Senior Data Architect - Department for Energy Security & Net Zero - G7 in Manchester

Location: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Darlington, London, Salford

About The Job

Do you want a career where you can make a real difference? Do you want to work at the forefront of current policy making decisions? Do you want to have an impact on the UK and beyond? If yes, then a career at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) could be for you. Here at DESNZ we are delivering our mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower, with clean electricity by 2030 and accelerating the UK’s journey to net zero. Our work is helping ensure clean energy for all, keep bills down and seize the opportunities to lead the world in new green industries, taking back control of our energy with Great British Energy and encouraging greater energy efficiency across the UK. The work of the department has never been more timely or relevant, and by joining us you will be part of making that difference. Our work is varied, interesting and most importantly it’s impactful. Our DESNZ Values are interwoven into everything we do; we are bold, we are collaborative, we are inclusive, and we learn. As a department we are committed to these values to build a culture where everyone can thrive. We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s mission is to ensure the department has the data and evidence it needs, when it needs it to support decision-making and enable delivery of our core objectives, including ensuring energy security, bringing down energy bills, and delivering net zero emissions by 2050. This role is a fantastic opportunity to develop as an architecture change agent playing a critical role in the drive towards Net-Zero through ensuring that the department has a clear and consistent approach to how it uses data. The role is part of the Central Data Office Team in the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero. The team is led by the Chief Data Architect. The architectural activity within the team is ultimately governed by the Director-level Data Board which spans the entire department.

As a Data Architect, you will play a key role in shaping a new capability of Enterprise Data Architecture. You will work to ensure that the developing departmental data architecture and its management processes are consistent, coherent, and compliant with the DESNZ Data Governance Framework. You will also provide guidance and feedback to data owners, stewards, and users on data management best practices. You will be joining a team and will play a role in fostering positive working culture based on trust, inclusivity and a fail-fast mentality. You will be a change agent in the department, advocating for the effective use of data to meet key policy priorities and continually spotting opportunities to innovate.

Person specification

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand business needs and translate these into coherent data architectures that align to the DESNZ Data Strategy
• Design data flows and champion data standardisation, advising on appropriateness of data and metadata standards to ensure smooth data flow and data discoverability in the organisation
• Develop the Enterprise Data Model for DESNZ, reflecting subject areas, domains, entities and their relationships to ensure consistent data management across the organisation
• Develop and maintain appropriate and comprehensive data models and schemas across a variety of use cases
• Develop and maintain key metadata products and standards for DESNZ across its various datasets and platforms, including data catalogues, data dictionaries and standards
• Effectively communicate complex data concepts and insights to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring a clear understanding of data-driven implications and fostering informed decision-making across the department
• Utilise data analysis and synthesis techniques to derive meaningful insights from complex datasets, supporting appropriate end use of the data
• Ensure that data governance policies are enabled through data architecture
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and departmental and cross-government data standards
• Foster a culture of data innovation by exploring and implementing new technologies and methodologies, driving continuous improvement
• Proactively identify and resolve data-related challenges, ensuring the stability and reliability of the overall data ecosystem
• Provide strategic advice on data management, data integration, and data warehousing, optimising solutions for scalability, efficiency and reliability across the DESNZ data estate
• Foster collaboration in development of the design and implementation of a coherent and robust data architecture for DESNZ, ensuring alignment with the department's maturing data model, its core objectives and industry best practices.

Essential Criteria

• Experience in designing data architectures in large and complex organisations
• Expertise in designing and implementing data solutions using a variety of technologies, such as SQL, NoSQL, cloud services, ETL tools, data pipelines, data lakes, data warehouses, and data marts
• Strong knowledge and experience of data modelling (conceptual, logical and physical) and data flow design, experience in developing, maintaining and updating data models for specific organisational needs
• Experience of driving data standardisation, data governance, data quality, data security, with the ability to apply them in complex and dynamic environments
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, with the ability to translate business requirements into technical specifications, present data architecture vision and strategy to stakeholders

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in Data Modelling using specialised software (e.g., Erwin Data Modeller)
• Experience in creating and maintaining metadata repositories (e.g., Purview Data Catalogue)