Job Title: Data Architect – Planning Transformation
Location: Hybrid (1 day/week onsite in Central London)
Contract: 3 months
Rate: Up to £600/day (IR35 TBC)
Start: ASAP
A Local Government body in London is seeking a contract Data Architect to support a high-profile planning transformation programme.
This role will play a critical part in shaping the future of the council’s planning data landscape. You’ll lead the reverse engineering of an existing legacy planning system and design the target-state architecture that will support future reprocurement and wider service reform.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Reverse engineer the existing data model of a complex transactional planning system.
2. Design and document conceptual, logical, and physical data models.
3. Develop data dictionaries and artefacts to support business and technical users.
4. Map data flows and integration points between systems.
5. Support implementation of role-based access control (RBAC).
6. Work closely with planning officers, analysts, and digital teams to align technical architecture with operational and policy needs.
7. Identify opportunities for process or data improvements across business functions.
Essential Skills & Experience:
8. Proven ability to reverse engineer data models from legacy systems.
9. Strong experience in data modelling (dimensional, relational, data vault, etc.).
10. Deep understanding of OLTP systems and transactional data environments.
11. Experience with system/data integration, data lineage, and flow mapping.
12. Comfortable translating complex technical detail into plain English.
13. Strong stakeholder engagement skills, particularly with non-technical users.
14. Ability to operate independently in a multidisciplinary agile team.
Desirable:
15. Experience with IDOX Uniform or similar Local Government planning systems.
16. Background in Local or Central Government data environments.
This is a hands-on role suited to someone who can own the data architecture workstream, embed themselves in a cross-functional team, and deliver pragmatic outputs at pace. Prior experience reverse-engineering undocumented systems will be key.
*Rates depend on experience and client requirements