Lead Data Architect
As a Lead Data Architect on our Police and Public Protection Technology Portfolio (PPPT), you will translate strategic data vision into tangible designs and solutions, ensuring data assets are secure, well-structured, and aligned with evolving Home Office priorities.
Partnering with Technical Architects, Principal Data Architects and various data teams, you will evaluate existing platforms, identify gaps and recommend optimisations, whether via cloud‑native services, big data ecosystems or modern data warehouses.
You’ll oversee how data dictionaries, metadata systems and governance frameworks are implemented, championing best practices across multiple programmes. By leading data design reviews, you’ll ensure alignment with department‑wide standards, while also balancing performance, scalability and compliance needs.
Additionally, you will serve as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, translating business requirements into actionable architecture patterns and reference models. You will collaborate with and guide multiple stakeholders on data‑centric initiatives in the Home Office.
Ultimately, your expertise will streamline Home Office workflows, promote consistent data usage and foster innovative ways to harness critical data at scale.
The Police and Public Protection Technology Portfolio (PPPT), part of Home Office Digital, delivers digital solutions for policing and public protection. It serves all UK police forces and over 20 law‑enforcement agencies, designing, building and supporting major transformation programmes such as NLEDP and HOB. PPPT maintains critical systems such as the Police National Computer and Police National Database and leads infrastructure upgrades like LECN and LECP. Within PPPT the National Communications Data Service ensures communications data is accessible and operationally valuable amid ongoing technical and business change.
This link opens a short video from members of the team talking about the projects they work on and their experience of working here: Working for Home Office Digital.
What you will do
* Design and maintain data models, metadata systems and data flows that align with the overarching data strategy.
* Advise and guide data professionals on implementing best practices for data modelling, governance and metadata management.
* Collaborate with Technical Architects to ensure system designs meet data architecture standards, championing performance, security and regulatory compliance.
* Oversee data dictionaries and lineage, embedding governance processes for consistent and trustworthy data usage.
* Contribute to the selection and assessment of data platforms (on‑premise, cloud or hybrid), recommending strategies to optimise costs and resources.
* Mentor and coach junior architects, offering guidance in areas such as data integration, real‑time analytics and emerging tools/technologies.
* Engage with stakeholders at various levels to reconcile differing views, building consensus on data architectural decisions.
What you will bring
* Deep technical expertise in at least one data ecosystem (e.g. Oracle, SQL Server, cloud‑data platforms) plus real‑time data streaming/processing technologies (Kafka, Spark).
* Data modelling and governance proficiency, covering conceptual, logical and physical architectures and metadata management.
* Cloud data technologies: experience architecting solutions on AWS, Azure or GCP, optimising cost, performance and security.
* Experience designing and implementing data governance tools and data‑literacy programmes, fostering a responsible data‑savvy culture.
* Analysis and design of data‑driven projects, ensuring data quality, integration and scalability.
* Communication and collaboration skills: able to simplify complex data concepts for varied audiences, build consensus and mentor peers.
* Awareness of industry advances in analytics tools, big‑data solutions or data‑manipulation products to inform strategic decisions.
Additional Information
Your CV and Personal Statement will both be assessed. Your Personal Statement should clearly evidence your experience against the essential skills, using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Make full use of the word count to create a comprehensive and compelling application.
3+ years UK residency is required to be eligible for SC Clearance and unfortunately we cannot offer sponsorship.
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Information Technology, Strategy/Planning and Design
Industries
Government Administration
Location
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
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