Senior Solution Architect

Overview

Application closing date: Monday, 15 September 2025
• 11:59pm, Canberra time (in Canberra)

Estimated start date: Wednesday, 01 October 2025

Location of work: VIC

Working arrangements: The contractor will work from the specified office location for a minimum of 6 weeks before WFH will be considered. Any WFH will require the contractor to work in the specified office location a minimum of 3 days per week.

Length of contract: Until 30 June 2026

Contract extensions: 2 x 12 months

Security clearance: Must be able to obtain Baseline

Rates: $140 - $160 per hour (inc. super)

Organisation context

Services Australia is at the frontline of government service delivery, supporting millions of Australians, and is front and centre of a vision to be a world leader in government service delivery. It's using cutting-edge technology to build world class platforms and capabilities to help Australians get on with their lives. The services required will enable the agency to supplement its existing ICT and digital workforce to ensure a high quality of technology and digital development for the Buyer with the flexibility to ramp resourcing up and down as needs require. Engaging a flexible ICT workforce will enable the Buyer to augment its requirements for the major work programs being undertaken.

Role description

Services Australia is seeking a Solution Architect who will be responsible for the quality of solution architecture work across an organisation. They provide technical leadership in the design and implementation of systems and software to solve business problems. The Architect will play a pivotal role in leading and delivering complex application development projects across the Technology and Digital Program (TDP) Group that align with the agency's strategic objectives. This position requires a seasoned professional with extensive experience and a strong understanding of the Services Australia landscape. The candidate will be responsible for the function of designing and delivering new functional solutions, and providing ongoing operational support for ICT solutions, while ensuring adherence to time, budget, and scope constraints.

Solution Design describes the function of designing and delivering new functional solutions and providing ongoing operational support for ICT solutions. The Architect will be responsible for setting the overall vision, strategy, architecture, and roadmap for enterprise-wide solutions. They are accountable for the end-to-end solution design. They are also responsible for evaluating customer requirements and mapping them to business processes, as well as functional and solution architecture and ensuring a proper implementation from a solution architecture point of view.

The Architect will be expected to operate with a significant degree of independence with a high level of autonomy, with decision-making highly dependent on their own judgement. In performing the role, they will be required to identify and drive innovation, manage and lead change, and has an active role in contributing to and implementing the agency's strategic direction.

The Architect is vital in ensuring that Services Australia effectively leverages technology to enhance service delivery and meet the needs of the community. They will also be required to develop, describe present and influence the outcome and/or findings across various forums.

Proficiency in an architect field, which should be highlighted in the response for consideration when opportunities arise. This may include cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, microservices, infrastructure, data, SAP and enterprise integration. Along with relevant tools exposed to and/or utilising to develop architecture artefacts e.g, Apache Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, Data warehouse. Through to development and visualisation tools including Microsoft PowerPoint, Visio and DrawIO.

Responsibilities

- Identify the appropriate end-to-end solution portfolio, considering all relevant ICT solutions and service offerings such as best practices.

- Identify solution gaps and develop gap closure options such as the inclusion of components from Independent Software Vendors or customer-specific development.

- Architect the end-to-end functional landscape and solution design to support desired business processes and business/ICT requirements of the customer, ensuring alignment.

- Document, present and discuss the end-to-end architecture and solution options, recommendations and implications, facilitate and support the decision process.

- Identify cross-process and cross-solution integration points and lead the coordination across various software and service components of the end-to-end solution.

- Lead end-to-end solution analysis, design, integration, architecture, co-existence and migration.

- Ensure work aligns with business processes and overall delivery outcomes.

- Act as single point of contact to orchestrate the various parties involved in large and complex projects/programs from a primarily architecture/technical perspective.

- Drive innovation, continuous improvement and manage and lead change.

- Proactively share knowledge and expertise as the subject matter expert.

- Oversee and prepare a range of documentation and reports.

- The role operates with a significant degree of independence and to deliver quality outcomes. They operate with a high level of autonomy, with decision-making highly dependent on their own judgement. In performing their role, they will show leadership, collaborate, influence outcomes, identify and drive innovation, manage and lead change, and has an active role in contributing to and implementing the agency's strategic direction.

- Collaborate with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders to achieve outcomes and key deliverables.

- Resolve very complex, sensitive and/or escalated technical issues.

- Develop and present outcomes confidently to a range of stakeholders across multiple forums.

Knowledge / Qualifications

- Formal TOGAF Certification - optional

- Strong knowledge and understanding of: Frameworks, legislation, policies, procedures and information management requirements relevant to the nominated domain

- Strong communication and negotiation skills

- Professional presentation skills

- Substantial experience in architecture design, particularly within the context of large-scale government projects.

- Proficiency in relevant technologies, frameworks, and tools, as well as the ability to translate complex technical requirements into scalable and sustainable solutions is imperative.

- Data governance, privacy laws, and other pertinent policies that impact solution delivery within Services Australia, ensuring all architectural decisions align with statutory requirements.

- Proven ability to articulate technical concepts clearly and facilitate discussions that drive consensus on architectural strategies, ensuring alignment with project and organisational goals.

- Understanding of architecture principles, enterprise technologies

- Understanding and ability to develop various architecture documentation including High Level Architecture (HLA), Patterns, architecture option papers which incorporate; Architecture Principles and practices, DevOps and ability to link architecture aspects together.

