Data Architect

The Data Architect will lead design and development of the common data platform and provide oversight during implementation to ensure that architectural vision and integrity is upheld, to enable the University digital plan that aims to enhance the university's research capabilities, operational efficiency, and educational delivery.

This role is pivotal in driving the adoption of innovative technologies (including a common data platform, automation) and fostering a culture of data excellence across the institution. The Data Architect will have oversight for the university data landscape, collaborating with academic and professional stakeholders to ensure that a consistent and robust approach to data architecture is followed. The common data platform is a key element in a multi-million-pound digital change portfolio, that will identify opportunities for digital innovation, streamline processes, and ensure the university is at the forefront of research and education in the digital age.

The role holder will be responsible for the overall data architecture, ensuring that robust frameworks, standards, models and practices are developed and maintained to ensure the university is receiving maximum value from its data assets to enable strategic decision making. Part of this will require the role holder to maintain knowledge of industry standard technologies to ensure a clear development and rationalisation path for the technologies used by the university.

The role holder will work as part of a professional service delivery team dedicated to the development of modern, effective data solutions and architectures, ensuring consistency and cohesiveness across the enterprise landscape in line with the University strategy and IT/Digital plan. You will contribute to the policy and strategy for the selection of system and data architecture components, and to the co-ordination of design activities.

In your area of specialism, you will lead on the development and adoption of standards for data and integration architecture, models and data management. You will collaborate closely with delivery teams to ensure that proposed architectures are feasible, align with relevant standards, policies and design patterns, and are consistent with the aims of university strategy.

As a Data Architect you will engage with stakeholders, projects, and programmes across the university to help people structure and make effective use of data. You will do this by acting as subject matter expert, and in doing so you will construct standards, models, and data dictionaries in support of the university's common data platform to enable reporting, analytics, and strategic decision making. You will advocate for the upholding of data quality and the value of data as a well-managed, trusted asset.

You will review others' systems designs to ensure selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources, and integration of multiple systems and technology. You will contribute to policies for the selection of architecture components. You will evaluate and undertake impact analysis on major design options and assess and manage associated risks. You will ensure that the design balances functional, service quality and systems management requirements.

You will work with senior stakeholders to champion data architecture, demonstrating a strong domain knowledge and emphasising business value to ensure credibility and develop understanding, ownership, and involvement facilitating feedback into governance structures.

You will provide a highly professional, friendly and customer focused face to the services offered by University IT Services and you will be expected to develop beneficial working relationships with other teams in IT Services and the broader University., The job requires the role holder to:

• Lead the development and maintenance of enterprise and data architectures related to your area of specialism, developing and agreeing relevant standards, policies, data management frameworks, models and constraints to be applied to all information systems development across the organisation.

• You will ensure that such architectures are viable, take into account strategic implications for the University and IT technology and do not limit future choice.

• Define and oversee University-wide data and associated architectures, ensuring effective implementation and adoption.

• Define and manage University-wide data models, data objects and data services throughout their life cycles considering compliance and governance information, and data standards including management and handling of enterprise data

• Lead initiatives to address complex data issues which impact on the University, frequently requiring a strong business process understanding to ensure that appropriate data and technology decisions can be made to improve the value derived from data.

• With input from stakeholders, develop and progress action plans to support a step change in the value that University derives from its data.

• Provide direction and guidance on all aspects of the development of, and modifications to, information systems to ensure that they take account of relevant data models and architectures, strategies, policies, standards and practices and that existing and planned systems remain compatible related to your area of specialism.

• Take a lead role in reviewing and approving the specification and design of large or complex systems, covering for example: objectives, scope, constraints (such as performance, resources etc.), data quality, lineage, interoperability, main system functions and information flows, data migration and implementation strategies, phasing of development, requirements not met, and alternatives considered.

• Agree appropriate design standards, methods and tools in consultation with line and senior management, ensuring they are applied effectively and take account of enterprise and solutions architectures.

• Produce and deliver written reports and presentations, often conveying complex technical information to diverse, non-technical audiences effectively, ensuring that key messages, options and recommendations are understood by stakeholders.

• Assess and document the impact, threats and opportunities for the University from data technologies and practices, sharing insight and providing recommendations to business and technical stakeholders at all levels.

• Liaise with suppliers and lead the assessment of solutions for their ability to meet all or parts of specified requirements and advise colleagues and management on their technical suitability.

• Liaise with colleagues where appropriate, to review and revise cost benefit analyses, risk analyses and development plans to take account of design decisions.

• Maintain an awareness of operational requirements especially in terms of service levels, availability, response times, security and repair times. You will propose design enhancements, data quality and cataloguing improvements, contingency and recovery arrangements as required, to ensure that all design targets are met and that the technology provided meets service level targets within the organisation's planned budget.

