Head of Enterprise IT Architecture

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

We are looking for a Head of Enterprise IT Architecture to lead, coordinate and develop the IT architectural strategy, governance and standards across the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

This is a senior leadership role within the Informatics and Digital Solutions (IDS) function, with responsibility for ensuring that technical designs and digital infrastructure align with institutional objectives and are robust, scalable, secure and interoperable. You will chair the Technical Design Authority and coordinate enterprise, domain and solution architecture across research, operational and infrastructure domains.

You will play a key role in managing complexity and technical debt while supporting sustainable innovation and promoting architectural best practice and design coherence across the Institute.

About the Role:

As Head of Enterprise IT Architecture, you will provide strategic leadership for architecture across a complex and diverse technology environment.

You will lead and coordinate technical leads across enterprise applications, web, scientific compute, databases and infrastructure, and chair the Design Authority, providing strategic oversight of technical design assurance and architectural governance.

You will develop and maintain architecture principles, standards and technology roadmaps to guide institutional investment and delivery, including ownership of a comprehensive and up-to-date mapping of IDS systems and applications. You will review and approve key solution designs, ensuring alignment with agreed architectural standards and strategic goals.

Working with senior scientific, operational and technology leaders, you will ensure that IT architecture meets stakeholder requirements. You will guide the selection and adoption of new technologies, taking account of security, scalability and long-term sustainability, and lead technical risk management relating particularly to system design, integration and obsolescence.

You will oversee the simplification and rationalisation of the existing technology estate to reduce technical debt and improve efficiency, while promoting interoperability, data integrity and architectural reusability across the technology portfolio. You will represent the Institute in external architecture and digital infrastructure forums and help enhance strategic partnerships, including with organisations such as UKRI and EMBL-EBI.

A significant part of the role will be navigating architectural transformation across a complex, heterogeneous technical landscape: balancing standardisation with scientific flexibility and innovation, addressing long-standing technical debt, resolving divergent priorities and embedding effective governance without inhibiting agility or scientific discovery.

About You:

You will bring significant leadership experience in IT solution architecture within a complex technology environment, combined with the ability to work effectively with senior scientific, operational and technology stakeholders.

You will be an effective communicator and influential leader, able to provide architectural direction while building strong relationships across multidisciplinary teams.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

• Knowledge of TOGAF or other enterprise architecture frameworks

• In-depth knowledge of cloud, data, integration, and application architecture

• Architecture principles, standards development, and technology road mapping

• IT risk management, technical debt management and obsolescence planning

• Demonstrable leadership in IT solution architecture

• Experience in leading design governance (e.g., Technical Design Authority)

• Proven experience reducing technical debt in complex IT estates

• Experience managing multi-disciplinary architectural teams

• Ability to translate institutional strategy into actionable architecture roadmaps

• Ability to evaluate and select IT platforms, infrastructure, and tools

• Strong understanding of data interoperability and standardisation practices

• Excellent stakeholder communication and influencing skills

• Communication: Translates complex technical information for varied audiences.

• Collaboration: Forges strong relationships across programmes and support teams.

• Leadership: Provides vision, clarity, and direction to multidisciplinary teams.

• Innovation: Champions pragmatic, forward-thinking architectural solutions.

• Results Driven: Delivers robust, cost-effective solutions aligned with strategy.

• Integrity: Upholds high standards of technical, ethical, and institutional stewardship.

About Us:

IDS is part of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a world leading genomics research centre. We undertake large-scale research that forms the foundations of knowledge in biology and medicine. We are open and collaborative; we share our data, results, tools and technologies across the world to advance science. Our findings are used to improve health and to understand life on Earth.

Our science is large-scale and organised into research Programmes, led by our Faculty who conceive and deliver our science, and supported by our Scientific Platforms and IT teams responsible for all data production pipelines, compute and storage facilities at the Institute.

Other Information:

Hybrid role, minimum of 2 days per week on campus.

The role has line management responsibility for the Head of IT Security & Governance and Service Improvement Manager.

Application Process:

Please apply with your CV and a cover letter outlining your motivation for applying and how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria for the role.

As previous experience is particularly important for this position, please use your cover letter to provide specific examples of how you have:

• led IT solution architecture within a complex technology environment and translated organisational strategy into actionable architecture roadmaps;

• led design governance, for example through a Design Authority, and influenced stakeholders across different technical, scientific or operational areas; and

• reduced technical debt within a complex IT estate while balancing architectural standards, risk, sustainability and organisational requirements.

Salary per annum: £83,064 - £98,000

Job family: IDS PSG3 Role Profile

Contract Type: Permanent

Recruitment Process: Shortlisting w/c 19th October, Interviews w/c 26th October and w/c 2nd November

Closing date: 18th October 2026

Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger:

We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks: LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability, Gender Equity and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.

We believe people do their best work when they can be their authentic selves. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.

Our Benefits:

We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.

Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018.  The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.