Data Architect - Enterprise Data Strategy & Architecture

Sabenza IT & Recruitment; Emberton; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sabenza IT & Recruitment in the United Kingdom seeks an experienced Data Architect to lead an enterprise data strategy and establish scalable, secure, and governed data architecture capabilities. You will partner with business leaders, IT, security, and data owners to define a future-state data environment enabling analytics, AI, and BI initiatives. This role blends strategic leadership with hands-on modelling and governance responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level degree required in a related discipline.
• Experience developing Enterprise Data Strategies is essential.
• Strong knowledge of data governance, security, privacy, and risk management.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders and delivering roadmaps.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of an Enterprise Data Strategy.
• Define current-state and target-state data architectures.
• Establish data governance frameworks and operating models.
• Engage with executives and stakeholders to align priorities.
• Deliver a multi-year data transformation roadmap.
• Assess data capabilities, architecture, and platforms.

Skills

Strategic Thinking

Executive Communication

Stakeholder Management

Consulting & Advisory Skills

Problem Solving

Influencing & Negotiation

Business Acumen

Facilitation & Workshop Leadership

Change Management

Documentation & Presentation Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related discipline

Relevant Architecture certifications (TOGAF, DAMA CDMP, Azure Data, AWS Data & Analytics, Google Cloud Data Certifications)

Tools

Azure

AWS

Google Cloud

Job description

We are seeking an experiencedData Architect to lead the development of an Enterprise Data Strategy and establish a scalable, secure, and governed data architecture capability. The successful candidate will partner with business stakeholders, IT leadership, security teams, architects, and data owners to define a future-state data environment that enables digital transformation, advanced analytics, AI, data science, and business intelligence initiatives.

This role combines strategic data leadership with hands-on architecture, governance, and roadmap development.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Data Strategy

• Develop and define an enterprise-wide data strategy aligned to business objectives.
• Assess current data capabilities, maturity, and opportunities.
• Create a multi-year roadmap for data transformation and modernization.
• Identify and prioritize strategic data initiatives that drive business value.
• Align data strategy with organizational policies, standards, privacy, and compliance requirements.

Data Architecture

• Develop current-state and target-state enterprise data architectures.
• Create conceptual, logical, and high-level physical data models.
• Define enterprise data architecture principles, standards, and best practices.
• Design architecture patterns for data integration, storage, governance, and consumption.
• Assess existing data platforms and recommend future-state technologies.
• Identify opportunities to improve data pipelines, data flows, and information management processes.

Data Governance & Data Management

• Establish enterprise data governance frameworks and operating models.
• Define data ownership, stewardship, and accountability structures.
• Develop recommendations for data quality management and controls.
• Define metadata management and master data management requirements.
• Recommend data classification, retention, security, and access management standards.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, privacy, and information security requirements.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Facilitate workshops and interviews with business and technology stakeholders.
• Collaborate with executive leadership, architects, data owners, and vendor partners.
• Present findings, recommendations, and strategic roadmaps to senior management.
• Build alignment across business units on enterprise data priorities and governance standards.

Key Deliverables

Discovery & Assessment

• Current-State Data Landscape Assessment
• Enterprise Data Source Inventory
• Data Flow and Integration Assessment
• Data Maturity Assessment
• Gap Analysis and Opportunity Assessment
• Strategy Enterprise Data Strategy
• Data Strategy Roadmap
• Prioritized Data Initiatives
• Data Maturity Development Plan
• Governance Data Governance Framework
• Data Ownership Model
• Data Stewardship Model
• Data Quality Framework Recommendations
• Data Security and Classification Framework
• Architecture Current-State Data Architecture
• Target-State Data Architecture
• Data Architecture Principles and Standards
• Technology and Platform Recommendations
• Data Integration Improvement Recommendations

Qualifications

• Matric and a Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Relevant Architecture certifications advantageous:TOGAFDAMA CDMPAzure Data CertificationsAWS Data & Analytics CertificationsGoogle Cloud Data Certifications
• Experience Minimum 8-10 years' experience in Data Architecture, Data Management, or Enterprise Architecture roles.
• Proven experience developing Enterprise Data Strategies.
• Strong experience establishing Data Governance frameworks and operating models.
• Experience conducting Data Maturity Assessments and roadmap development.
• Experience designing enterprise-scale data architectures across multiple platforms.
• Experience engaging senior business and executive stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of data security, privacy, compliance, and risk management.

Technical Expertise

Strong knowledge of:

• Enterprise Data Architecture
• Data Governance & Data Management
• Data Modeling (Conceptual, Logical, Physical)
• Master Data Management (MDM)
• Metadata Management
• Data Quality Management
• Data Warehousing & Data Lakes
• Data Integration & ETL/ELT Solutions
• Cloud Data Platforms (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud)
• Data Security & Privacy Frameworks
• Business Intelligence & Analytics Platforms
• Data Strategy and Transformation Programs

Key Competencies

• Strategic Thinking
• Executive Communication
• Stakeholder Management
• Consulting & Advisory Skills
• Problem Solving
• Influencing & Negotiation
• Business Acumen
• Facilitation & Workshop Leadership
• Change Management
• Documentation & Presentation Skills