Digital Skills for the Digital Transformation Unit, FCO (Consular projects)

Tender description

Summary of the work The Technical Architect will be assuring Consular projects of FCO to ensure strategic alignment, technical integrity, technical oversight and governance and adherence to GDS digital principles.They will deliver at all levels including heads of departments and project teams, applying agile methods and utilising technical and business assurance practices. Specialist role Technical Architect Expected Contract Length 115 days Latest start date Monday 2 September 2019 Maximum Day Rate £850 per day Who Speclialist Work With The specialist will be working in close collaboration with Consular Directorate, Digital Transformation Unit and Knowldege and Technology Directorate. Additionally, each individual service/project they will work on will have its own set of stakeholders. They are going to be working with product managers, delivery teams and processing staff in each instance, including the staff of Legalisation Office. What Specialists Work On As a Technical Architect you will deliver specific pieces of analytical and assurance work in close co-operation with multidisciplinary teams. You will assure specific digital projects such as Notify, Configurable digital forms,Payments, Consular Integration Systems and conversion to Platform as a Service in context of existing Consular technical ecosystem, and the wider FCO technical architecture, including their alignment to GDS Principles. Based on your analysis of these projects and our wider technical architecture, you will also produce a strategic IT roadmap. Skills & Experience • Understanding of a range of tech stacks (e.g. AWS, UK Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics, O365, open source, PaaS etc) and the ability to take a balanced approach to technology selection • Experience migrating legacy technology, e.g. applying data migration strategies, migrating hosting to cloud service providers, or incrementally replacing a legacy system • Strong software development and application architecture experience, with good knowledge of open source technologies, testing and at least one programming language • Ability to read, understand and critique (in order to improve) solution design documentation • Experience of, or an appreciation of the GDS Principles • Significant consulting experience of influencing senior management and communicating with both technical and non-technical audiences through a strong ability to grasp their business challenges • Experience in leading technical teams to deliver scalable and secure user-focused services that deliver measurable transformation • Understanding of agile environments, continual delivery techniques and devops cultures • Ability to quickly absorb differing strategies, remain flexible in your thinking Nice to Haves • Experience scaling technology services • Experience of cloud technologies and enterprise integration tools Work Location Work will be delivered in the FCO's London office in King Charles Street London, with some travel to Milton Keynes offices. Some work can be done off site if the specialist wants or needs to. Working Arrangments We would like the individual to: - Be comfortable talking to non-technical staff and translating their requirements into technical terms. - We would like to be able to send the specialist unaccompanied to meet technical and non-technical staff, confident that they will be respectful, productive, and represent Consular Directorate and Digital Transformation Unit effectively. Security Clearance All contractors working on FCO premises must be British citizens, and at least SC cleared or capable of being cleared to SC. Bidders must confirm clearance of nominated resources. Additional T&Cs We would pay the specialist based on timesheets - monthly in arrears. No. of Specialists to Evaluate 3 Cultural Fit Criteria • Working with technical and non-technical staff at senior level • Quickly joining teams, understanding their needs, and transferring knowledge when offboarding Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 15% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there a current incumbent? No, there is no incumbent in the role. 2. What is the IR35 status? Outside of IR35. 3. Have Microsoft Dynamics implementations started or will be? Which services (business functions) will use Dynamics 365? Microsoft Dynamics is already in place within the department.A list of business functions using Dynamics is not necessary for this requirement. If necessary, the successful candidate will be provided with a list. 4. What is the average supplier payment performance (i.e. the time taken to pay suppliers)? What is the department’s average supplier payment performance to SME suppliers? The Buyer will pay the Supplier within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice submitted in accordance with the Call-Off Contract.This exercise is not for disclosing average supplier payment performance. This request will have to be sent and reviewed in a different format. 5. Will the FCO sponsor the successful candidate through SC clearance if required? Yes. 6. Our specialist has dual nationality, French and UK, but currently holds SC clearance, is this acceptable? Yes this is acceptable and the specialist is eligible to apply for specialist role. 7. Could you advise on who will be reviewing the evidence please? This information is not required for completion of proposals.