AMS PSR

On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for a Lead Network Architect (Inside IR35) for a 24 month contract. The role is primarily remote, with occasional travel to MOD Corsham and Cyprus. This will be a combination of remote working and time onsite at MOD Corsham, with a requirement to visit Cyprus 3 to 4 times per year for short trips of 3 to 5 days at a time.

About the Programme

The APOLLO programme is delivering new estate and digital infrastructure in Cyprus, enabling secure and resilient MOD services.

A key focus is ensuring that physical infrastructure and network design are aligned from day one — avoiding delays in assurance and enabling faster, smoother service delivery.

The Role

We’re seeking a Lead Network Architect to act as the programme-level design authority on a major MOD infrastructure programme, ensuring complex, multi-supplier network designs are aligned, integrated and deliverable.

With delivery spanning multiple projects and suppliers, many operating in isolation, this role provides a critical end-to-end view across the programme, ensuring designs are consistent, integrated and aligned to programme requirements.

This is a strategic architecture role focused on ensuring that new facilities are fully aligned with network and security requirements from the outset. You’ll work across multiple suppliers and stakeholders to ensure designs are coherent, deliverable and practical, and ready for assurance, avoiding costly rework later in delivery.

You’ll also provide independent assurance across designs, validating assumptions and ensuring solutions are robust, scalable and aligned to long-term MOD requirements.

As a Lead Network Architect, your main responsibilities will be to:

• Act as the programme-level Network Architect and technical design authority, providing independent review and assurance across all network designs
• Bring a programme-level view across siloed project delivery, ensuring consistency, integration and alignment
• Review and align network and CIS designs across multiple suppliers
• Ensure new buildings are network-ready (fibre, communications rooms, secure connectivity)
• Translate business and user requirements into practical, deliverable network solutions
• Engage early with MOD assurance teams to ensure designs are approved first time
• Identify risks, dependencies and integration challenges across the programme
• Provide expert guidance as an intelligent customer, appropriately challenging supplier designs where required
• Assess whether designs will meet future digital demands and resilience requirements
• Support successful onboarding of services into secure MOD networks

Essential:

• Extensive experience as a Network / CIS Architect (typically 10+ years)
• Proven track record designing complex enterprise network infrastructure
• Experience working within Defence, government, or highly secure environments
• Strong understanding of multi-supplier delivery environments
• Ability to operate at a programme level, rather than just individual project delivery
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance. 

Desirable:

• Experience working with MOD or similar assurance/accreditation processes
• Familiarity with secure networks (e.g. MODNet or equivalent)
• Background acting as a Design Authority, Lead Architect or Integration Architect
• Certifications such as TOGAF, CCNP/CCIE, CISSP, or ITIL

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the MOD guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

The MOD guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following “this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.