Just like AI, the UK workforce is evolving at a faster pace than anyone could have imagined a few years ago. Hybrid working is the norm, AI is infiltrating into all of our lives, and there is economic uncertainty. All of these things add up to a workforce transformation, embraced by the younger generation.
That’s why having a clear job architecture strategy in place is vital.
Without it, organisations risk facing having to deal with:
- Inefficiency
- Inequity
- Confusion
Having a clear job architecture within your company isn’t an added bonus any more, it’s a must in order to futureproof your employees.
Definition of job architecture
Job architecture is a structured framework defining and organising each position within the business, specifying job titles, relevant skills, and responsibilities. Spelling this out ensures consistency across all job levels and role evaluations, which, in turn, creates fairness and transparency across all departments.
Having a clear job architecture helps with mapping out career journeys, so staff can see clearly how they can move up the ladder in their chosen field. This then aids talent development, equal pay, and workforce planning, leading to job architecture becoming a vital way of aligning positions with business objectives while managing your talent.
The different elements of job architecture
A job architecture framework is made up of the following:
- Titles – individual job titles assigned to certain positions which provide clarity for each role, such as DevOps Engineer, Senior Accountant, and Supply Chain Manager.
- Descriptions – these detail the responsibilities, duties, and specific skills and qualifications required to do the job.
- Job families – grouping similar positions according to the expertise or function, such as engineering, accountancy, and supply chain.
- Job tiers – levels within each job family which show the different degrees of expertise, responsibility, and experience, including entry level, mid management, and senior.
- Competencies – this includes the knowledge, abilities, and skills needed to carry out a role effectively, and is normally connected to current and future expectations of performance.
- Career journeys – paths for progression set out either within or across the job families, showing how staff can move up or across within the company.
- Pay structure – pay bands or pay scales attributed to every level of job, ensuring consistent and fair pay at all levels.
Example – Education job architecture
To illustrate these points, check out the example below within the education sector, where job families would include Education, Administration, and Finance.
Within the Education family, the levels might look something like this:
- Teaching Assistant (TA) – entry level 1 with a basic knowledge.
- Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) – entry level 2, able to take a class with support.
- Teacher – mid level, educating a class and undertaking PPA (planning, preparation, and assessment).
- Deputy Head – senior level with responsibilities for helping to run the school.
- Head Teacher – a leadership role, overseeing all aspects of the school.
It is clear from this structure how employees have the chance to move from one role to the next, as long as they fulfill the requirements along the way.
Why it matters more in 2025
As mentioned, the UK job market is changing at a rapid rate. According to the Office for National Statistics, the estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 44,000 (5.8%) to 718,000 between May and July 2025, the 37th consecutive period where vacancy numbers have dropped. The survey goes on to state that, “the number of unemployed people per vacancy was 2.3 in April to June 2025; this is up from 2.1 in the previous quarter (January to March 2025).”
Key drivers as to why this is apparent in 2025 are:
- Restructuring – layoffs and redundancies continue in 2025, with job architecture supporting efficient and fair redeployments.
- The effect of AI – roles are fragmenting or disappearing all together, with automation and AI becoming increasingly dominant, making it harder to assess this impact and redeploy staff without robust job architecture.
- Internal mobility and skills-based hiring – up-to-date talent models need clear progression guidelines and skills alignment, both of which can be achieved with job architecture.
- Pay transparency – UK pay equity laws are pushing for clear job levels. A WTW survey found, “54% of UK companies disclose job levels to their workforce, 43% explain how base pay is determined, but only 16% share individual pay ranges, though another 54% plan to do so in future.” Job architecture can help to enhance trust and clarity within a business by providing this information.
- Virtual and hybrid teams – managing virtual teams across the globe can lead to inconsistencies, skewed communication, and confusion. Job architecture does away with all of that.
Setting up a job architecture framework
To create a job architecture framework, a structured approach is required to organise roles methodically, ensuring clarity and consistency with job titles, job levels, job responsibilities, and pay bands.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to get started:
- Classify and define each role – this will include detailing out all responsibilities for each specific position within the company.
- Devise job descriptions – these outline all tasks and duties of each role, and clarify exactly what each member of staff is required to do in order to fulfill their job requirements properly.
- Form job families – these are a cluster of similar jobs that share basic and professional tasks.
- Carry out job evaluations – where value is assigned to each role in an accurate and systematic way. What value is placed on each role is determined by the skills, qualifications, and knowledge needed in order to do the job.
- Align with pay levels – once all job titles and levels have been confirmed, it’s time to align each role with their respective salary benchmarks, allowing organisations to set appropriate pay levels while establishing a fair and accurate compensation structure.
- Finalise job titles – the reason for this is to align titles, having taken external benchmarks into consideration, as the title for an internal role might be different from its more common name externally. Keep titles related to the UK job market to avoid confusion.
Common problems to address
By following the above guidelines, organisations should avoid any pitfalls when it comes to structuring job architecture for the workforce. Just be aware of:
- Causing inconsistency across departments or geographies
- Overcomplicating the structure with too many levels or criteria that aren’t clear
- Having obsolete frameworks that don’t take into account the realities of AI and hybrid working
- Misaligning reward, L&D, DEI, and mobility strategies
Due to these pitfalls, it’s a good idea to review the job architecture framework on an annual basis, and after any major organisational restructure or adoption of new technology.
To modernise the job architecture, it’s worth standardising job levels and titles across the company, assigning existing roles to the right job families, and auditing pay fairness on a regular basis.
How job architecture supports the outplacement process
The outplacement process plays an important role in supporting participants navigating a difficult period in their life, when they are faced with redeployment, layoffs, and changes in the workplace.
Job architecture can help by:
- Providing clear role mapping that aids a smooth redeployment
- Giving fair and honest assessments of staff levels and future potential
- Delivering clearer reskilling and upskilling plans based on competencies
Key takeaways
In 2025, being agile and transparent in the workplace is key. Having a job architecture structure in place provides clarity and the basis on which to manage change confidently. It’s time to review your job architecture, whatever stage you’re at – whether that is downsizing, restructuring, or scaling up the business.
If your organisation is considering outplacement services or wants more information on job architecture, contact us at the earliest opportunity to find out more.
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