• Provide advice and guidance to business management, analysts, designers, and less experienced colleagues on all aspects of design and technology related to your area of specialism., * Liaise with designers and planners from external suppliers and service providers, to ensure that to-be architectures are viable, comply with the relevant standards, policies and design patterns and are consistent with the University strategy and the IT/Digital plan. You will ensure that requirements (functional and non-functional), design decisions and standards exemptions are captured and documented appropriately.

• Serve as a point of escalation, for review and approval for key issues related to your area of specialism.

• Consult with and advise Programme and Project Managers to help them plan, prioritise and set project milestones to ensure that resources are appropriately deployed in order to meet deadlines.

• Lead or participate in any projects as appropriate, managing the operation of project teams, planning, organising and delegating work, monitoring progress and intervening as required.

• Establish relationships with key contacts to ensure role objectives are met, developing appropriate communication links with internal and external stakeholders as required.

• Monitor the market to gain knowledge and understanding of current and emerging technologies. Identify new and emerging data related practices, technologies and products based on own area of expertise, assesses their relevance and potential value to the organisation, contributes to briefings of staff and management. Participate in external activities related to own specialism.

• Understand and if necessary carry out tasks normally associated with more junior colleagues as required by operational demands. Carry out some duties associated with a more senior role for developmental purposes.

• To ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in respect of equality and diversity, data protection, copyright and licensing, security, financial and other University policies, procedures and codes as appropriate.

• To take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and of other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, EC directives and the University's Safety, Health and Environment Policies and procedures and to cooperate with the University on any legal duties placed on it as the employer.

• You may also be asked to perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.

Current Technologies: SAP BusinessObjects, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft SQL, Oracle Database

As an employee of Cardiff University the post holder will:

• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in respect of equality and diversity, data protection, copyright and licensing, security, financial and other University policies, procedures and codes as appropriate.

• Take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and of other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, EC directives and the University's Safety, Health and Environment Policies and procedures and to cooperate with the University on any legal duties placed on it as the employer.

1. A degree or equivalent experience / professional qualifications
2. Proven experience in architecting and developing logical and conceptual data models, implementing Master Data Management (MDM) approaches, and designing transactional and analytical data solutions
3. An expert technical background, with understanding of relational database management systems, coupled with practical experience of defining and driving adoption of data standards, data dictionaries, and wider data governance practices.
4. Has detailed practical knowledge of managing data related activity within a complex organisation.
5. Excellent and proven relationship management skills with experience of managing the requirements of stakeholders at all levels; including proven ability to communicate at all levels, with both technical and non-technical audiences, and to simplify complex issues and concepts, both through presentations and through clear written documents.
6. Good organisational skills with the ability to work flexibly to prioritise successfully under pressure. Be adaptable, able to prioritise, self-motivated and able to work with little intervention.
7. Has a sound knowledge of risk assessment, change management, configuration management, reliability and safety methods and the use of metrics.
8. Able to document complex technical solutions in a logical and clear framework that can be readily understood by others, and proven ability to shape developments through active participation and leadership of teams and groups.
9. Demonstrated experience in developing and applying technical design standards, ensuring architectural compliance with organisational policies, and design patterns.
10. Working knowledge of Architecture and Data Modelling methods, techniques and frameworks, and designing data models and metadata systems to meet organisational needs.

Desirable Criteria

1. Evidence of ability to lead and deliver small to medium sized projects.
2. Experience delivering solutions across SaaS, PaaS, commercial off-the-shelf, and custom-built technologies.
3. Familiarity with industry standard technology, and technologies currently used by the university.
4. Professional qualification in ITIL, architecture frameworks (such as TOGAF), Data Design & Modelling (such as DAMA-DMBOK), or similar.
5. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral.

Cardiff University can offer many attractive benefits to its employees, including a competitive salary, 37 days annual leave per annum and a generous pension scheme. More information on what we can offer can be found at https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jobs/what-we-can-offer.

The post is full time and open ended.

Salary: £51,753 - £56,535 per annum (Grade 7)

Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at bottom of scale unless in exceptional circumstances

Cardiff University is seeking a Data Architect to lead the design of a common data platform, a key aspect of its ambitious digital plan that will significantly enhance the university's research capabilities, operational efficiency, and educational delivery. Us We want to make Cardiff University an institution that is respected the world over. Our vision is to be a world-leading, research-excellent, educationally outstanding university, driven by creativity and curiosity, which fulfils its social, cultural and economic obligations to Cardiff, Wales, the UK and the world. Our ambitious strategy to 2035 (Our Future Together) will enable the university to co-create and share new knowledge, to deliver a better world for future generations. We aim to rank consistently in the top 100 universities in the world and the top 20 in the UK., Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements., Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.