Technical Architect – Special Project

Technical Architect – Special Projects

Location: Newbury (hybrid working)
Safety Notice: To ensure candidate and employee safety, we are continuing with our virtual hiring and onboarding processes until further notice.

Role purpose:

The Government Security Team is responsible for providing operational support to government and law enforcement agencies in order to meet our obligations under the Investigatory Powers Act. Technical solutions are at the heart of our ability to meet these obligations, and in the process help fight serious crime and save lives. We offer an industry leading capability and need the best people to ensure we maintain this.

The Capability, Delivery & Support Team design, develop, implement and support the complex and innovative systems that power our mission. As a Technical Architect within this team you will be a key part of our design, implementation and assurance team bringing to bear your technical expertise, industry knowledge and people skills to ensure our solutions meet business, operational and external stakeholder needs. You will be accountable for technical and design leadership for all compliance platforms

Your first-rate technical leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills will be tested to the full as you act as a conduit for external government stakeholders, Vodafone IT, network and security teams as well as our own capability delivery team. You will manage multiple, varied demands and priorities to design and deliver systems and solutions that make a real difference in supporting Law Enforcement Agencies in the fight against serious crime whilst ensuring that Vodafone’s commercial interests continue to be protected and we meet our legal and regulatory obligations.

What will you be doing?

Provide technical leadership in all lifecycle phases for both new deployments and changes to existing capability.
Subject matter expert maintaining awareness of Vodafone technologies (fixed and radio network, OSS and BSS), strategy and changes, assessing the impact and developing plans to mitigate the operational impact of these changes
Explore new capabilities, technologies and architectural design patterns to identify for opportunities to improve our systems to ensure they are fit for purpose and continue to meet customer needs.
Design and oversee the development, implementation and maintenance of complex data collection and exploitation systems that allow our operational teams to support the law enforcement and intelligence community.
Undertake design reviews, impact assessments and initial design scoping to inform technical submissions to HMG stakeholders
Provide technical input to project managers that enables effective scoping, cost estimates and accurate delivery schedules
Build and maintain strong working relationships with external and internal stakeholders to define and agree scope on new capabilities and ensure technical solutions meet technical requirements, business needs and align with obligations under UK legislation
Ensure compliance to the target architecture throughout the development and implementation life cycle
Manage third-party suppliers to perform routine maintenance activities such as Service failovers, System changes, IT Health Checks/Penetration Tests
Lead on fault and issue management in the production systems to ensure we maintain operational effectiveness
Assist the Operations Teams in resolving technical operational issues

Who are we looking for?

A good technical understanding of telecommunication technologies and including fixed and mobile networks
A good understanding of Software Development Lifecycle and Project Management concepts
Fundamentals of IP Architecture involving Firewalls, IPsec tunnels, VPN and IP Network Design Concepts.
Database technologies – Oracle, My SQL
Knowledge of at least a flavour of UNIX/LINUX OS, Shell Scripting and Windows
Excellent written and verbal communication skills – ability to present technical solutions in easy to understand business language.
Ability to translate business strategy and needs into IT architecture artefacts
Enthusiastic and keen attitude to developing knowledge in existing and upcoming technologies.
Ability to build and maintain strong ongoing relationships across a business with internal and external stakeholders.
Previous experience of IPA/RIPA compliance platforms as well as experience of working with telecommunications data
Knowledge of current relevant UK legislation (IPA, GDPR etc.) advantageous
Security cleared to SC level and willing to undergo higher level clearance checks if required

What’s in it for you?

An excellent remuneration and bonus package with 28 days holiday entitlement, in addition to bank holidays and paid leave for charity projects. We offer an extensive benefits package that can be tailored to suit you and your family, including employee discounts, retail vouchers, pension plan and share schemes. We’re also proud to provide a Reconnect programme with flexibility to support individuals returning to work after a career break and our market-leading parental leave policies. We’re committed to supporting you throughout every step of your career at Vodafone.

Blended Working

Vodafone UK’s blended working approach means you’ll come to your contracted hub location office as and when needed to get things done for your role and for tasks that require it, otherwise you will be able to work from home. Our ‘Office in a Box’ home-working kit will be available for all who need it during your onboarding journey.

#Together we can