About the role.

As part of the development of our Digital Services function, we are recruiting to strengthen internal digital capability within the Digital Technical Competence team. These roles are central to building sustainable in-house expertise that supports the design, development, and delivery of digital solutions across the transport network.

A key focus of this campaign is creating new opportunities. As a result, we are recruiting a Lead IT Technology Architect. This is a pivotal role in shaping, designing and assuring technical solutions for one of the UK’s most complex and nationally important operational environments. You will lead the architecture for substantial, high‑value and multifaceted solutions, setting architectural standards, providing clear technical direction, and guiding delivery teams through pragmatic, well‑informed decision making. This role drives enterprise‑wide architecture, promoting reuse and interoperability, while ensuring digital services are operationally sustainable, cyber resilient and deliver value for money.

This is a hybrid role, requiring two days per week in the office, based at any National Highways office location.

Translate organisational strategy into actionable technical architectures, guiding delivery teams and influencing senior stakeholders to drive digital transformation across public services.
Architect solutions across the whole business context and communicate those decisions effectively.
Provide strategic technical leadership across complex digital programmes ensuring technology solutions are robust, scalable, secure and aligned with government standards and business objectives.
Develop best practice for IT Technology architecture to meet our need for continuous improvement.
Create technical designs for solutions of high complexity and risk.
Lead teams of more junior architects in designing solutions for National Highways, building relationships with senior stakeholders across different business or technical areas in the organisation to correctly direct solutions and meet business needs.

About you. 

You demonstrate a strong understanding of public sector strategy, policy, and service delivery models.
You have proven experience leading architecture across complex digital programmes, with familiarity in Agile and hybrid delivery models and managing legacy-to-modern transitions.
You bring deep expertise in cloud, infrastructure, and emerging technologies within regulated environments.
You are highly skilled in stakeholder engagement, influencing senior leaders, and enabling effective cross‑government collaboration.
You have experience in architectural governance, technical assurance, and aligning technical solutions to clear business outcomes.
You show strong commercial awareness of public sector procurement, cost optimisation, and value delivery.

About us.

Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership. 

The Digital Services Directorate is helping to reshape the way National Highways operates by delivering digital, data, and technology services across all areas, from frontline to back office, in a modern and efficient manner. Our vision is to develop integrated information and technology that empowers our colleagues and provides real-time information to our customers, as well as integrating with intelligent vehicle and transport systems as they evolve, to enhance journey safety and reliability. 

Current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy. 

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Why you should join us

At National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this. We’re proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers.

So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it – then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation.

A connected and sustainable working approach has been adopted across National Highways. For some roles, this means being able to work in a hybrid way spending up to 60% of time working from a remote location such as home.

We offer many different ways to work flexibly and we’re open to discuss part-time working, job shares, and flexible start and finish times.

Please wait until the interview stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what is possible.

Our benefits package

Our total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonus
Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%
Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)
Flexible hours and an approach driven by connected and sustainable working which includes hybrid working
Life assurance of 4 times annual salary
Health and wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccines
A cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel
Significant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience

And we are

Family friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilities
Money friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programme
Community friendly – offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/year

If you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:

Right to work check
3 year employment history references
DBS criminal record check
Social media and adverse journalism check
Driving licence check (if applicable)
Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)
Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable)

And finally

We reserve the right to close before the advertisement expires.

National Highways

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Lead IT Technology Architect