Senior Data Architect

In this Senior Data Architect Manager role, you lead data architecture across complex transformation programmes within the UK healthcare or public sector. You will shape data strategies, governance, and scalable solutions while balancing hands-on design with client consulting. The position combines technical leadership with people management to grow a capable data team and ensure delivery excellence. You’ll work with senior stakeholders to drive enterprise decisions and modern data platforms that unlock real-world impact.

• Lead design of robust, scalable data architectures across transformation programmes
• Provide specialist guidance on data modelling, structures, flows, sourcing, transformation, migration, and master data
• Translate business/technical requirements into data architecture solutions
• Assess and optimise existing data environments for modernisation
• Ensure architecture assurance across lifecycle meeting business, technical, and regulatory needs
• Establish and promote data architecture standards, patterns, and best practices
• Resolve complex data definition/ownership/MDM challenges
• Contribute to enterprise data architecture decisions as required
• Evaluate and recommend data technologies and products based on client needs
• Lead and mentor a small team of data professionals
• Support performance, career progression, and continuous technical development
• Foster knowledge sharing and reusable standards across the organisation
• Strengthen data architecture capability through standards and technical expertise
• Engage with clients to understand data challenges and strategic objectives
• Build relationships with senior stakeholders and communicate complex concepts clearly
• Provide independent data-architecture thought leadership and guidance
• Facilitate workshops to establish clear data strategies and direction
• Act as a trusted advisor challenging assumptions and guiding technology decisions
• Help organisations establish data governance frameworks and controls
• Define information-handling models across heterogeneous environments
• Address data quality, ownership, metadata, and master-data challenges
• Support capacity planning and architectural decision-making across storage technologies
• Develop sustainable data lifecycle management approaches
• Design and assure solutions across modern data-platform environments
• Contribute to data lake architectures and ecosystems
• Assess data storage, integration, processing, and analytics approaches
• Stay updated on cloud, data platform, analytics, and AI technologies
• Manage, coach, and develop a small data team
• Support performance and professional development of team members
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior and senior staff
• Create an environment for collaboration and continuous improvement
• Develop standards, reusable approaches, and technical expertise to strengthen capability

• Extensive Data Architecture experience
• Strong client-facing and technical leadership capabilities
• Professional experience in UK Healthcare or Public Sector
• Expertise across data modelling, metadata management, data transformation, data migration, and master data
• Proven track record delivering architecture across projects/programmes
• Experience providing architecture assurance and setting technical standards
• Knowledge of data architecture methodologies, patterns, and best practices
• Experience selecting data products/technologies at project or enterprise level
• Ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Technical thought leadership for clients and internal teams
• Proficiency with at least three mainstream data technologies and awareness of broader data landscape
• Proactive and adaptable in uncertain environments
• Experience coaching/developing junior data professionals

• Stakeholder engagement
• Clear communication of complex concepts
• Mentoring and coaching
• Data modelling
• Metadata management
• Data transformation