Essential Criteria

1. Business process improvement: Level 6 (SFIA): Plans and leads strategic, large and complex business process improvement activities aligned with automation, or exploiting existing or new technologies. Develops organisational policies, standards, and guidelines for business process improvement. Leads the introduction of techniques, methodologies and tools to meet business requirements, ensuring consistency across all user groups. Leads the development of organisational capabilities for business process improvement and ensures adoption and adherence to policies and standards.

2. Consultancy: Level 6 (SFIA): Manages the provision of consultancy services and/or a team of consultants. In own areas of expertise, provides advice and guidance to consultants and/or the client when delivering consultancy services. Engages with clients and maintains client relationships. Establishes consultancy agreements/contracts and manages completion and disengagement.

3. Emerging technology monitoring: Level 5 (SFIA): Monitors the external environment to gather intelligence on emerging technologies. Assesses and documents the impacts, threats and opportunities to the organisation. Creates reports and technology roadmaps and shares knowledge and insights with others.

4. Enterprise and business architecture: Level 5 (SFIA): Develops models and plans to drive the execution of the business strategy, taking advantage of opportunities to improve business performance. Contributes to creating and reviewing a systems capability strategy which meets the business's strategic requirements. Determines requirements and specifies effective business processes, through improvements in technology, information or data practices, organisation, roles, procedures and equipment.

5. Innovation: Level 6 (SFIA): Obtains organisational commitment to innovation. Develops organisational capabilities to drive innovation. Leads and plans the development of innovation capabilities and implementation of innovation processes, tools and frameworks. Leads the communication and an open flow of creative ideas between interested parties and the set-up of innovation networks and communities.

6. Software design: Level 5 (SFIA): Specifies and designs large or complex software applications, components and modules. Adopts and adapts software design methods, tools and techniques. Undertakes impact analysis on major design options, makes recommendations and assesses and manages associated risks. Specifies prototypes/simulations to enable informed decision-making. Evaluates software designs to ensure adherence to standards and identifies corrective action. Ensures that the software design balances functional, quality, security and systems management requirements. Contributes to the development of organisational software design and architecture policies and standards.

7. Solution architecture: Level 5 (SFIA): Leads the development of solution architectures in specific business, infrastructure or functional areas. Leads the preparation of technical plans and ensures that appropriate technical resources are made available. Ensures that appropriate tools and methods are available, understood and employed in architecture development. Provides technical guidance and governance on solution development and integration. Evaluates requests for changes and deviations from specifications and recommends actions. Ensures that relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices (including security) are applied correctly.

8. Stakeholder relationship management: Level 6 (SFIA): Leads the development of comprehensive stakeholder management strategies and plans. Builds long-term, strategic relationships with senior stakeholders (internal and external). Facilitates the engagement of stakeholders in support of the delivery of services and change projects. Acts as a single point of contact for senior stakeholders, facilitating relationships between them. Negotiates to ensure that stakeholders understand and agree on what will meet their needs, and that appropriate agreements are defined. Oversees monitoring of relationships including lessons learned and appropriate feedback. Leads actions to improve relations and open communications with and between stakeholders.

9. Systems design: Level 6 (SFIA): Develops and drives adoption of and adherence to organisational policies, standards, guidelines, and methods for system design. Champions the importance and value of system design principles and the selection of appropriate systems design life cycle models. Leads system design activities for strategic, large and complex systems development programmes. Develops effective implementation strategies consistent with specified requirements, architectures and constraints of performance and feasibility. Develops system design requiring the introduction of new technologies or new uses for existing technologies.

Desirable Criteria

1. Governance: Level 6 (SFIA): Implements the governance framework to enable governance activity to be conducted. Within a defined area of accountability, determines the requirements for appropriate governance reflecting the organisation's values, ethics and wider governance frameworks. Communicates delegated authority, benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks. Leads reviews of governance practices with appropriate and sufficient independence from management activity. Acts as the organisation's contact for relevant regulatory authorities and ensures proper relationships between the organisation and external stakeholders.

2. Information assurance: Level 5 (SFIA): Interprets information assurance and security policies and applies these to manage risks. Provides advice and guidance to ensure adoption of and adherence to information assurance architectures, strategies, policies, standards and guidelines. Plans, organises and conducts information assurance and accreditation of complex domains areas, cross-functional areas, and across the supply chain. Contributes to the development of policies, standards and guidelines.

3. Requirements definition and management: Level 6 (SFIA): Champions the importance and value of requirements management principles and selecting effective requirements management life cycle models. Develops organisational policies, standards, and guidelines for requirements definition and management. Plans and leads scoping, requirements definition and priority setting for complex, strategic programmes. Drives adoption of, and adherence to, policies and standards. Develops new methods and organisational capabilities for requirements management.

4. Strategic planning: Level 5 (SFIA): Collates information and creates reports and insights to support strategy management processes. Ensures that all stakeholders are aware of the strategic management approach and timetables. Provides support and guidance to help stakeholders adhere to the approach. Develops and communicates plans to drive forward the strategy and related change planning. Contributes to the development of policies, standards and guidelines for strategy development and planning.

How to apply

Please provide an updated CV (a maximum of 3-5 pages) to reflect your suitability to the role based on the job description. You will also need to complete a response to the Essential and Desirable criteria above in a summary no more than 5000 characters in total.

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