Lead Technical Architect - Teacher Services

Tender description

Who Speclialist Work With The team consists of Service Owner, Product Managers, Delivery Managers, Developers, User Researchers, Business Analysts, Content Designers, Deputy Directors and is made up of a mixture of Civil Servants and Suppliers. What Specialists Work On Supporting and guiding teams in the development of services across the service line. Working closely with the Service Owner and their leadership team. Setting good practices for software development and delivery. Engaging with third-parties on integrations and other matters. Preparing services to go through the GDS Service Standard Assessment. Contributing to and directing growth of a development community. Engaging in wider organisation architecture and security governance transformation in line with digital delivery. Helping with the operational and support model for services. Review and input on resourcing requirements for technical specialists. Where the Work Takes Place Department for Education 20 Great Smith St Westminster London SW1P 3BT Early Market Engagement None. Working Arrangements Co-located working principally from the DfE's London office, maximising opportunity for engagement with the delivery teams and stakeholders. In relation to expenses, this must be included in the contract sum, there is not a separate budget for expenses. Operate a standard agile methodology: daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprints, retrospectives, show and tells. Supplier will lead by being a role model in agile working. Work Location Department for Education 20 Great Smith St Westminster London SW1P 3BT Security Clearance BPSS as a minimum. Additional T&Cs Standard Framework and Call Off T&Cs. Any expenses must be pre-agreed and comply with DfE Travel and Subsistence Policy. Primary work location in SoW will not attract expenses. Contract and Vendor Management will form a key part of governance. Suppliers will be expected to cooperate in a manner that fosters healthy working relationships and quality delivery. Suppliers must provide sufficient guarantees to meet the requirements of GDPR in line with PPN 03/17 Changes to Data Protection Legislation & GDPR. Skills & Experience Have experience leading technical teams and delivering user-focused services in a large organisation. Demonstrate strong software development and application architecture experience using open source technologies. Have experience of Ruby on Rails. Be able to adapt quickly to new technologies. Demonstrate experience scaling online services. Demonstrate awareness of emerging security issues. Be able to read and understand solution design documentation. Have experience of prioritising work in a fast, user-centric environment. Understand agile environments, continual delivery techniques and devops cultures. Be able to influence senior management and communicate with both technical and non-technical audiences. Have experience of working to the GDS Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice and taking services through assessments. Understand technical governance and be able to participate in or deliver the assurance of a service. Be capable of producing strategy for technology that meets user and business needs (able to create, refine and challenge patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements). Nice to Haves Have the ability to influence how digital services are delivered, both at DfE and across government. Have an awareness to budget in an on-demand environment and an understanding of legal implications. Have experience of cloud technologies, infrastructure-as-code, enterprise integration tools and extract, transformation and load (ETL) tools. Have experience designing and implementing secure systems. Have experience mentoring technical staff and managing stakeholders Have experience working in a dynamic organisation with rapidly expanding users and changing requirements. Have experience of forming government best practices, standards and policies. Have experience initiating projects, participating in workshops to gather user needs and building prototypes. Be willing to travel to client locations and activities on occasion. No. of Specialists to Evaluate 3 Cultural Fit Criteria Demonstrate their approach to engaging with internal senior stakeholders undergoing cultural change and how this will support project success. Demonstrate how they will work transparently, collaboratively and share their approach with the DfE project team and seek actionable feedback. Demonstrate their approach to knowledge and skills transfer to permanent members of staff. Describe recent (within the last 3 years) experience working in the public sector or other highly regulated sector. Explain how they will ensure collaboration at all levels of the project and programme delivery between users, team members and management, giving examples of where they have taken this approach. Assessment Method Reference Interview Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £850.00