Lead Solutions Architect

Full time/Part Time

Salary:           £57,815 to £65,021 per annum, with the potential to progress to £73,211 through our pay progression scheme. For candidates with exceptional skills and experience, we may consider offering a salary above the advertised range through a recruitment and retention allowance.

Location:      Hybrid

Contracted to our Manchester London, Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast office. Through hybrid working we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities and there will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need.   

Why work for the ICO?

·       Pay progression scheme.

·       Hybrid and flexible working options. 

·       25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.

·       Flexi leave (up to 24 additional days leave per year).

·       Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).

·       Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.

·       Health Cash Plan.

·       Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.

Further details can be found on the benefits section of our website .

About us

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data.

As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful.

Job Summary

This role will lead the design and implementation of comprehensive solution designs that align with the organisation’s strategic objectives and Enterprise Architecture principles.

The role will help the Director of Architecture to ensure the quality of solution designs and deployments across the organisation, ensuring the performance, security and scalability of those designs.

Job Description

The role will provide technical guidance and direction throughout the solution development lifecycle, including requirements validation technology evaluation, design and benefits realisation tracking

The successful candidate will collaborate and consult with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure solution design decisions are aligned with Enterprise Architecture strategy

They will also help the Director of Architecture create an Enterprise Architecture roadmap to assist in future planning of the solution needs of the ICO as well as help the Director of Architecture to ensure consistency of solution designs across the ICO and facilitate the identification and integration of new technologies to create resilient and flexible solution designs that supports current business objectives and future growth.

The role will carry out horizon scanning across the industry and wider technological landscape, identifying innovative tools and trends that could enhance the capabilities of the ICO

Key Responsibilities

• Developing and delivering the ICO’s Solution Architecture vision, strategy and roadmaps
• Lead the design of scalable and efficient solutions that meet business needs, justifying and communicating design decisions
• Collaborate closely with stakeholders and product managers to gather and analyse requirements for new solutions
• Create a library of architecture and solution building blocks to direct and guide effective and robust solution design
• Creating and managing the solution design and development of services of various sizes, including how they interact with their surroundings and how they evolve over time
• Supporting technical specialists in multiple projects and services on problems that require broad architectural thinking
• Defining how we build user-centered systems in an agile environment to serve a variety of citizen and business needs
• To challenge existing practices, looking for deeper problems to solve and larger opportunities for digital transformation
• Communicating the architecture vision to technical and non-technical stakeholders and to work in multi-disciplinary teams
• Playing an active role in the ICO Architecture community and related communities of practice where you will share your knowledge of best practice, tools and techniques
• Helping to build a diverse, inclusive culture across the architecture community, growing awareness, inclusivity and balance
• Working with other architects, colleagues and peers to define standards and guidance around best practice
• Engaging and networking with people across the ICO up to Director level to understand their needs and ensure they are aligned with the Enterprise Architecture vision
• To lead the implementation of cloud-based solutions using Azure services such as virtual machines, storage, networking, and security
• To participate in the development of best practices and standards for Azure solution development and implementation.
• To be an evangelist for Azure solution architectures and best practices

Essential criteria assessed at application stage

• Substantial experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
• Experience of working with cloud-first architectures and how to design solutions that take advantage of the opportunities they offer.
• Experience of working with technical teams and delivering user-centered services in an agile environment.
• Experience of working with stakeholders of all levels to make decisions on technology choices, using the most appropriate languages, frameworks and tools to meet user and business needs.
• Experience of working with Enterprise Architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman)
• Proven ability to design and document end-to-end solutions, including consideration of data and infrastructure components.
• Knowledge of a wide range of technologies including cloud platforms (Microsoft Azure), microservices, APIs and enterprise software.
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Essential criteria assessed at interview stage

• Excellent analytical skills to diagnose issues, evaluate risk and develop viable solutions
• Knowledge of a wide range of technologies including cloud platforms (Microsoft Azure), microservices, APIs and enterprise software.
• Proficiency in creating solution architecture design diagrams, roadmaps and associated artefacts.
• Ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity, creative problem solving and developing innovative solutions.
• Excellent communication skills for educating employees on solution  architecture.Able to communicate complex insights and principles simply and with impact, particularly across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Competent at negotiating and persuading where necessary, whilst applying a highly ethical approach.  Commercial acumen, understanding how solution architecture links to business value creation  

Equality, diversity and inclusion

The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks. Read more about our commitment on our website.      Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme. As part of the ICO’s commitment to our EDI objectives and creating a workplace that represents the communities and societies we serve, we guarantee an interview to candidates who declare they identify as belonging from an ethnic minority background and who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy  If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at [email protected]  

Closing Date

Please submit your CV by 23:59 on Tuesday 20th October 2026

Please note that interviews for this role will take place at our Manchester office during the week commencing 2nd November 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before this date should we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered. 

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact us at [email protected].

In the event of a high volume of applications, we may not be able to invite all candidates who meet the minimum criteria to interview. However, we encourage you stay in touch and apply for future roles that match your interests. 

All candidates who meet the minimum criteria and apply in-line with our guaranteed interview scheme for disabled and ethnic minority applicants will be interviewed.

Clearance Required for this role: