Lead Business Architect

DescriptionWork for an organisation steeped in history with a front row seat for the digitalisation of the financial sector, and the rise of rise of fintech and regtech. A core organisational strength, with our people at our centre, Technology enable the Bank of England to deliver its mission by providing a hugely diverse set of technical solutions and platforms. From supporting critical systems which underpin the UK economy, to evolving data analytics, reinventing our online presence, and introducing a fully digital workplace. Be part of a team that’s constantly evolving, just like our industry.We take pride in our people, with backgrounds and experiences as diverse as the solutions they provide. You’ll enjoy flexible working opportunities, a strong sense of community and well-being, and a collective mission to promote the good of the people of the UK. All of which add up to make the Bank a hugely rewarding place to work.Department OverviewThe Technology Division provides information and system technology services to all business areas in the Bank of England as part of Central Services. Our key objective is to support the policy and operational divisions in order to meet the Bank’s stated objectives.This role sits in TSA which is responsible for ensuring IT change is aligned to business priority, and that the technical and business architecture is right. TSA is split into a number of business facing teams; Central Services and Governor’s, Markets, Banking, Payments & Resolution, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Monetary Policy and Financial Stability. These teams are supported by an Enterprise and Data team. Together, these teams work closely with business and technology areas to assess, shape, and support prioritisation and budgeting for new / future demand evolving the Bank’s technology portfolio. The teams are responsible for defining the Business and Technical Architecture ensuring alignment to our strategy, standards, and technical roadmaps.Job descriptionAs the Business Architect on your assigned initiative, you will be responsible for taking ownership of the business architecture deliverables and leading activity to shape the approach and monitor its delivery. You will work to agree a business architecture approach to decompose the Operating Model and align the required artefacts and changes to the initiative’s delivery model, which could be a combination of Waterfall, Agile and Scaled Agile methodologies across Bank and Technology teams. Changes through this process will need to be tightly governed and you will play a key role in working to ensure change control is maintained.Once shaped and agreed you will be accountable for identifying the appropriate business architecture artefacts required by working with the responsible delivery teams, whether they be Bank or third-party led, to ensure dependent deliverables are understood, managed to agreed timelines and ensuring quality is maintained.You will collaboratively work with a range of supporting stakeholders and functions to ensure that the business architecture and associated designs meet agreed customer needs.To undertake this role effectively you will have a very strong knowledge and understanding of Business Architecture tools, frameworks, and techniques, as well as a good understanding of both Waterfall and Agile delivery methodologies and associated design artefacts. This will enable you to review, challenge, coach and support delivery of high-quality outputs across both your own and dependent teams, using agreed standards and principles for guidance.The Bank has a Community of Practice for business architecture and part of your role is to contribute and develop the discipline and understanding of business architecture more widely across technology and the Bank by supporting on of the key community pillars of Service, Standards and Skills.Key Responsibilities ·         Act as the business architecture expert on assigned initiatives and lead internal and external teams through the scoping, shaping and delivery process.·         Use of appropriate frameworks and methodologies to support the definition, scoping and alignment of required business artefacts to formulate deliverables.·         Supporting and providing input to the ‘top down’ decomposition of the business architecture design.·         Supporting ‘bottom-up’ traceability / linkage back to higher-level baselined design artefacts and programme outcomes using tooling such as Jira, EASparx and iServer, where appropriate.·         Expert understanding of Business Architecture tools, techniques and principles including Operating Models (Current, Transition and Target) views, Value Streams, Capability Mapping, and their associated impacts across People, Process and Technology.·         Production of detailed As-is and To-be process documentation - clearly mapping and articulating the changes occurring by Transition across Tasks, Business Rules, Roles, Skills and Structure, while linking use of changing Technologies to enable realisation of the model.·         Production of People Models including Organisational views, Location, RACIs, Roles, Governance etc utilising appropriate tools and measurement techniques.·         Support production of Technical views of the Operating Model including across Data, Systems and Infrastructure.·         Using Bank Strategic Architecture tools such as iServer and EASparx to model and illustrate business architecture artefacts.·         Defining business architecture approaches and plans while working with allocated stakeholders on a day to day basis to ensure they are adhered to.·         Quality assurance of all business architecture and business design deliverables to ensure high standards and alignment to principles, while also being pragmatic with views of what is good enough.·         Coaching of project team on Business Architecture standards and methods.·         Identification and escalation of risks and issues to the supporting delivery teams using tooling.·         Collaborate with other colleagues across the programme (including Product Management, Transition and Readiness, Technical Capabilities, Central Functions and programme leadership) to ensure co-ordination of approach and effective implementation of design.·         Act as the accountable person for all Business Architecture related issues on the project/programme.·         Working with the wider TSA leadership team to ensure that best practice tools and learnings are being shared.Role RequirementsMinimum Essential Criteria·         Recent and demonstrable experience of working as a business architect on a large-scale Programme to challenging timescales.·         Experience of working in both Waterfall and Agile / Scaled Agile delivery environments on a large-scale programme, with a proven ability to act as a Business Architecture Coach across your team and the Programme.·         Strong and demonstrable exposure to Business Architecture including production of Operating Models, Value Streams, Capability Maps, and modelling impacts to People, Process and Technology.·         Understanding and experience of having worked across the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) on a large-scale Programme embedding a Business Architecture approach, including Pre and Post implementation validation and monitoring.·         Demonstrable experience of using tools including Jira, Confluence, iServer and EASparx.·         Comfortable shaping solutions and approaches to ambiguous problems.·         Strong organisation and planning skills with the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment using techniques such as SCRUM, Kanban, Backlog planning and prioritisation.·         Demonstrable experience of being able to lead on knowledge sharing and presenting Business Architecture outputs with other teams across the Bank.·         Ability to handle multiple dependencies across a portfolio of workstreams / projects.·         Excellent interpersonal and communication skills – both written and oral.·         Demonstrable experience of working with senior Business and Technical stakeholders and managers, processing the credibility to influence, negotiate, challenge prevalent thinking etc.·         Familiarity working in matrix management structures both in reporting line and delegates, possessing the ability to motivate, coach and mentor a high-performing team of Analysts.·         Demonstrable experience of managing complexity and change as well as an awareness of the associated impacts to the organisational design from having worked on similar programmes involving large scale business change.Desirable Criteria·         Familiarity with the wider banking / financial landscape is helpful.·         Awareness and interest in trends across wider technology e.g., Cloud, Big Data, cyber security, APIs, AI / ML etc.·         Experience of working with both in-house and third-party stakeholders to deliver.·         Experience of reporting to and working with senior level managers, flexing delivery and communication style to support.·         Proficiency in the use of enterprise tooling such as iServer, EASparx, requirements management tools such as JIRA / Confluence, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Project and other office MS Office tools.Qualifications·         Certified Business Architect, BCS Business Architecture or equivalent Business Architecture related qualification, TOGAF qualification.QualificationsOur Approach to InclusionThe Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve. At the Bank of England we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month.  Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.Salary and Benefits InformationThis specific role offers a base salary of circa 78, 310- 80,000 per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis.  We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements.  Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:•    A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.•    A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.•    An 8%  benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. •    26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits. •    Private medical insurance and income protection.National Security Vetting ProcessEmployment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy.  Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy NoticeThe Application ProcessImportant: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.The closing date for applications is 16/02/2024The assessment process will comprise of two stages.Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.Job Field: Information TechnologyOrganization: 144000 - STRATEGY AND ARCHITECTURE