Are you looking to begin or grow a career in IT architecture? Or perhaps you are currently working as an architect and looking for a new challenge? Social Security Scotland has an exciting opportunity for an Enterprise Architect to join the team and drive our young and growing organisation further forward, developing strategies, improving its business processes and shaping the future of its technology, all making a positive impact on our clients’ lives.

You may already be working as an analyst and looking to step up into a more senior design role, or you may be a technical architect with a desire to work on an enterprise-wide canvas. In any case you can expect to work with a friendly, dynamic, talented and self-motivated team with a great opportunity to apply your experience and ideas and make direct and tangible improvements to the services we deliver to our clients and colleagues.

The post will be based in either Dundee or Glasgow with regular travel to provide leadership across all sites as well as engage extensively with Scottish Government colleagues based in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Social Security Scotland, an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, is nearing completion of the largest and most complex IT and digital change programme since devolution. With a lifetime budget of over £400m, Social Security Scotland has implemented social security services that will support the people of Scotland for decades to come. With devolved social security services now in place, the organisation faces an exciting future of continuous improvement, technology maintenance and renewal, longer term strategic change and further devolved policy delivery with the objective of providing the most effective, efficient and economic service possible.

We aim to develop within Social Security Scotland a positive and inclusive culture which supports our people to flourish, by embedding a working environment where we all treat each other with dignity and respect, and recognise each other’s contributions.

Enterprise Architects are leaders working across different levels within an organisation to translate the business strategy into business change and technical delivery. They are responsible for:

Identifying change priorities to enable rapid delivery
Leading and influencing cross-cutting capability delivery for change
Owning the enterprise architecture vision, strategy, and roadmaps—covering current, future, and transitional states across business, technology, and data
Facilitating collaboration across the organisation
Understanding the ecosystem and inter-dependencies, including reference architectures
Taking a strategic view across all architectural domains, portfolios, and programmes
Guiding decisions on business, technology, and data to promote reuse, sustainability, and scalability—maximising value and reducing risk
Establishing architectural principles, policies, and standards
Collaborating with stakeholders to ensure decisions align with EA strategy
Developing the architecture community
Conducting horizon scanning to identify industry trends and their potential organisational impact and opportunities

Responsibilities

Engage with projects and partners to understand scope and design appropriate enterprise architectures
Collaborate with senior stakeholders to provide direction and challenge, reaching consensus
Identify problems proactively and translate them into understandable non-technical descriptions
Act as the enterprise architecture expert in stakeholder engagement and scene setting
Support domain assurance functions aligned with governance principles and standards
Contribute to developing architecture strategies
Deeply understand Social Security Scotland’s business strategy to identify suitable solutions and roadmaps
Analyse options thoroughly to recommend appropriate approaches across environments and organisational models
Act as a ‘critical friend’ to stakeholders on best practice technology use within the Architecture Strategy
Promote a culture of continuous delivery and improvement, guiding governance, digital, and organisational design
Produce and maintain enterprise architecture deliverables throughout the project lifecycle and beyond
Collaborate with cyber security colleagues to ensure architectures are robust, scalable, and secure
Review external technical proposals and contribute to implementation recommendations
Work within agile, multi-disciplinary teams, applying agile methods where appropriate
Foster an open, collaborative approach to knowledge sharing
Contribute to the development of an enterprise practice within the wider CDO Architecture team
Act as a communicator between technical and non-technical audiences and stakeholders

Success Profiles 
We use an assessment framework called ‘Success Profiles’ which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about how we assess the Success Profile elements.

Essential Experience
1. Enterprise architecture frameworks for managing design governance, strategic development and stakeholder communication.
2. Defining aligned business and technology strategies by means of developing and maintaining technology roadmaps and architectural models.

Behaviours
• Leadership - (Level 4)
• Communicating and Influencing - (Level 4)

Technical / Professional Skills
This role is aligned to Senior Enterprise Architect job role level within the Digital, Data and Technology Profession.

These skills will be tested during the Technical Assessment if you are successful at sift stage. They will be not be assessed at application stage. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations: Enterprise architect - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

How to apply
Apply online, you must provide a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 750 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profiles above. Be sure to provide specific examples of work that you’ve done that showcase your relevant experience.

In the event that we receive a high volume of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the CV and Supporting Statement based on the first Experience criteria. Candidates who successfully pass this initial sift will have their applications fully assessed.

Candidates who are successful at sift stage will be invited to attend an Interview and Technical Assessment. The interview will further assess the Experience and Behaviours listed in the job advert and the technical assessment will evaluate the technical skills relevant to the role.

Candidates who pass the sift and are invited to the Interview and Technical Assessment stage will receive a Technical Assessment Candidate Pack, which will outline the skills to be assessed and the assessment methods to be used.

Following the application sift, there may be a telephone interview as part of the assessment process before the main interview.

We aim to provide feedback on request. However, if we receive a large number of applications it may not be possible for us to provide specific feedback on your application. We will provide feedback on request to candidates who attend an interview/assessment.

Information Session
We are holding a candidate information session for this role to provide you with information about the application and interview process as well as further information on the role and team.

We will be talking about:

The Enterprise Architect role and Architecture and Design team
About Social Security Scotland
Our recruitment process
Q&A with the hiring manager

The session will be held on Thursday 4th September at 1pm - 2pm

Please join us using the link below to find out more about the role and working for Social Security Scotland.

Join the meeting now

Expected Timeline (subject to change)
Sift – w/c 8th September
Interview – w/c 29th September
Location – In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow

Reserve List
In the event that there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list will be kept for up to 12 months.

About us
Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Our benefits help people from all walks of life in Scotland. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve. Find more about us here. 

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer. 

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.   

DDaT Pay Supplement
This post is part of the Scottish Government Digital, Data and Technology (DDAT) profession and as a member of the profession you will join the professional development system. This post currently attracts a £5,000 annual DDAT pay supplement, applicable after a 3 months competency qualifying period. The payment will be backdated to your start date in the role. Pay supplements are reviewed regularly and there is one currently underway. Changes will be communicated when the review is concluded.

Working pattern
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options, depending on the needs of the role. We embrace a hybrid working style where all colleagues will spend time in either our Glasgow or Dundee offices. There is an expectation of a minimum 2 days per week in your assigned location, which will be either Glasgow or Dundee. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Equality Statement
Social Security Scotland are committed to equality and inclusion, and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us at Recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information
Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website. 

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 3 years unless successful in gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

Social Security Scotland’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the recruitment principles of the Civil Service Commissioner, which outline that selection for appointment be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition - Recruitment - Civil Service Commission (independent.gov.uk)

If you feel at any time your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you can make a complaint, by contacting Social Security Scotland at recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commissioner.

If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot

Apply before Tuesday 9th September 2025 @23.55

Contact Name - Resourcing Team
Contact email – Recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot