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SFIA Skills & Day Rates

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This skill should be used when the user asks about "SFIA level", "SFIA skills", "day rate", "what level is", "solution architect level", "Lot 3 roles", "DDaT roles", "AI skills framework", "cloud migration roles", "consultancy rates", "SFIA mapping", "role to SFIA", "skill level", "cloud support roles", "what SFIA level", "rate card", "SFIA 8", "junior consultant rate", "senior consultant rate", "principal consultant", "DevOps engineer level", "security engineer level", "project manager SFIA", or needs guidance on SFIA levels, role mappings, day rates, and Lot 3 service team compositions.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/tractorjuice/arc-kit/blob/HEAD/plugins/arckit-claude/plugins/uk/gcloud/skills/sfia-skills/SKILL.md

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SFIA Skills & Day Rates

Conversational knowledge about the SFIA 8 framework, skill levels, day rate benchmarks, role mappings, and Lot 3 (Cloud Support) service team compositions for G-Cloud submissions.

Purpose

Provide instant answers to common questions about SFIA levels, typical day rates, role-to-skill mappings, and team compositions without requiring document generation. This covers the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) version 8 as used in G-Cloud Lot 3 submissions.

When to Use

Activate when users ask about:

  • What SFIA level a specific role maps to
  • Day rate ranges for a given SFIA level or role
  • How to map DDaT (Digital, Data and Technology) roles to SFIA skills
  • Team compositions for common Lot 3 service types
  • AI skills framework and how it maps to SFIA
  • What skills/roles are needed for a specific type of cloud support service

Quick Reference: SFIA Levels

LevelTitleAutonomyTypical RoleDay Rate Range
1FollowUnder supervision——
2AssistRoutine direction——
3ApplyGeneral directionJunior Consultant£300–£450
4EnableAutonomousConsultant£450–£600
5Ensure/AdviseBroad autonomySenior Consultant£600–£850
6Initiate/InfluenceFull autonomyPrincipal Consultant£850–£1,200
7Set Strategy/InspireAccountableDirector/Partner£1,200–£2,000+

Rates vary by skill scarcity, location, and clearance requirements.

Quick Reference: Common Role Mappings

RoleSFIA SkillsTypical Level
Solution ArchitectARCH, TECH5–6
Cloud ConsultantCNSL, ARCH5–6
DevOps EngineerCFMG, RELM, DLMG4–5
Security EngineerSCTY, SCAD, PENT4–5
Project ManagerPRMG5
Business AnalystBUAN4–5
Data EngineerDENG, DBDS, DBAD4–5
Service ManagerCSMG, SLMO, ITOP4–5

Quick Reference: DDaT to SFIA

DDaT RoleSFIA Skills
Software DeveloperPROG, SWDN, TEST
DevOps EngineerCFMG, RELM, DLMG
Data EngineerDENG, DBDS, DBAD
Security EngineerSCTY, SCAD, PENT
Technical ArchitectARCH, TECH
Service ManagerCSMG, SLMO, ITOP
Business AnalystBUAN
Product ManagerPROD
Delivery ManagerPRMG

Quick Reference: AI Role Day Rates

RoleSFIA LevelDay Rate Range
AI Support Analyst3£350–£500
AI/ML Engineer4–5£550–£800
AI Solution Architect5–6£800–£1,200
AI Strategy Consultant6£1,000–£1,500
AI Ethics/Governance Lead5–6£800–£1,200
AI Director/Partner7£1,500–£2,500+

AI-specific skills command 10–25% premium over equivalent non-AI roles.

Common Lot 3 Service Archetypes

Cloud Migration Service

Architect (ARCH 5–6) + Migration Engineer (DLMG 4–5) + DevOps (CFMG 4–5) + Test Engineer (TEST 4) + PM (PRMG 5)

Managed Cloud Service

Cloud Ops (ITOP 3–5) + Monitoring (SLMO 3–4) + Problem Manager (PBMG 4–5) + Security (SCTY 4–5) + Service Manager (CSMG 4–5)

Cloud Consultancy

Consultant (CNSL 5–6) + Architect (ARCH 5–6) + Strategy (STPL 5–6) + BA (BUAN 4–5) + Change Manager (CHMG 4–5)

Cloud Security Service

Security Consultant (SCTY 5–6) + Assessor (INAS 5–6) + Pen Tester (PENT 4–5) + Security Engineer (SCAD 4–5) + BC/DR (BURM 5)

Answering Questions

When answering SFIA and day rate questions:

  1. Check the quick reference tables above first for common lookups
  2. Consult references/sfia-skills.md for the full skill catalogue (30+ skills across 6 categories), detailed team compositions, the UK Government AI Skills Framework (3 domains, 3 levels, adoption pathway), and AI-enabled service combinations
  3. Always note that rates are indicative — actual rates vary by skill scarcity, geographic location, security clearance requirements, and market conditions
  4. Map roles to specific SFIA skill codes when possible (e.g., ARCH for Solution Architecture, not just "architecture")
  5. For AI roles, reference both the SFIA level and the AI Skills Framework level (Entry/Mid/Managerial)

Related Commands

These ArcKit commands use SFIA data:

CommandSFIA Usage
/arckit:sdd-lot3Maps service roles to SFIA skills and levels (reads sfia-skills.md reference)
/arckit:pricingDay rates informed by SFIA level benchmarks

Additional Resources

Reference Files

  • references/sfia-skills.md — Complete SFIA 8 reference with all cloud-relevant skills across 6 categories (Strategy & Architecture, Change & Transformation, Development & Implementation, Delivery & Operation, Security & Privacy, Data & Analytics, Infrastructure), full team composition tables for 4 service archetypes plus 4 AI-enabled service types, DDaT role mappings, the UK Government AI Skills Framework, AI skills adoption pathway, and SFIA skills enhanced by AI. Consult for any skill code, team composition, or AI framework detail not covered by the quick reference tables above.