Data Architect (Enterprise)- Remote

Join Police Digital Service as Data Architect FT/PT - starting salary £76,000pa.

The Data Architect sits within the Enterprise Architecture team and is accountable for enterprise-level data architecture across PDS products and partnerships. You will set direction for data models, metadata, standards and governance, and assure that delivery teams align to enterprise patterns. This is an architecture role focused on strategy, design and assurance - not day-to-day database administration.

Our Values are:

• We value People
• We do the right thing
• We are innovative
• We are one Team
• We are proud and passionate

Working Arrangements

We are a remote-first organisation, with occasional national travel for key meetings. We know that flexibility matters - whether that’s part-time hours, compressed schedules, or job sharing - and we’re happy to explore what works best for you. We understand that many talented individuals, especially women, may hesitate to apply unless they meet every requirement. If this role excites you and you believe you could make a difference, we warmly encourage you to apply - even if you’re not sure you tick every box. If you have any questions or would like to discuss how the role could work for you, please reach out to us. We’re here to support you.

Why Join us?

Balance is important and we want you to take time off to recharge - we offer 28 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, rising to 30 days after 5 years of service. Holiday Purchase also available. Flexible working hours - We trust you to do your job and we appreciate that life doesn’t always fit around a 9 to 5 workday. We operate core hours of 10 to 4, Monday to Friday (37hr week). Family - Enhanced maternity and paternity pay along with a flexible return to work.

The Data Architect implements the design, build and best practice for the data technology architecture, including metadata, integration and business intelligence or data warehouse architecture, working seamlessly with internal PDS and external partners to enable and fulfill multiple stakeholder requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise data architecture principles, patterns, and guidance for how data is structured, integrated and governed across PDS.
• Produce and assure conceptual and logical data models for priority domains; support teams to align local models to enterprise patterns.
• Own and evolve data standards and data dictionaries (canonical definitions, naming conventions, reference data), and drive adoption across teams and partners.
• Design and improve metadata management (cataloguing, ownership, lineage and impact analysis) and ensure metadata remains accurate and useful.
• Provide architecture assurance for data aspects of solutions through governance forums, identifying risks and recommending mitigations.
• Shape data integration and interoperability approaches (e.g., API/event/data exchange patterns) to enable safe, consistent data sharing.
• Define and assure data lifecycle practices (creation, retention, archiving and decommissioning) in line with organisational policy.
• Work with stakeholders to align priorities, explain trade-offs, and translate business outcomes into robust data design.
• Scan emerging data trends and advise on appropriate adoption with clear guardrails.

What you need to succeed in the role

• Strong experience producing conceptual and logical data models, including aligning models across multiple domains.
• Experience defining and driving adoption of data standards and data dictionaries across teams.
• Practical capability in metadata management, including ownership, cataloguing, lineage and impact analysis.
• Experience operating within data governance / architecture assurance, identifying risk and ensuring compliance with standards.
• Demonstrable ability to turn business problems into data architecture design and select appropriate patterns.
• Strong stakeholder engagement: ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences and manage expectations.
• Awareness of emerging data approaches/tools, with the judgement to advise on sensible adoption timing.
• Proven ability to lead through influence and working across multi-disciplinary teams.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

We are committed to equal opportunities for all and will not discriminate on any grounds. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible span of experience. All applicants will be considered without attention to age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, nationality, neurodiversity or disability status. All applicants must be eligible to undergo NPPV3 (Non Police Personnel Vetting Level 3) and SC vetting clearances. Successful applicants will require NPPV3 clearance to have been cleared before starting with PDS.

Please note, we may choose to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications for this role so please endeavour to complete your application as soon as possible.