scottish Aggregates Tax (SAT) and Scottish Building Safety Levy (SBSL). 

The lead technical architect within Revenue Scotland is a key leadership role in which you will need to engage with our digital suppliers and people at all levels of the organisation.

Responsibilities

As the Lead Technical Architect, you will have responsibility for the technology roadmap for Revenue Scotland. We have recently published our Corporate Plan for 2024-27, a key element of which is the digital strategy. Across these three years we have a vision to integrate our digital systems to provide a single end-to-end digital tax journey for taxpayers and their agents, as well as our tax operations and compliance teams. Across these three years we have a vision to integrate our digital systems to provide a single end-to-end digital tax journey for taxpayers and their agents, as well as our tax operations and compliance teams.

You will draw on your knowledge and experience of architectural principles to assess the current digital landscape and make recommendations to the senior leadership team and Revenue Scotland Board on the roadmap of transformation work required to achieve the vision.

Once the plan had been agreed you will work closely with the wider digital and data team, and our suppliers to monitor progress against the plan.

You will also work with our programme teams to ensure the development of new devolved taxes is done in alignment with our architectural principles..

Main Duties: 

• Presenting recommendations for technologies or improvements to enhance systems to support project goals clearly to management, based on knowledge of IT and analysis of systems’ needs.
• Evaluating the success of a project, once the solution has been integrated, identifying best practices and lessons learned.
• Act as a key contributor to architecture governance activities ensuring the adoption of good working methods and best practice in the application of technology architecture standards.
• Recommending technologies or improvements to enhance systems to support project goals, based on the analysis of systems’ needs and requirements of the business.
• Contributing to the overall technical strategy and road map for the department in your area of expertise
• Owning the technical roadmap for services across a defined domain
• Developing and documenting the proposed technical design for the integration and implementation of technology solutions, working with and across other areas of DDaT and the business
• Ensure designs meet security and operational requirements.
• Act as a Subject Matter expert, understanding the bigger picture, including wider departmental, organisational or cross government strategies to ensure your recommendations and designs are aligned.
• Owning a digital component(s) and ensuring the design and solution fit with the wider designs.
• Have people management responsibilities and support mentoring across teams, as required.

Below are details of the competencies required for this role and you will be tested against these competencies if you are invited to attend the interview/assessment: 

• People Management
• Communications and Engagement
• Improving Performance
• Analysis and Use of Evidence

C Band Framework  

Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Pay Supplement:

This post attracts an annual £5,000 pay supplement after a 3 months DDaT competency qualifying period. Pay supplements are temporary payments designed to address recruitment and retention issues caused by market pressures and are subject to regular review.

DDaT Professional Role(s)

DDaT Job Family:

Technical Architect

DDaT Job Role:

Senior Technical Architect

DDaT Job Role Level:

Senior Technical Architect

A senior technical architect works on large or multiple pieces of work that are complex or risky. At this role level, you will:

• define strategy and be central to assuring services
• regularly collaborate and find agreement with senior stakeholders, providing direction and challenge
• be proactive in identifying problems and translating these into non-technical descriptions that can be widely understood
• mentor and coach junior colleagues

 Key DDaT Capability Descriptor

Technical architect - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk)

Essential Criteria & Qualifications

No formal qualifications are required for this role. 

To apply for this post, you will need to provide the information requested below via the online application process. 

A CV (no longer than two pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements - this is accessed through the candidate profile. 

A Personal Statement (no longer than 750 words) explaining why you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience suitable for this role, with reference to the essential criteria below:

• Evidencing technical leadership qualities, with a passion for delivering leading edge designs, and inspiring a culture of technical excellence and innovative solutions
• Providing technical leadership and expertise on large projects or critical workstreams in larger programmes
• Anticipating and advising on future technology that present opportunities for the product or programme
• Designing complex technology solutions recognising time, cost and quality targets and constraints
• Defining, owning, and contributing to the technical roadmap and strategy
• Demonstrating a detailed knowledge of technical requirements to implement, design and manage associated technologie

When considering how your experience relates to the role, please tailor your CV and personal statement to reflect the role and the essential skills/criteria as described in the job description/person specification. 

When reviewing your application, we will be assessing your career history and achievements against the essential criteria for the role. We are looking for examples of things you have previously achieved or your knowledge in a particular field which are relevant to the role. 

Guidance and further information:

BenefitsAs a member of the Digital, Data and Technology Profession we are proud to offer great benefits including flexible working, generous pension and holiday allowances.Click here to learn more

Provisional Dates for Sift and Interview/Assessment:

Sift – TBC

Interview/Assessment – TBC

If successful at sift you will be required to participate in a DDaT assessment . This will be followed by a competency based interview. Further information regarding the exercise will be provided to candidates who are invited to interview 

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Nick Manton Nick.Manton@revenue.scot

Minimum Time in Post and Development Opportunities

The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of three years unless successful at gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

Additional Information: 

The post is a full-time role, but staff with different working patterns are invited to apply, and we will assess proposed working patterns against the business requirements for this post.  

Revenue Scotland is a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. If you require any adjustments during our recruitment process, please let us know via rsrecruitment@revenue.scot  

The interview and assessment process will be conducted in person at Victoria Quay, Edinburgh.

As part of any recruitment process, Scottish Government and associated public bodies collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants and applicants for public appointments. 

Personal information you provide in the recruitment process will be made available to Scottish Government and our additional data processors.