G7 Senior Data Architect

Job summary

At the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), our mission is to ensure national health security by addressing infectious diseases and external threats. We serve as a trusted advisory resource to both the government and the public, focusing on minimizing health inequalities in various communities. Our mission is both challenging and innovative, driving us to create a diverse, skilled workforce, which is representative of the communities we serve. This role will be specifically
focused on meeting the pandemic preparedness strategy for the UK.

Digital and Data

The UKHSA Digital and Data Directorate strategically manages a suite of modern, secure data tools and platforms, ensuring access to high-quality data services. The DD&A team within the directorate comprises solution architects, data architects, and data modelers, and collaborates with organizational units throughout UKHSA. They provide expertise in data modelling, flow design, and tooling, utilizing top-tier cloud and on-prem solutions to deliver insights for
safeguarding public health. As a Senior Data Architect, you will lead data design programmes, collaborating with peers to analyse, design, and implement our evolving data and analytics estate.

Working for your organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Job description

Your role as Senior Data Architect will include the following activities:

• Analyse and translate business need into sustainable data flows.
• Evaluate, understand, and document existing data systems
• Assess the impact of change, and effectively communicate data design and change implications
• Collaborate with and guide multiple stakeholders on data-centric initiatives.
• Maintain a broad knowledge of our existing and planned data estate.
• Stay current on modern data tooling, select, and evaluate options as needed.
• Optimise how data is stored and moved through UKHSA, aligning with strategic objectives and operational efficiency.
• Address specific data challenges within a governmental/health context.
• Provide thought leadership, patterns, and best practices across diverse data domains.
• Manage processes related to data architecture, ensuring adherence to standards, policies, and best practices.

The aforementioned list outlines the tasks, responsibilities, and expected outcomes associated with the role. The job incumbent is expected to perform any additional duties not explicitly listed but reasonably required by their line manager.

The post holder will also develop working relationships and communicate regularly with a wide range of individuals, clinical and non-clinical, internal, and external to UKHSA. Other government and non-governmental organisations such as the NHS, ONS, Devolved Nations bodies

Joining our team as a Senior Data Architect, you will be at the forefront of transforming our data landscape. Collaborating closely with stakeholders and technology experts, you will be instrumental in crafting innovative Data Design and Architecture solutions tailored to meet both current and future business needs. Leveraging your wealth of experience, you will contribute to the development of cutting-edge data architectures, spanning AWS, Azure, and on premises infrastructure.

To ensure success as a data architect you should have substantial knowledge of how to optimise our data architecture in terms of efficiency, compliance, agility and simplicity and understand the impact of poor access to high quality data.

You should have knowledge across multiple different data domains including on premise and cloud data architecture, data flows and interfaces, data management such as data quality, lineage, catalogues, business intelligence and analytics. A core understanding of data modelling approaches is also required.

You should be skilled in understanding the big picture, whilst attending to detail, and able to obtain a broad level of understanding across multiple areas of our complex data estate. You should be able to use this knowledge along with data architecture skills to understand the impact of changes as our data systems, feeds and data products evolve and guide implementation teams.

You should be able to engage with a wide range of technical, specialist and leadership roles to analyse, document and guide optimisation of our data estate

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Interpreting technical needs of business stakeholders into designs they can understand
• Producing relevant data models across multiple subject areas
• Explaining which models to use for which purpose
• Understanding industry-recognised data modelling patterns and standards, and when to apply them
• Comparing the development and optimisation of sophisticated data models
• Develop and set data standards across multiple subject areas
• Designing data architecture that deals with problems spanning different business areas

Desirable:

• Data profiling and source system analysis
• Presenting clear insights to colleagues to support the end use of the data
• Understanding the impact on the organisation of emerging trends in data tools, analysis techniques and data usage
• Experience with several of the following tooling or tool equivalents: LeanIX, Erwin Data Modeller, AWS, Azure, SQL Server, RedShift, JIRA, Confluence, Draw
  IO, Visio, Collibra, Informatica

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will asses