Senior Solution Architect

Summary:

Client - Department of Finance

Rate & term - $160 per hour including Super | 4 month initial contract | 4x4 month extension option

Location & work arrangements - Canberra, ACT | ~2-3 days in office

Security Clearance - Must be an Australian Citizen | Negative Vetting Level 1 Required )

Overview:

The Department of Finance (Finance) requires a Solution Architect to assess and document the current state of the Parliamentary Document Management System (PDMS) and make recommendations on the future state of the PDMS technical architecture. The Solution Architect will ensure all options support the business needs and clients of PDMS

Key duties and responsibilities:

PDMS is looking to become a more scalable, potentially cloud-based solution, designed to support agility, high performance, and operational efficiency. It will be capable of adapting to changing workloads and evolving business needs.

Technical skills

A strong understanding of cloud architecture including public and private cloud. Candidates with formal certification, qualifications, tertiary degree, and/or demonstrated experience as per the duties and responsibilities will be highly regarded.

About the team

The Parliamentary Document Management System (PDMS) connects Australian Government agencies and Parliament through a transformational workflow management system, under the Whole-of-Government Parliamentary Workflow Solution (PWS) Program. The PDMS improves parliamentary workflow between agencies and ministerial offices, helping users to drive efficiency and enables them to focus on their core priorities. PDMS supports ministerial level correspondence, briefings and submissions, parliamentary Questions on Notice, Senate Estimates briefings and Questions on Notice, executive level communications, and parliamentary inquiries and general communications and media, up to the PROTECTED level. Since its introduction in 2013, PDMS supports:
• Over 70 Australian Government Agencies.
• On average 45,000 active users per week.
• Over 250,000 registered users.
• Over 400,000 records created per year. Currently, PDMS is hosted in a PROTECTED cloud enclave, with access provided via GovLINK and VANguard for single sign-on authentication. The platform is currently primarily hosted on-premises using Windows Server and SQL Server with high availability features. It uses SharePoint for collaboration and content management. The backend is built with .NET Framework and the frontend with Angular, all running on IIS. User authentication is managed through Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS). The system supports around 35TB of replicated data across two secure data centres, meeting Australian Government security standards.

The Solution Architect will be responsible for the following activities, which include but are not limited to:

1. Assessment of current architecture state of the PDMS

2. Conduct a comprehensive review of the current state of the PDMS architecture.

3. Examine the current suite of documentation to identify gaps in the system's understanding. This includes missing diagrams, outdated artefacts, and undocumented technologies or infrastructure.
4. Liaise with various stakeholders to investigate the current state including technical staff, project managers, executives and Service Providers where required.
5. Develop architecture diagrams that clearly represent the current state, tailored for both technical and non-technical audiences.
6. Document existing limitations and dependencies.

7. Identify and outline the benefits, risks and opportunities associated with the current state.

8. Definition of future technical State

9. Propose options for a technically sound future state for the PDMS architecture.

10. Create architecture diagrams illustrating the optimal future state, suitable for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
11. Present, potentially up to, three future state options, detailing their respective timeframes, benefits, risks, dependencies and estimated costs (including ongoing operational costs).
12. Recommend the most suitable option for implementation providing justification and reasons why.

13. Ensure the proposed future state aligns with the needs and expectations of PDMS clients and their business requirements and functionality, as well as the broader Government Services Branch (GSB) direction.

14. Gap Analysis

15. Provide a detailed analysis of the gaps between the current and proposed future states.

16. Offer practical options to bridge these gaps, addressing:
17. Software, hardware, platforms, security, network and other technology components.
18. Estimated outcomes including timeframes, resource requirements, cost-benefit considerations and risk mitigation strategies.
19. Capability and skills gaps analysis to be addressed by the branch to deliver the optimal future state, and

20. Scalability of the solutions proposed.

21. Technical Roadmap

22. Develop a comprehensive technical roadmap to guide the transition from the current state to the recommended future state.

23. Include key dependencies and sequencing to support successful implementation.

The Solution Architect will:

• Examine and understand the role of PDMS within Government, including its relevance to stakeholders, their expectations and workload requirements.
• Understand the broader context of GSB's technical direction and consider options within that context.
• Provide recommendations for the future technical architecture of PDMS, ensuring alignment with Government, Departmental and Branch objectives. Note: redesign of the PDMS application itself is out of scope.
• Ensure user expectations and data migration considerations are incorporated into all planning and recommendations.
• Engage effectively with a broad range of stakeholders, accommodating varying levels of technical understanding.
• Demonstrate a strong interest in and understanding of emerging and future technologies, particularly within private and public cloud environments, and apply this knowledge to inform optimal future state solutions.
• Develop a comprehensive documentation suite to support analysis and findings, including technical diagrams and documents, as well as high-level non-technical advice suitable for business and executive audiences.

Selection Criteria:

Essential Criteria

1. Demonstrated experience in delivering similar solution architectural services for complex, whole-of-government applications within secure and regulated environments.
2. Current AGSVA Security Clearance Level: Negative Vetting 1 (NV1)

Highly Desirable Criteria

1. Understanding of Australian Government security frameworks, including the Information Security Manual (ISM) and the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF), with particular emphasis on compliance for PROTECTED-level applications and cloud-based solutions.
2. Communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across diverse technical and non-technical audiences.
3. Troubleshooting and problem-solving skills and proven ability to provide impartial, balanced and open-minded advice, ensuring recommendations are evidence-based and aligned with strategic objectives.

Desirable Criteria: 

1. Knowledge/experience with PDMS, VANguard, GovLINK and other whole of government applications.
2. Knowledge of future state connectivity solutions.
3. Knowledge/experience of Windows Server and SQL Server, SharePoint, .NET Framework, Angular, IIS, Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS).

About Arctic Fox

We are a panel supplier into the Federal Government's Digital Marketplace. We leverage our practical experience and expertise in business and technology transformation to source and place exceptional people across all Federal Government Departments. As practising Project Delivery professionals we have a genuine understanding and appreciation for the work that our contractors undertake. We provide end to end contract management including payroll and insurance.

We provide holistic support for candidates throughout the unique application process for Federal Government opportunities. This includes:

• Completing a collaborative review of the client brief with each candidate to ensure that the candidate is suitable for the opportunity.
• Undertaking a thorough review of selection criteria responses to provide feedback, insight, guidance and editing services.
• Being open and transparent with information regarding margins and on costs - we provide an open costbook for all candidates to give you assurance that excessive margins are not being placed on top of your contracted rate.