Chief Data Architect

We're Civica, a software company that assists in delivering essential services for citizens across the globe. Our software is in use by over 5,000 public bodies, from local to central governments, education, health, and care sectors, providing critical services to more than 100 million citizens.

Our goal is to be a worldwide champion in GovTech, serving the needs of citizens and those who serve them daily. After 21 years of consistent growth and success, we are at a critical point in realizing this ambition.

As a company, we are passionate about our work and the people we serve. If you are also interested in promoting the use of technology in public services to improve outcomes for citizens and public sector organizations, then Civica is the place for you. We can help you unlock your potential, grow in your career, and make a significant impact on people and communities.

Requirements

We are looking to hire a Chief Data Architect for Civica's Central Government Consultancy Services Team.

Role purpose:

A Chief Data Architect sets the organizational data vision and ensures that the data designs meet enterprise needs. They use these designs to guide data integration, control data assets, and align data investments with business strategy. The responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the design of multiple data models and understanding how each model fulfills organizational needs
• Accountability for supporting and aligning to the organization's data strategy
• Promoting data architecture both internally and externally, and communicating with senior levels across the government
• Setting standards and working methods for the data architecture community
• Accountability for assuring data models at project or enterprise level
• Providing advice to project teams and overseeing the complete data product lifecycle
• Ensuring that the organization's systems are designed according to the enterprise data architecture

Principal responsibilities and tasks:

• Commissioning and leading the development and maintenance of enterprise data artifacts to build on and expand the Data Architecture Framework
• Leading governance forums on data artifact assurance
• Developing the data strategy
• Leading a team of core and project data architects, ensuring quality is sustained and measurable against standards
• Working alongside Enterprise and Solution Architecture to ensure that projects and programs deliver to the needs of the enterprise
• Creating Data Standards for the organization, including data modeling and appropriate templates and guidance for their use
• Representing the organization in cross-government forums and sub-groups

Essential competencies:

• Data modeling
• Data governance
• Data standards
• Metadata and repositories
• Turning business problems into data design
• Advanced knowledge of Sparx EA
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely for onboarding new team members
• Ability to communicate the value of data architecture to stakeholders who see it as an impediment to delivery
• Understanding different modeling notations (UML, Dimensional, NoSQL, Data Vault, ORM, Barker Notation)
• Understanding metadata, reference data, transactional data, and master data, and ability to identify and process these types of data from the systems landscape

Preferred skills:

• Communicating data between technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Turning business problems into data design
• Strategic thinking
• Data innovation
• CDMP accreditation

Benefits

Life at Civica

Civica is the leading public sector software provider in the UK, with over 22 years of continuous growth.

We develop and deliver technologies that are transforming vital public services, across Local Government, Government, Healthcare, and beyond.

• Blended working: less commuting, more time for your friends and family.

• 'Investors in People' - Gold: We prioritize the development of our colleagues to match their ambition.

• Financial Times - Diversity Leader 2023: We are committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive culture.

• Top-rated employer – Glassdoor: Our average length of service is 9 years.

• Societal Impact: Our solutions bring about a positive societal change, serving local authorities, schools, police forces, the NHS, and various central government offices.

Building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture

Research has shown that some underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet 100% of the requirements. At Civica, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all of our people excel.

If you like the sound of this opportunity but don't meet all the requirements, we encourage you to apply. You may be the ideal candidate for this or other opportunities within Civica.

Mental Health Champions are here for you!

We have a Mental Health Champions team working to change the stigma around Mental Health. We regularly run awareness workshops to ensure our colleagues better understand how Mental Health can impact your daily life. We are available to provide support when you need it most and actively encourage our people to reach out to us.

Affinity Groups

Civica has various affinity groups, where people can share experiences and bring forward their ideas, suggestions, and recommendations to make Civica a more inclusive organization for everyone. Our groups are for anyone who wants to support and ally with that community and include: Early careers, accessibility, parents and guardians, wellness, LGBTQIA+, race and ethnicity, and many others.

Civica is a Diversity Leader, ranked among the top European companies for workplace diversity and equality - Financial Times 2023.

Civica is dedicated to creating and maintaining an inclusive, supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all of our people excel. We believe that diversity sparks innovation, helps us deliver better outcomes for people and communities, supports the growth of our people, and brings excellent results for our customers. At Civica, people are recruited, promoted, and rewarded based on their contribution, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion/belief, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or marital status.