Deputy Director of Data Technology
Job summary
Deputy Director of Data Technology.
£86,731 per annum.
Permanent.
Full-time/ Part Time (Minimum 29.6 hours per week).
Based at Polaris House, Swindon. Hybrid working options are available.
This is a chance to shape one of the UK’s most significant public data programmes — building the platforms that will power discovery, policy, and innovation for years to come. You will be joining a collaborative organisation with a unique mission to advance knowledge, improve lives, and drive growth, that values inclusion, professional growth, and impact at scale.
Job description
UKRI is investing in the future of research and innovation — and data is at the heart of it. We are building a modern, cloud-native, AI-ready data ecosystem to unlock insights, power discovery, and strengthen UK competitiveness.
We offer flexible working arrangements, strong commitment to professional development, and an exciting chance to collaborate with talented colleagues across multiple research councils solving challenging problems at the intersection of data, governance, and organisational transformation.
About the Role:
You will shape and deliver the next generation of data platforms, services, and culture across UKRI.
This role operates as a dedicated enterprise leader for UKRI’s data systems — shaping behaviours, ensuring compliance with standards, and driving adoption across all UKRI Councils, corporate platforms, organisational units, and programmes. The role is outward-facing and focused on end-to-end processes, ensuring that UKRI functions thrive as a coherent, interoperable, federated data organisation. You will be accountable for the technical foundations, interoperability and platform standards that enable UKRI to function as a coherent, data-driven organisation.
Your responsibilities will include (but are not limited to):
- Leading multi-disciplinary matrix teams of data engineers, architects, and platform specialists. Building permanent capability, reducing reliance on contractors.
- Mandating cloud-native, secure, and scalable data solutions, enabling analytics, AI/ML, and evidence-based decision-making.
- Driving adoption of the Data Operating Model across UKRI, ensuring consistent architecture, metadata plumbing, lineage enablement, and platform-level quality gates.
- Scanning the horizon for emerging technologies and integrating these into UKRI’s enterprise patterns through enforceable design authority decisions where they deliver measurable value.
Person specification
You will need:
- To be a proven leader in modern data engineering, data architecture, and platform delivery, with experience at scale in AWS and Azure.
- Experience in enterprise design and operation of data platforms in complex multi‑domain or federated organisations.
- Evidenced knowledge of modern data technologies (streaming, orchestration, Lakehouse platforms, APIs, DevSecOps).
- Experience in leading Change, for example in complex platform transformations.
Join us and let’s transform tomorrow together!
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £86,731, UK Research and Innovation contributes £25,125 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.- 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%
What we offer
Our benefits include a flexible working scheme (subject to business requirements), defined benefit pension scheme, 30 days annual leave allowance plus 10.5 bank holiday/privilege days and many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!
As one of Europe’s largest research organisations, this is a place where there’s always something new to learn – about the world around us, about your career, but most of all, about yourself.
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
How to apply
Applicants are required to provide a CV and include a cover letter providing evidence of how they meet the criteria described.
To apply, and for further details on the role, please visit our job board, quoting reference 1997:
Closing Date for applications is Sunday 29th March 2026.
Interviews are planned to take place during the week commencing 20th April 2026.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).Apply and further information
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Hayley Page
- Email : Recruitment@ukri.org
Recruitment team
- Email : Recruitment@ukri.org
Further information
https://fa-evzn-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/UKRI-Careers/jobs/preview/1997/?mode=job-locationSalary range
- £86,731 per year