Data Architect

Data Architect - Zurich - ContractLocation: Zurich / Oerlikon, SwitzerlandWorking Pattern: Hybrid - 3 days onsite per weekContract: Initial 3 months, with a strong likelihood of extensionIndustry: InsuranceStart: ASAP
Oliver James are currently supporting a leading insurance client who are embarking on a significant global finance transformation programme.
We are looking for an experienced Data Architect to join the project and play a key role in the design and delivery of a global finance data lake / data hub.
This is a business-facing Data Architecture position where you will act as the key bridge between Finance and Technology, translating complex business requirements into scalable data structures, models and solutions.
You will work closely with stakeholders across Finance, IT and other business functions to help shape the data architecture and support the wider transformation journey.
Day to day role:

Act as the key bridge between Finance and Technology, translating business requirements into data concepts, models and technical solutions.
Design and oversee end-to-end data flows, from source systems through to the global finance data hub / data lake.
Develop and maintain scalable data architectures aligned with business requirements and global finance processes.
Understand and model complex finance data dimensions, including the interaction between local and group-level structures.
Work closely with Finance stakeholders, IT teams, data engineers and other business functions to define and implement data strategies.
Support the development of data pipelines and data structures required for finance reporting, analysis and decision-making.
Ensure data solutions are scalable, efficient, accurate and reliable.
Contribute to data management, metadata management and data warehousing strategies.
Help ensure data architecture and solutions comply with relevant security, privacy and regulatory requirements.
Provide architectural direction throughout the transformation programme and help drive the adoption of modern data technologies.

Ideal Background / Experience
The ideal candidate will have:

Proven experience working as a Data Architect, Data Modeller or similar within complex transformation programmes.
Strong understanding of Finance processes and data, ideally within a large or global organisation.
Experience understanding how local finance structures interact with global/group-level structures.
Strong ability to translate business requirements into data concepts, models and architecture.
Experience working with modern data platforms and cloud-based data environments.
Knowledge of Lakehouse architecture, Snowflake and/or Databricks.
Experience designing and overseeing data flows from source systems through to centralised data platforms.
Experience working closely with both technical teams and senior business stakeholders.
Experience within the Insurance industry would be highly advantageous.
Strong understanding of data management, data governance and handling sensitive business data.
Excellent analytical, communication and stakeholder management skills.
Fluent English, both written and verbal.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a high-profile transformation programme within a global insurance environment, where you will have genuine influence over the design of the finance data architecture.
The initial contract is for 3 months, with a strong likelihood of extension, and offers the opportunity to work on a strategically important global data transformation programme.Data Architect - Zurich - Contract