We are looking for Security Architects to work in the The Cyber and Information Security division (C&IS). You will work within C&IS and across the Department to help with effective delivery of our strategic projects and to help with the development of the Operating Model within our Division.

This is a great opportunity if you want a challenge at a national level. Joining C&IS means you will help to safeguard children and ensure their education and care is delivered effectively by building ways of working and systems that adapt to evolutions in technology, methodology and threat.

You will find a candidate pack attached to this advert, which provides more information about the department, our commitment to diversity and inclusivity, the benefits of working here, the roles and responsibilities, and the selection process.

Responsibilities

As a Security Architect you will

• Understand that security isn’t just a technology problem
• Work to continuously improve the security of our platforms and services in hands-on, hands-off advisory and leadership capacities
• Advise on important security-related technologies and assess the risk associated with proposed changes
• Provide specialist advice and recommend approaches across teams and various stakeholders
• Identify and promote best practices for multidisciplinary teams to deliver robust, resilient, secure and scalable solutions
• Act as an ambassador for the cyber security Division and encourage the use of the Division’s tools and services
• Gather current state architecture and create/maintain target state architecture
• Recommend security best practices and identify solutions for cloud environments
• Help to develop and build the security culture and increased security awareness across the Department via community sessions and by working closely with other teams

Essential Criteria:

• Extensive cyber security knowledge in a previous hands-on role
• Understanding of security end-to-end, from security controls within the design of a system like security and privacy design considerations through to architecture reviews, threat modelling and remediation against existing live services
• Experience of working in an architecture team, creating and maintaining architecture guidelines, patterns and guidance to support the development and ongoing support of secure solutions
• Experience architecting and securing cloud environments utilising cloud native technologies
• Experience of interacting with and influencing a range of stakeholders, from small development teams through to senior stakeholders and leadership teams

It is desirable that you can also demonstrate the following:

• Good appreciation of modern software engineering skills, including building, managing and deploying modern technical systems, including common cloud providers and containerised workloads in Kubernetes and Docker
• Experience of providing security design and architecture expertise and guidance across Agile development lifecycles
• Experience and knowledge of security standards and frameworks (NIST, Cyber Essentials, MITRE ATT&CK)

We encourage applications from those that do not meet the desirable criteria, as this will only be used in the unlikely event of a tie break situation at interview stage.

Benefits

At the Department for Education we offer:-
 

• An environment with flexible working options, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexitime and compressed hours.
   
• As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities which are tailored to your role.
   
• As our work represents the whole of our population, the only way we can provide effective services is by being an inclusive and diverse organisation. We are passionate about maintaining an open and positive working culture.
   
• A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the Queen’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
   
• Paid special leave for volunteering.
   
• A wide variety of staff support networks including a Women's Network, BAME Network, Wellbeing Network, and many more.
   
• As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK. 
   
• Being a member of the Department for Education will give you access to schemes offering discount on various amenities including groceries, sports & activity groups and gym memberships.
   
• Cycle to Work scheme and loans towards bicycle purchase.