Lead Security Architect

Job summary

Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.

We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

Find out more about DDTS:

• Defra digital, data and technology blog
• LinkedIn
• Defra Jobs
• We are Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack V3 - 1

Job description

Defra is looking for an experienced Lead Security Architect to join our Digital, Data, Technology and Security teams. In this role, you will embed "secure-by-design" principles into critical national infrastructure and public-facing services. You will lead our threat modelling capabilities, provide actionable architecture guidance, and partner directly with delivery teams to ensure Defra’s services are secure by design.

Person specification

Responsibilities:

Identify Threats:

• Map data flows, entry points, and system architecture to uncover and analyse potential security gaps across complex environments.

Design Mitigations:

• Build actionable security controls and mitigation strategies to lower identified risks to acceptable levels.

Collaborate Cross-Functionally:

• Work directly with solution architects, product managers and project teams to embed secure-by-design standards throughout the delivery lifecycle.

Evaluate & Apply Frameworks:

• Apply structured methodologies (such as STRIDE or PASTA) to quantify, categorise, and prioritise architectural risks effectively.

Document and Automate:

• Maintain complete threat lifecycle records and develop automation, scripts, or tooling to scale threat modelling processes across the department.

Provide Architectural Guidance:

• Author clear, authoritative documentation to support threat modeling functions and internal ways of working.

Skills and experience:

• Proven experience working directly within agile/project delivery environments alongside multidisciplinary software and infrastructure teams.
• Deep expertise in threat modelling, risk management frameworks (STRIDE, PASTA, or similar), and secure system design.
• Proven track record of writing high-quality guidance documentation and standards for enterprise security architecture.
• Experience using, managing and configuring platforms such as IriusRisk for automated and manual threat modelling.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Analysis - Level: Practitioner
• Designing secure systems - Level: Practitioner
• Enabling and informing risk-based decisions - Level: Practitioner
• Research and innovation - Level: Practitioner
• Security technology - Level: Expert
• Understanding security implications of transformation - Level: Practitioner

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,207, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes

£16,862 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 25 days leave (rising to 30 days over 5 years) plus bank holidays.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A day off per year for the King's birthday.
• Access to a range of retail discounts (these include supermarket, tech, gym, holiday, phone and more).
• Flexible working options such as condensed hours, part-time and flexi time.
• 3 paid volunteering days per year.
• Funding for professional membership of a recognised professional body.
• Learning and development tailored to your role and budget for training or qualifications.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan to help you manage health costs for a reduced monthly fee.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme open 24 hours, 7 days a week, that provides support to you during any times of stress or difficulty.
• Free access to Headspace for wellbeing.
• Season ticket loan for public transport.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

The Civil Service marks each element of the selection process on a merit basis. You can visit the gov.uk website for further information on the Civil Service rating scale.

Ensure you have tailored your CV and Personal Statement to the 'skills and experience' section of the job advert by providing examples on how you are suitable for the role using the STAR method .

Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your personal statement, how you meet these requirements, as the information you provide will form a key part when the panel is scoring your application.

For further information on STAR, you can check out our Hints and Tips document.

Application process

As part of the application process, you will be assessed on your experience . This will be evaluated by looking at your CV and personal statement, so please provide the following and ensure your experience is clearly demonstrated:

A CV

A 750-word Personal Statement: Referring to the 'skills and experience' sections of the job advert, please demonstrate how you are suitable for the role by providing relevant examples.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Sift will begin shortly after the advert closes.

Should there be a large number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted using your personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment or interview.

Interview

If successful at sift, you will be invited to an interview where you will be assessed on the Behaviours and Technical Skills listed below, as well as Experience.

Interview dates are to be confirmed. Please note that these may be subject to change.

Interviews will be held face-to-face in our London office, further details will be provided if invited to interview.

For further information on Success Profiles , you can visit the links below and watch our videos on DefraJobs .

• Behaviours
• Experience
• Technical Skills
• Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website .

Near miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Higher Security Clearance

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold SC security clearance. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website .

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Governmen