Head of Data Stewardship

Job summary

UKRI
Salary: £70,752.
Band: UKRI Band G.
Contract Type: Open ended.
Hours: Full-time/ Part Time (Minimum of 0.8 FTE) (Flexible working available).
Location: Swindon, Wiltshire.

Closing Date: Sunday 29th March 2026

Job description

[p style="color:#0f2839;"][b]About the role[/b][/p][p style="color:#0f2839;"]UKRI is building a modern, cloud native, AI ready data ecosystem to improve data quality, discoverability, and use across the research and innovation landscape. The Head of Data Stewardship is responsible for leading UKRI’s enterprise data stewardship function, improving data quality, reference data, metadata standards, and enabling consistent stewardship practices.[/p][p style="color:#0f2839;"]This role operates as an enterprise leader for UKRI’s data system — shaping behaviours, enforcing 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 as a coherent, interoperable, federated data organisation. You will be accountable for the definitions, quality standards, metadata, and stewardship model that ensure UKRI’s data is trusted, usable and consistently governed.[br/][br/][b]Your responsibilities[/b][/p][list=ul style="color: #0f2839;"][li]Acting as the design authority for, and owning enterprise-wide adoption of data definitions, metadata standards, data quality rules, lineage, and lifecycle governance.[/li][li]Matrix managing and driving capability uplift across federated council data and analysis teams.[/li][li]Translating strategic data governance decisions into operational implementation, working closely with federated resources through project delivery.[/li][li]Establishing and maintaining technical processes and documentation, tools, standards, and frameworks that enable federated data stewardship across councils, including contributing to Data Community of Practice literacy initiatives.[/li][li]Accountable for ensuring that governance decisions translate into sustained organisational practice across a federated environment.[/li][li]Interpreting relevant Government functional standards for UKRI (e.g. HMG Digital, Data and Technology Functional Standard (GovS 005)[i], Data Quality Framework[ii] and other recommended Government standards[iii]) and embedding them across all Councils and corporate platforms through enforceable policies, controls, and minimum viable standards.[/li][li]Enabling cross-UKRI programmes through shared definitions, reusable data products, consistent governance, and early engagement with programme directors. UKRI programmes through shared definitions, reusable data products, consistent ‑UKRI programmes through shared definitions, reusable data products, consistent.[br/] [/li][/list][p style="color:#0f2839;"][b]Outcomes/impact[/b][/p][p style="color:#0f2839;"]UKRI seeks to continue to improve its data maturity, which includes, but is not limited to:[/p][list=ul style="color: #0f2839;"][li]Alignment to and measurable compliance with Government functional standards.[/li][li]Consistent, quality data management services across UKRI's federated structure.[/li][li]A reduction of key data quality issues for the most critical data assets.[/li][li]Expanding and driving use of proactive data quality tooling such as the Business Glossary and well-governed Reference Data to enhance usability of data.[/li][li]Technical implementation of data standards, data contracts, and data service performance reporting.[/li][li]Improvements to data maturity as formally assessed using the UK Government’s data maturity framework[iv].[br/] [/li][/list][p style="color:#0f2839;"][b]Working relationships[/b][/p][list=ul style="color: #0f2839;"][li]Reports to the UKRI Head of Data Practice to deliver improvements across the UKRI data community.[/li][li]Supervises 4-6 data stewards, data analysts, and technical specialists. Mix of full and part-time team members.[/li][li]Works closely with data colleagues, including UKRI data warehouse project delivery, Data champions across UKRI, the data warehouse Data Services team, CIO Group technical teams, and Data Community of Practice members.[br/] [/li][/list][p style="color:#0f2839;"][b]Cultural & Behavioural Change[/b][/p][p style="color:#0f2839;"]This role drives the move from individual, inconsistent data practices to shared stewardship, common standards, and reliable data quality. You will embed minimum metadata, quality gates, and lifecycle governance, helping teams shift from reactive data “cleanup” to proactive, accountable stewardship. They will build stewardship capability across UKRI and promote a consistent, standards-led data culture.[/p]

Person specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• An experienced data manager/data steward that has documented and maintained standards, demonstrated process improvements and scaling of stewardship capabilities, you will have evidenced success in improving data quality (S).
• Proven technical leadership with experience in reference and metadata management processes and controls, establishing acceptance criteria for governance improvements, data profiling and metrics, and building dashboards and reporting. You will have skills in SQL, Talend Data Catalogue, and familiarity with quality frameworks. (e.g. DAMA-DMBOK) (S&I).
• Collaborative approach that builds trust with data champions and technical teams across councils (I).
• Understanding of governance frameworks with ability to translate policies into operational practice, and ability to navigate federated governance structures such as in UKRI where Councils have significant autonomy (S&I).
• Strong facilitation and communication skills suitable for leading working groups, requirements gathering, understanding business priorities, conflict resolution, managing stakeholder expectations and building consensus across councils (S&I).
• Consistent track record of managing technical teams of 4+ people, with evidence of developing high performing individuals (S&I).
  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £70,752, UK Research and Innovation contributes £20,496 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
• Flexible working options.
  

Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:
Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

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

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org.

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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 : UKRI Recruitment Team
• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org