JOB SUMMARY

Are you passionate about designing technical solutions that solve real-world challenges like the UK’s housing crisis? Do you thrive on creating architecture that aligns with both user needs and strategic goals? If so, we’d love to hear from you.
Join the Planning Inspectorate’s Digital team during a pivotal time of transformation. We’re at the forefront of modernising the planning system—building innovative digital services that support the delivery of quality homes and critical infrastructure such as roads, wind farms, and solar energy projects.
As a Senior Technical Architect, you’ll play a key role in shaping the systems that underpin our services. Working in a multi-disciplinary team, you’ll collaborate with digital and data professionals to design and assure solutions that support both internal operations and public-facing services. These include enabling citizens to appeal planning decisions and supporting developers applying for nationally significant infrastructure projects.
You’ll help define and evolve our technical architecture, standards, and principles, ensuring consistency across tools, platforms, and integrations. Embedded within a service team, you’ll ensure that solutions are robust, scalable, and aligned with our enterprise architecture.

We’re currently recruiting for three roles:

• Permanent: Join our Research & Development service, contributing to a range of projects and services.
• 12 month Fixed Term contract: Focus on Azure platform development within the Research & Development team.
• 12 month Fixed Term contract: Support the Appeal A Planning Decision service, including integration with Local Authority planning systems.

The Planning Inspectorate has a long and proud history in ensuring a fair planning system for England. The work we do has a significant impact on people’s lives, the communities where they live and the economy.
We want our colleagues to be able to work more flexibly and more collaboratively, exploring new and innovative ways to improve the way we provide services.
For further information on the Planning Inspectorate, please visit our careers page at Civil Service Careers

JOB DESCRIPTION

You will be responsible for working collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing technical assurance and solutions. As well as this you will be contributing to an environment where team members are supported and can come to you for guidance and feedback.
As a Technical Architect you will have excellent technical knowledge to enable you to produce technical and solutions architectures to a high standard, in line with Digital strategy and guidance, considering business requirements, new technologies, and security risks.
Your experience of complex environments will enable you to understand our environment, to review existing solutions, suggest improvements, and work on solutions to issues and for new systems; being able to explain trade-offs and considerations for different options.
You will be keen to share your knowledge with colleagues, including your architect peers, and welcome ideas and learning from others.

A typical week in this role will consist of a blend of responsibilities, including:

• Working across our core casework services teams to advise on and produce architecture solutions.
• Collaborating with a diverse range of roles, offering technical expertise on architecture and technology choices to ensure service architectures meet user and strategic needs.
• Working with other technical team members (such as Developers, DevOps, and Infrastructure and Platform Engineers) to review ideas.
• Working with Information Security Managers to ensure appropriate security risk controls are in place, and support security health testing.
• Producing technical architecture documentation and guidance.
• Providing guidance to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Participating in Architect’s Community of Practice meetings, sharing learning, advice and ideas.

EXPERIENCE

• See Essential Criteria
  For guidance on how to structure your application please visit: About the application process , Civil Service Careers

APPLICATION

Complete the online application form on Civil Service Jobs which requires the following information:

• A CV: The CV section lets you share your job history. List your jobs, how long you worked at each, and briefly describe your roles and duties. Make sure to show how your experience matches the essential criteria of the job you’re applying for. Type or paste this information into the ‘Employment History’ box in the online application. You can’t attach your CV.
• A Personal Statement (750 words max): The personal statement lets you explain why you’re a good fit for the job in more detail. Use it to show how you meet the essential criteria listed in our advert and connect your answers to the Success Profile elements we’re looking for

If there are many applications, we might use a lead sift. This means we’ll first check if you meet the key requirement listed below. If you don’t, we won’t review the rest of your application.

• Digitally and technically literate, capable of effectively engaging with technical staff, suppliers and stakeholders to define the best solutions in line with the Inspectorate’s & Government strategy

All shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome shortly afterwards.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

TYPE OF ROLE

Architecture and Data
Digital
Information Technology

ROLE TYPES AND SALARY DETAILS

There are a number of roles available at different grades and employment types:
1 x Permanent SEO in Research & Development Service
1 x FTC for 12 Months in Research & Development Service
1 x FTC for 12 Months in Appeals Service
These roles attract a DDaT allowance, for details please see the section marked “Salary”.

We’re currently recruiting for three roles:

• Permanent: Join our Research & Development service, contributing to a range of projects and services.
• 12 month Fixed Term contract: Focus on Azure platform development within the Research & Development team.
• 12 month Fixed Term contract: Support the Appeal A Planning Decision service, including integration with Local Authority planning systems

A typical week in this role will consist of a blend of responsibilities, including:

• Working across our core casework services teams to advise on and produce architecture solutions.
• Collaborating with a diverse range of roles, offering technical expertise on architecture and technology choices to ensure service architectures meet user and strategic needs.
• Working with other technical team members (such as Developers, DevOps, and Infrastructure and Platform Engineers) to review ideas.
• Working with Information Security Managers to ensure appropriate security risk controls are in place, and support security health testing.
• Producing technical architecture documentation and guidance.
• Providing guidance to technical and non-technical stakeholders