Data Architect (Buildings Data Technical Lead) - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - G7

Location

Bristol, Darlington, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton

About the job

Job summary

We are MHCLG   

We are looking for a motivated Data Architect to support MHCLG’s digital and data transformation across the built environment system, with a particular focus on building data and digital architecture. You will sit within the Building Insights division and be key to the development of a new Strategic Digital and Data Hub, leading work to define and embed a clear, consistent approach to how building data is structured, managed and used across a complex and rapidly expanding portfolio of digital services. 

Working across multiple programmes, you will play an important role in ensuring data is treated as a core asset, supporting effective regulation and enabling a more joined-up, data-driven system. This is an exciting opportunity to shape how building data underpins a modern regulatory system, setting clear policy, standards and expectations for how data is defined, shared and maintained.

You will operate at the intersection of policy, data and digital delivery, leading work to establish a coherent approach to building data across the system. A central part of the role will be providing technical expertise to inform digital strategy, system design and governance, ensuring policy and delivery decisions are grounded in a strong understanding of digital and data structures, standards and lifecycle management. You will identify and define common digital components and patterns for open, interoperable data, helping to reduce fragmentation and promote consistency across services. You will lead the development of policy and design for cross-service data flows and data lifecycle, setting clear expectations for how building data is created, validated, stored, shared and maintained over time. 

You will also contribute to shaping requirements for key data initiatives (including the Golden Thread), ensuring that policy clearly sets out the intended outcomes, standards and information needs, while working with digital and delivery teams to translate these into practical implementation. Working closely with digital and policy colleagues, you will ensure that approaches to digital projects across building safety are technically robust, implementable and aligned with wider system design. You will support governance by ensuring data considerations, standards and definitions are clearly embedded in decision-making and assurance processes.

Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog.  Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment.

Job description

This role brings together technical digital leadership, policy development and cross-portfolio coordination. As a Data Architect, you'll: 

• Lead the development of building open data policy, including data flows, lifecycle, standards and interoperability across the portfolio 
• Provide technical data expertise to inform digital strategy and governance, ensuring alignment between policy, architecture and delivery
• Identify and define common data patterns, components and reusable structures, promoting consistency and reducing duplication across services 
• Develop policy for data flows across organisational and system boundaries, enabling effective and secure data sharing 
• Define policy requirements for key data initiatives, ensuring clarity on outcomes, standards and technical requirements such as APIs (including for the Golden Thread) 
• Work closely with digital and policy teams to ensure policies are grounded in delivery and can be implemented in practice 
• Support governance processes, ensuring data standards, definitions and lifecycle expectations are consistently applied 
• Provide clear, expert advice and briefings on data issues, translating technical concepts into actionable insight 
• Build and influence relationships across MHCLG and with external stakeholders, supporting alignment on data policy and standards. 
• Monitor developments in digital and data approaches within the built environment, to identify opportunities and risks

Person specification

As a Data Architect, you'll have:

• Experience being a confident and collaborative specialist, comfortable operating in a complex and evolving environment
• Strong experience of working with data in a policy, digital or technical context, with a clear understanding of how data underpins service delivery and regulatory outcomes
• Ability to lead technical policy development, applying structured thinking to complex data challenges, and working with multidisciplinary digital teams to translate policy into implementable approaches
• Comfortability taking a system-wide view of data, identifying opportunities for standardisation, reuse and improved data flows across organisational boundaries. 
• Experience leading or shaping open data policy, data standards or digital architecture in a complex environment 
• Strong technical understanding of data structures, digital architecture, working with APIs, data interoperability, data flows and lifecycle management 
• Experience working across programmes or portfolios with multiple systems, teams and dependencies 
• The ability to apply technical digital and data expertise to strategic decision-making and digital system design 
• Experience providing clear, high-quality advice and briefings on complex data issues 
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills, particularly across technical and non-technical stakeholders