Location
Romford, London Borough of Havering

Hours
Permanent / Hybrid working - combination of remote and office-based engagement

Salary
Grade 10 – £59,511 to £63,966 per annum

About the Role
The London Borough of Havering is seeking an experienced Solution Architect to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our digital services. You will design and govern end-to-end solutions that are secure, scalable, and aligned with the council’s strategic goals, helping to deliver modern, intuitive services that make a real difference to residents, businesses, and staff.

As a Solution Architect, you will translate business and user needs into robust, sustainable technology solutions. Working closely with colleagues across user-centred design, product, engineering, and cyber security, you will ensure our services are resilient, compliant, and future-ready. You will also help embed good architecture practices across the organisation and act as a trusted advisor on design decisions.

Key responsibilities include leading the design of effective, end-to-end solution architectures that meet user, business, and technical requirements; ensuring solutions align with the council’s enterprise principles, data strategy, and relevant government standards (DDaT, SFIA, WCAG); governing delivery through design reviews, risk assessments, and non-functional requirements such as resilience, performance, and operability; making build vs buy recommendations (SaaS, COTS) and selecting appropriate integration patterns (APIs, events, ETL); collaborating with internal teams and external suppliers to deliver secure, sustainable services; and sharing knowledge, mentoring colleagues, and contributing to the council’s architecture standards and patterns.

Havering is one of the greenest boroughs in London, where resourcefulness and initiative are valued. We embrace new challenges with open minds and fresh ideas, offering many opportunities for career progression and support along the way. Join us and make a meaningful difference to the people who live, work, and learn here.

Experience
- Proven experience designing and governing solutions within a complex organisation.
- Strong background in cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP), integration, and security-by-design.
- Familiarity with enterprise architecture methods such as TOGAF or equivalent.

About you
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.
- Resourceful and proactive, able to take initiative and embrace new challenges.
- Collaborative team player who shares knowledge and mentors colleagues.

Qualifications
- Degree or equivalent experience.
- Relevant certifications in architecture or digital strategy are welcomed but not essential.