Lead Data Governance & Requirements Architect in Bristol

On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for a Lead Data Governance & Requirements Architect (Inside IR35) for an 8‑month hybrid contract (2/3 days per week) in Bristol. An active SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role. You must be willing and eligible to undergo checks. Preference may be given to candidates who meet all essential criteria and hold an active security clearance, especially due to the short‑term nature of the role and the speed at which we require a postholder in situ.

Requirement

The Land Integrated Operating Service (LIOS) Programme requires assured, transparent, and resilient data plans and governance structures to enable effective data‑driven decision‑making and deliver enterprise‑wide efficiencies across its portfolio of support contracts. To achieve this, LIOS will establish a coherent, standardised, and contractually enforceable framework defining how data is specified, generated, governed, and exploited within the Land Support Environment.

Work Packages

• Data Requirements and Governance – Define the data inputs, outputs, and governance structures necessary to enable delivery against existing Programme System Requirements.
• Derived from existing System Requirements Documents (SRDs)
• Solution‑agnostic (not tied to specific existing Information Systems)
• Leverage MOD Data Catalogues and Data Dictionaries to ensure consistency and alignment with Authority business terms
• Ensure traceability between System Requirements and defined data requirements

Contractual and commercial implementation – Translate all defined data requirements and governance into clear, measurable, and enforceable contractual provisions that are coherent with the existing and future landscape of MOD Information Systems. These provisions should be suitable for inclusion in Invitation to Tender (ITT) or Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) documentation.

Deliverables

• Data Requirements and Governance Deliverables
• Data Requirements Document – A structured definition of data inputs, outputs, and relationships mapped to existing LIOS SRDs and MOD Data Catalogues.
• Data Specification Pack – Detailed contractor‑facing data requirements including formats, standards, metadata, quality criteria, and upload cadence.
• Data Governance Framework – Roles, responsibilities, processes, controls, and assurance mechanisms to ensure that data specifications are being suitably followed by external industry contractors.
• Information Exchange Requirements (IERs) and Security Management Plan (SMP) – Defined data exchanges, triggers, and interfaces for data exchanges between identified systems, and an accompanying Security Management Plan to ensure all transmissions of potentially sensitive data are Secure by Design (SbD).
• Contractual and Commercial Implementation Deliverables
• Contractual Artefacts – Draft obligations, clauses, and schedules suitable for inclusion in a Statement of Requirement (SoR) and supporting annexes.

All deliverables shall:

• Be provided in Authority‑approved formats and templates
• Be traceable to originating requirements
• Be suitable for direct integration into procurement documentation

Scope Boundaries and Assumptions

You will be responsible for the definition of data requirements and governance structures, development of contractual data provisions, and any necessary stakeholder engagement and validation. You are not expected to design or implement technical systems or tools, operate any live data platforms, or be responsible for the ongoing management of governance post‑contract award. Mitigation shall be built into requirements, governance, and contractual provisions.

Essential Skills

• Data Governance & Strategy – Ability to design and implement enterprise data governance frameworks, policies and classification models.
• Requirements Engineering – Expertise in translating complex business needs into scalable, interoperable data architectures and models.
• Procurement & Commercial Requirements – Experience converting technical and data requirements into contractual obligations, schedules, performance measures and procurement documentation.
• Stakeholder Management – Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to present to technical governance bodies and engage senior non‑technical stakeholders.
• Leadership & Strategy – Proven ability to define target‑state data architectures and drive data‑centric organisational change.
• Regulated Environments – Experience delivering data solutions within regulated or security‑sensitive environments (e.g. UK Public Sector, Defence, Financial Services or Healthcare).
• Agile Delivery & Pace – Demonstrable ability to work at pace, rapidly develop and deliver high‑quality outputs, test assumptions, incorporate feedback, and adapt solutions in response to evolving requirements and priorities.

Desirable Skills

• Experience supporting UK MOD or Defence procurement programmes.
• Knowledge of Defence Digital, NATO and JSP information management standards.
• Experience operating across multiple information systems in a technology‑agnostic environment.
• Knowledge of support, asset management, logistics or land equipment domains.
• Experience producing procurement‑ready artefacts for major government contracts.

This role can only be worked within the UK and not overseas.