Lead Solutions Architect
Added 6 Oct · still live
Likely
Sponsorship likelihood
This employer has issued visas recently
£57,815 – £65,021 / year
Salary
Within the market range
£54,900
Going rate
Offer clears by 1.1×
This role likely qualifies for a Skilled Worker visa
SOC 2133 (100% match) is an eligible occupation, with a going rate of £54,900, and Information Commissioner's Office is a licensed sponsor. That is our reading of the rules. Whether they issue a Certificate of Sponsorship is still their call.
Your salary route
New graduate or PhD holder? Pick one of the lower rates.
What each route needs for this job
| Occupation code | New entrant 70% of going rate | STEM PhD 80% of going rate | Relevant PhD 90% of going rate | Standard rate 100% of going rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2133 IT business analysts, architects and systems designers Most likely code | £38,400 Clears | £43,900 Clears | £49,400 Clears | £54,900 Clears |
We use the lowest threshold across the plausible codes. Likelihood is Possible at most when the pay clears only a lower rate, or only under a less likely code. A mark is for the top of the advertised pay. How the Home Office picks the code
About the role
Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Wilmslow
Job Summary
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?
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 Description
Job Summary
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.
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 Description
Advertisement
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.
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
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.
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
Advertisement
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.
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
Advertisement
- 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.
Advertisement
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.
- 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
- 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.
Advertisement
Please visit ico.jobs for full details, including salary and benefits.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
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
Advertisement
Please submit your CV by 23:59, Sunday 16th August 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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.
Nationality requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:
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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.
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) (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact :
- Name : [email protected]
- Email : [email protected]
- Email : [email protected]
This description is the source posting as it read when we added it. We are not affiliated with Information Commissioner's Office, so check their own site for the current details.
Where this offer sits in the market
IT business analysts, architects and systems designers (SOC 2133) · UK · ONS ASHE 2025 · basic pay · ~187k in sampleSOC 2133
- Offer £57,815–65,021
- Middle half £45,136–79,976
- Median £60,216
- Going rate £54,900
- Threshold £41,700
- New entrant £38,400–49,400
The range sits inside the market's middle half (£45,136–79,976), so this is typical pay for the occupation.
Similar sponsored roles
See all UK visa jobsNo close matches live right now.
Browse more sponsored jobs at Information Commissioner's OfficeAbout sponsorship for this role
Does this job guarantee visa sponsorship?
Not necessarily. Information Commissioner's Office holds a sponsor licence, but sponsorship for a specific hire is always the employer's decision. Be upfront in your application that you'll require it.
What salary is needed for this role to be eligible?
The offer must clear both the general threshold and the SOC 2133 going rate of £54,900. New-entrant and shortage discounts can lower it.