Senior Data Architect
UK Health Security Agency
About the job
Job summary
Job title – Senior Data Architect
Profession- Data Architect
Directorate – Data Operations
Full Time equivalent - 37.5 hours
No of Roles – 1
Contract Type – Permanent
Location – Hybrid
UKHSA operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata,(averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London). Specialist or regional roles will be based at the appropriate UKHSA site. For certain roles, some additional flexibility may be possible, which will be agreed upon with the hiring manager based on individual requirements and business needs.
Working Pattern – Full Time /Hybrid Working/ Flexible Working/Job Share/ Part Time
Grade & Salary – Grade 7. National banding -£51,824- £61,414 per annum. Outer London -£53,812- £63,252 per annum. Inner London - £55,799- £65,089 per annum.
The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&C’s are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/.
Closing Date – 21/01/2024 23:55pm. Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered
Interview Date – W/C 05/02/2024 Please note, these dates are subject to change.
Introduction
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.
Data Operations
The UKHSA Data Operations 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.
Overview of Job
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.
This role demands not only technical prowess in data models, data pipelines, and data component analysis but also strategic foresight, effective communication, and inspiring leadership in driving the delivery of meticulously crafted data architectures. Reporting to the Head of Data Architecture, you will play a crucial role in co-presenting solutions for review to governance bodies, ensuring meticulous alignment and securing approval for innovative data solutions.
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.
- Optimize 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.
- Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
- 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. These will include;
Internal
- Heads of, and division directors across data and analytics groups
- Architecture leadership such as the
- Head of Enterprise Data
- Head of Data Architecture
- Data Design & Architecture Lead Solution Architect
- Head of Enterprise Architecture
- Domain Enterprise architects including data, security, and integration
- Other technical leaders and subject matter experts
- Business leaders and process owners
- Scientists and health experts
- Transformation Program technical and programme leadership
External
- Central government departments such as DHSC
- IT software vendors and partners
- System Integrators and other consultancies
- Industry wide specialist working groups
- Other government and non-governmental organisations such as the NHS, ONS, Devolved Nations bodies
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality 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.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
Communicating between technical and non-technical subjects:
- Interpreting technical needs of business stakeholders into designs they can understand
- Managing active and reactive communication
- Supporting difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders
- Guiding multiple stakeholders on data-centric initiatives, fostering effective communication and understanding
- Engaging collaboratively with heads of data and analytics groups, architecture leadership, solution architects, and other esteemed technical leaders
- Leading process development and ensuring that relevant parties contribute to and follow process guidance as required.
Data governance:
- Evolving and defining data governance requirements and implementation patterns
- Taking responsibility for supporting and collaborating around wider governance
- Assuring data services to meet the needs of multiple business services
- Working proactively to ensure the organisation designs architecture that considers data efficiency and sustainability
- Conducting evaluations of existing data systems
- Providing comprehensive documentation and detailed data component analysis
- Championing opportunities for enhancing current data architecture
- Offering strategic recommendations for performance optimization
Data modelling and design:
- 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 optimization of sophisticated data models
- Establishing design patterns and blueprints for data solutions, integrating the latest industry best practice
Data standards:
- Develop and set data standards across multiple subject areas
Metadata management
- Designing metadata repositories and standards
- Understanding a range of tools for storing and working with metadata
Turning business problems into data design
- Designing data architecture that deals with problems spanning different business areas
- Identifying similarities between problems to devise common solutions
Desirable Criteria:
Data analysis and synthesis
- Data profiling and source system analysis
- Presenting clear insights to colleagues to support the end use of the data
Data innovation
- Understanding the impact on the organisation of emerging trends in data tools, analysis techniques and data usage
Strategic thinking
- Working within a strategic context and communicate how activities meet strategic goals
Enterprise Tooling
- 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 £51,824, UK Health Security Agency contributes £13,992 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Selection Process
You will be required to complete an application form. This will be assessed and sifted in line with the essential criteria.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience
Stage 1: Application & Sift
As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a Statement of Suitability in more than 1500 words.
This should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the specific Experience, Strengths and Technical elements outlined in the advert. (Essential Criteria)
You will also be asked to provide information within the ‘Employer/ Activity history’ section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history. This will be used in the sifting process and will be scored
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview
Stage 2: Panel Interview
All applicants that progress to interview will be assessed on behaviours / experience / technical / ability through Success Profiles.
When assessing strengths, we want to find out whether you and the job role are a good fit. We will look at what you enjoy doing and what you do well and often. By ensuring that the role is the right fit for you, you are more likely to enjoy it and perform well.
The behaviours tested during the interview will be:
Seeing the Big Picture
Changing and Improving
Making Effective Decisions
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
Developing Self and Others
Reserve List:
Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available.
If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.
Benefits
- 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 average employer contribution of 27%
- Range of health and wellbeing support
Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare.
DBS - People working with government systems must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks which includes a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed for this role is BPSS however there may be a requirement for this role to be SC cleared and you should familiarise yourself with the criteria of security clearance.
This role is Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants. Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Government baseline personnel security standard
It’s important to note that there are currently exceptions to applications being considered if your conviction relates to any of the following:
- life sentences
- arson
- sexual offences
- hate and terror offences
Some departments will also consider the specific offence against the nature of the business, i.e., a conviction for fraud may rule you out for a finance role
Complaint process:
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.
Contact Details – Sophie.Rigney@reed.com
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.