Data Architect and Governance in London

We are seeking a Data Architect to join Orbis and help shape the long-term direction of our data architecture, ensuring that data is structured, governed and managed in a way that supports Orbis’ business, operational and investment objectives.

Reporting to the Head of Architecture, you will define how data should be organised, governed and used across the firm. You will provide architectural leadership across data domains, data flows, integration patterns and information management practices, while owning and evolving Orbis’ data governance framework. This role combines strategic thinking with practical delivery engagement. You will work across technology and business teams to improve the coherence, quality and reusability of data, support the evolution of the firm’s data landscape, and ensure that data is managed as a valuable enterprise asset. You will define target states, standards and guardrails, while working closely with stakeholders and delivery teams to ensure these are applied pragmatically and effectively.

The successful candidate will help Orbis to harness further value from data and contribute to decisions about our future architecture through close collaboration with architects, business stakeholders, platform engineering and delivery teams to ensure data architecture is aligned with broader enterprise, application and technology direction.

• Culture: We are committed to our Core Values. We encourage intellectual curiosity and individualism as well as collaboration across different areas of the business. We seek to hear our people’s voices – whether quiet or loud. Sharing ideas and challenging the status quo are commonplace.
• Autonomy: While guidance and support are provided, team members own their work and projects.
• Growth opportunities: We support our people in continuous learning and development.
• Agile environment: We are committed to providing a work environment that balances the needs of our clients; the needs of our teams; and the personal needs, commitments, and interests of our people.
• Philanthropy: Our people can contribute to society in a unique and personal way, through various philanthropy opportunities and programmes.

Define and evolve Orbis’ enterprise data architecture, including principles, standards, patterns and target states. Establish, own and continuously improve the data governance framework, including roles, responsibilities, policies, standards and controls. Develop and maintain architectural views of key data domains, flows and assets across the organisation. Work with business and technology stakeholders to improve data ownership, stewardship and accountability. Define standards for data modelling, metadata, lineage, master and reference data, and data quality management. Provide architectural guidance on how data should be sourced, integrated, stored and consumed across operational and analytical use cases. Support delivery teams, peer architects and platform engineering to ensure solutions align with enterprise data architecture, governance expectations and broader technology direction. Work collaboratively across architecture and engineering teams to ensure data architecture supports enterprise platforms, shared capabilities and cross-functional initiatives. Identify opportunities to simplify the data landscape, reduce duplication and improve consistency across platforms, applications and reporting environments.

About you: You are a pragmatic and credible data architect who can balance strategic direction with practical delivery. You are comfortable working across business, architecture and technology teams, defining standards and target states while influencing stakeholders to apply them sensibly. You have the credibility and judgement to shape and embed effective data governance, with clear ownership, stewardship and accountability across the firm. You build strong working relationships with peer architects, platform engineering and delivery teams, bring structure and clarity to complex environments, and are motivated by improving the quality, coherence and value of data across the organisation.

• Skills & Experience:
• Significant experience in data architecture, information architecture or a closely related role.
• Proven experience of performing a Data Architect role within an asset management environment.
• Strong understanding of the data landscape and challenges within asset management, including the need to support investment, client, operational, regulatory and enterprise data.
• Strong understanding of enterprise data architecture concepts, including data domains, conceptual and logical modelling, integration patterns, lineage, metadata and lifecycle management.
• Practical experience establishing, implementing and evolving data governance frameworks, including ownership models, stewardship, policies, standards, controls and decision forums.
• Experience working across business, architecture and technology stakeholders to define data responsibilities, improve governance and support delivery.
• Strong understanding of data quality management and the practical mechanisms needed to improve trust in data.
• Experience working across complex application, integration and data environments, with the ability to identify opportunities to simplify and improve coherence.
• Experience collaborating with enterprise, solution and domain architects, as well as platform and engineering teams, to align data architecture with wider business and technology direction.
• Ability to produce clear architectural artefacts, principles and standards that guide delivery in a practical way.
• Strong communication, facilitation and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders.
• Structured, analytical and pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
• Ability to work independently while building strong collaborative relationships across teams.

Instructions for application: To complete your application, please submit your resume.

The Company: We are a global firm with offices across eight countries, over 400 employees and more than $50 billion in assets under management. But those numbers don’t define Orbis. It’s our values, how we do things day-by-day, and how we add value for our clients that define us. Our investment philosophy is fundamental, long-term and contrarian. As contrarian investors, we aim to take a different perspective, and this filters into everything we do. To invest differently, you need to think differently. This is encouraged by having teams of people with different backgrounds, experiences and ways of thinking.