Senior Data Architect

Job summary

Do you want work collaboratively designing modern IT architecture for some of the largest digital transformations in Europe?

If so, this role may be perfect for you!

We are looking for experienced Senior Data Architects who are confident working on data-focused products/services in a complex digital environment, where they’ll be supporting major initiatives across DWP Digital.

These roles will involve collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders across DWP Digital to support the delivery of solutions, creating options and recommendations, and providing expert advice to drive technology choice decisions.

This is an exciting time to join us. You’ll shape the future and support our mission to deliver exceptional Data products and services that work for everyone.

Job description

A Senior Data Architect works with multiple projects or teams on problems that require broad architectural thinking. At this role level, you will:

• design data models and metadata systems.
• help lead data architects to interpret an organisation’s needs.
• provide oversight and advice to other data architects who are designing and producing data artefacts.
• design and support the management of data dictionaries.
• make sure that your teams are working to the standards set for the organisation by the lead data architects.
• work with technical architects to make sure that an organisation’s systems are designed in accordance with the appropriate data architecture.

Person specification

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria below:

• Data Architecture design and modelling techniques, patterns, tools and standards.
• Presenting data architecture design to technical governance forums.
• Data Architecture Design: Data Modelling, Master Data Management (MDM), Metadata Management, Data Governance
• Event-based architecture design, patterns (including pub-sub and data streaming), modelling techniques, tools and standards.
• Public cloud technologies, cloud hosting, container, and networking design patterns, tools and best practice (e.g. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform).
• Agile delivery methodologies and best practice.
• DevOps: Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) delivery methodologies, tools and best practice.
• Shaping and supporting technology initiatives, projects, programmes and portfolios.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact caicy.sandford1@dwp.gov.uk.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Working Together

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Communicating data - Practitioner
• Data governance (Data Architect) - Practitioner
• Data modelling - Practitioner
• Data standards (Data Architect) - Practitioner
• Metadata management - Practitioner
• Turning business problems into data design - Practitioner

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,946, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £16,786 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Hybrid Working

This role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work.

If a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for the role and for you, you will normally be required to spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted working hours from your DWP office.

If you have a disability, caring responsibilities, or other circumstances that may affect your ability to meet the minimum office attendance requirement, please discuss this with us using the contact details in this advert.

Salary Information

The role is part of the Government Digital and Data profession and utilises an enhanced Government Digital and Data Pay Framework linked to capability which provides access to a Government Digital and Data allowance.

Pay for this role is £57,946 to 68,205, subject to candidate type. In addition to this, the role can attract a Government Digital and Data allowance of up to £25,971. Please see additional info below regarding candidate type. The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills as demonstrated in the selection process. Government Digital and Data Allowance is a discretionary non-consolidated, non-pensionable allowance.

External applicants

Pay for this role is £57,946 plus a Government Digital and Data Allowance of up to £25,971, subject to our assessment of capability at interview.

Our offer to successful candidates will be based on our assessment of your capability based on the evidence you provide at interview against the listed Technical Skills for the role. There is no negotiation at offer stage.

Internal and OGD applicants

Pay for the role is from £57,946 to £68,205, you may also be eligible for a Government Digital and Data Allowance of up to £25,971, subject to our assessment of capability at interview.

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current base salary.

Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion should either move to the bottom of the grade pay scale or receive a 10% increase to their base salary; whichever would be the greater.

In addition to your base salary a Government Digital and Data Allowance may be payable based on our assessment of your capability. Our offer to successful candidates will be based on the evidence you provide at interview against the listed Technical Skills for the role. There is no negotiation at offer stage.

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application

Your application will consist of three parts:

1. A Personal Details application form.

2. Employment history - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed based on the essential criteria.

3. Personal statement - up to 1250 words. This statement should be used to provide examples of how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person specification.

Ensure that all examples provided in your statement are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. If you choose to use gen-AI to support your statement, you must follow the guidelines outlined in the Artificial intelligence and recruitment guide.

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history and personal statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential criteria.

You will be provided with one combined overall assessment score for both your CV and Personal Statement.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

Applications will be sifted at regular intervals from the date the posts are advertised. Please apply as soon as you can, do not wait until the end of the campaign.

Important Information

• You will be asked to complete your employment history. Any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.
• Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
• If your employment history/personal statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.

Stage 2: Interview 1

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams.

You will be asked to do a 10-minute presentation to further assess your experience and to assess the technical skill of Communicating data (Practitioner). Your presentation should focus on the following:

• Present a data architecture that underpins the modernisation and transition of an on-prem application to a distributed event-driven cloud-hosted architecture – cover both the operational and analytics data aspects where possible. Include architecture patterns, standards, best practice, models and principles that were used as part of the design process. Also include tooling and architecture paradigms to which you adhered or those that influenced your design.

Stage 3: Interview 2

If you are successful at Stage 2 you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours and Technical Skills:

Behaviours:
• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Working Together

Technical Skills:

• Communicating data - Practitioner
• Data governance (Data Architect) - Practitioner
• Data modelling - Practitioner
• Data standards (Data Architect) - Practitioner
• Metadata management - Practitioner
• Turning business problems into data design - Practitioner

Interviews will take place from early February 2026. Sift and Interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information:

Find out more about Working for DWP

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location.

For these vacancies, we strongly recommend that applicants consult with an immigration specialist or qualified advisor to assess their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship before deciding to apply. Please note that while we consider sponsorship requests in accordance with current DWP guidance and Home Office policy, sponsorship cannot be guaranteed.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How we recruit page.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

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

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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Caicy Sandford
• Email : caicy.sandford1@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you wish to make a complaint, please find further details here: https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/how-we-recruit/.

Attachments

DWP Terms and Conditions January 2024 (3) Opens in new window (docx, 17kB)Success-Profiles-Candidate-Overview (18) Opens in new window (pdf, 635kB)