Enterprise Architect

Enterprise Architect

Fixed Term, Full Time

Up to £80,746 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Please note this vacancy is available as a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity for up to 12 months with the potential for extension beyond the initial period.

Join a Council Shaping the Future of Public Services

Essex Digital Service is at the forefront of supporting Local Government Reorganisation across Essex - shaping how services are delivered not just within Essex County Council, but across the entire public sector landscape. We’re building digital foundations and shared capabilities that make it easier, safer, and more joined up for residents and colleagues to get things done, wherever they are in Essex.

In this strategic, timebound role, you will play a pivotal part in shaping how technology, data and digital capabilities enable Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) across the whole of Essex. This is a unique opportunity to influence the future operating model for an integrated, efficient, and citizen‑focused local government system.

As an Enterprise Architect, you will lead the development of cross‑organisation technical architectures, shared capabilities and system designs that support collaboration and interoperability across councils and partners. You will help create a coherent, modern and sustainable technology landscape that underpins a seamless experience for residents and a more connected set of public services across Essex.

You will bring deep technical expertise, strategic thinking and a strong ability to challenge assumptions and offer new perspectives. Working across organisational boundaries, you will bridge the gap between high‑level reform ambitions and practical delivery, enabling evidence‑based decision making and system‑wide change.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted technical advisor to senior leaders across ECC and wider Essex partners, providing expert guidance on the future technology landscape required to support Local Government Reorganisation.
• Develop an integrated, system‑wide view of technology, digital capabilities, infrastructure, platforms and data flows to inform shared planning, investment and decision‑making across LGR workstreams.
• Translate ECC's existing Enterprise Architecture principles, standards, patterns and reference models into clear guidance for LGR workstreams, ensuring all proposals and designs align with established direction.
• Review and assure LGR technical and digital proposals to ensure they are interoperable, scalable, secure and consistent with ECC's architecture and strategic priorities.
• Develop and maintain a shared understanding of the technology, data, integration and digital capability impacts of LGR across councils and services.
• Analyse complex cross‑organisation technology challenges, assess digital maturity and recommend future‑state architectures that strengthen interoperability, reduce duplication and increase resilience.
• Shape the technical elements of high‑level business cases, ensuring proposals reflect LGR priorities, shared capabilities, integration requirements and long‑term sustainability.
• Oversee the development of roadmaps that guide partners toward a consistent, modernised and secure technology environment that enables efficient and user‑centred public services.
• Work closely with ECC's BAU Enterprise Architect to ensure LGR decisions support ECC's technical roadmap and avoid duplication, legacy growth or unnecessary divergence.
• Assure the design of major digital and technology initiatives to ensure architectural conformance, simplicity, cost‑effectiveness and alignment to LGR objectives.
• Collaborate with commercial and procurement teams to ensure suppliers, products and platforms are aligned to shared Enterprise Architecture principles.
• Engage with technical leads, programme teams, service areas and partner councils to promote consistent architecture practices and improve cross‑organisation clarity.
• Contribute to the architecture community of practice, sharing insights from the LGR programme and supporting coherence across the Essex system.
• Advocate for emerging technologies and shared digital capabilities that can modernise services and reduce fragmentation across Essex.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant subject, with extensive experience in business architecture within digital services or public sector environments.

• Extensive experience as an enterprise or senior solution architect, ideally within a large public sector environment or multi‑organisation transformation programme.

• Accredited in TOGAF 9.2 (or similar), with working knowledge of frameworks such as ArchiMate, BPMN, COBIT and IT4IT.
• Strong understanding of enterprise‑level architecture practices, technical standards, integration patterns and how they support organisational strategy.
• Proven ability to analyse complex, multi‑organisation technology landscapes and develop clear, pragmatic, scalable recommendations.

• Experience assuring or guiding major technology initiatives, programmes or business cases.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence, challenge constructively and explain technical concepts in accessible ways.

• Experience leading enterprise business solutions, including process reengineering and organisational design programmes.
• Knowledge of change management tools and techniques, with experience supporting transformation initiatives.
• Keen interest in emerging technologies and their application in digital service delivery.
• Committed to continuous professional development and staying current with evolving delivery models and methodologies.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Disability, Veterans and Care Leavers

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Benefits and Conduct

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) if your role requires a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please read https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk.

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