Business Architect (Defence Team)
12-month fixed term contract
NCC
Bristol based with hybrid working (2 days per week in office)
Salary: £65,659 - £79,945 per annum experience dependent plus 12.5% employer pension, private medical insurance and additional benefits package.
Government Security Clearance: to the nature of our business, all employment is subject to satisfactory references being obtained alongside a level of government security clearance.
Closing Date: 5th December 2025 – We reserve the right to withdraw adverts earlier if required.
Summary:
We’re a national R&D centre - government-backed, not-for-profit, and mission-driven. We work across 16 sectors and over 100 partners a year. Our people are here to deliver outcomes that matter, and you’ll be central to how we support, retain and grow them.
The NCC is undergoing a period of change, particularly in the Defence part of the business. This is reflected within the recently refreshed strategic objectives for the organisation.
With this expansion comes the opportunity to ensure that the NCC’s operational model supports and enhances NCC’s R&D activities in this area of the business.
NCC is therefore seeking a Business Architect, to help the NCC understand the change to be navigated, its operating principles, and to arrive at a target operating model for the defence part of the business.
You’ll;
- Establish scope, current maturity, constraints, governance, architectural principles
- Collaborate with business leaders to understand strategic priorities and translate them into actionable architectural views
- Refine and iterate the capability, organisation, information, and value stream models to reflect current and future states
- Work with business leaders to establish business operating principles
- Develop and evolve the Target Operating Model to support strategy execution and transformation planning
- Develop business transformation roadmaps that guide investment decisions and enable change initiatives
- Ensure alignment between business strategy, operational needs, and transformation programmes
- Present architectural deliverables to senior stakeholders and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to obtain acceptance of the deliverables
The role-holder would preferably hold a UK security clearance to Security Cleared (SC) level.
Application Requirements:
- Significant experience of Business Architecture in practice and understanding.
- Existing security clearance highly desirable.
- Experience of Target Operating Model and service design.
- Qualifications in relevant methodologies (eg. TOGAF or BIZBOK or S2E)
- Business architecture experience in Engineering or Research & Design Environments highly essential.
- Business architecture experience in the private defence sector or any secure operations environment desirable.
- An awareness of balancing cultural considerations while creating Target Operating Models.
In terms of personal values we look for people with a high degree of integrity, excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
Unsure if you are a match or have a small question? Let us help, please reach out to [email protected], or via linked in.
Who are NCC?
What we do
We help manufacturers take on bigger challenges - whether that’s building cleaner aircraft, scaling up offshore wind, or strengthening the UK’s supply chains. We’re here to deliver practical outcomes, not prototypes that sit on shelves.
Who we work with
We work across 16 sectors, from defence and energy to infrastructure and space. Some projects are with global tier 1s, others with small UK firms solving one specific problem - the works always varied, and always real.
What it’s like here
We’re not a startup. We’re not a corporate. We’re a national centre with the kit, time and people to do the job properly. The teams are focused, the thinking is sharp, and you’ll be trusted to get on with it.
Why this job matters
This role isn’t just internal support - it’s part of how we deliver nationally important work. If we do our job right, the UK’s manufacturers can do theirs better.
What we offer
12.5% employer pension contribution
Private medical cover
Hybrid working as standard
Support to keep learning and progressing
University of Bristol honorary staff status