Head of Information Architecture

Aviva; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance provider is seeking a Head of Information Architecture to shape data definitions, ensuring data flows meet market needs. This influential role will focus on driving enterprise-wide standards and creating high-value data products across operational frameworks. Candidates should possess deep expertise in metadata, taxonomies, and logical modelling, with strong influencing and communication skills. This position offers significant impact on an evolving discipline and collaboration across teams in a federated environment.

Benefits

Bonus opportunity – 25% of annual salary

Generous pension scheme

29 days holiday plus bank holidays

Aviva-funded Private Medical Benefit

Up to 40% discount on Aviva products

Free Aviva shares through Matching Share Plan

Parental and carer’s leave

Flexible benefits, including sustainability options

Paid volunteering days

Wellbeing support and tools

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in conceptual and logical modelling.
• Ability to define enterprise-wide data standards and frameworks.
• Strong influencing skills to encourage adoption across various teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Market Data and Information Architecture pillars.
• Ensure data flows adhere to FAIR principles.
• Translate market needs into high-value data products.

Skills

Conceptual and logical modelling

Metadata management

Taxonomies and ontologies

Influencing skills

Communication and facilitation

Job description

Head of Information Architecture

Location: Bristol, London, Eastleigh, or Norwich

Salary: £130k circa London / £115 circa National

Overview

This is a great job for someone who thrives on bringing structure to complexity and enjoys shaping how an organisation understands and uses its data. Are you someone who loves defining clear, consistent information practices, building strong relationships across diverse teams, and influencing enterprise‑wide design? Do you love connecting business outcomes with technical strategy and creating data foundations that unlock value at scale?

This role would suit someone who is an experienced information architect, data strategist, or enterprise architect looking to step into a position with broad influence and impact. You may be ready for a significant step up in scope, excited by the challenge of a federated organisation, or motivated by improving semantic clarity, interoperability, and governance across markets.

A bit about the job

You will lead Aviva’s ‘Market Data’ and ‘Information Architecture’ pillars, shaping how data is defined, organised, and used across our markets. Your work will ensure that data flows are fit for purpose, aligned to FAIR principles, and designed to support analytics, AI, and operational excellence. You’ll translate market needs into high‑value data products, steward the Group‑wide Information Architecture practice, and reduce duplication by embedding strong modelling and semantic standards. You will work closely with Market CIOs, the Data CIO, and the CDO, contributing to the enterprise data model and advancing our data foundations across the organisation.

Skills and experience we’re looking for

• Deep expertise in conceptual and logical modelling, metadata, master/reference data, taxonomies, and ontologies — essential for defining Aviva’s common language and ensuring semantic consistency across markets.
• Ability to define enterprise‑wide standards, patterns, and frameworks, aligning IA with Data Strategy, Enterprise Architecture, regulatory expectations, and Aviva’s federated operating model.
• Strong influencing skills to drive adoption across business, engineering, data, risk, governance, and CIO communities — especially in a federated environment where formal authority is limited.
• Exceptional communication and facilitation skills to bring diverse teams together, socialise standards, clarify meaning, run working groups, and guide programmes toward consistent design choices.
• Ability to diagnose gaps, create clarity where standards are missing, improve tooling and processes, and mature an evolving discipline — bringing structure, repeatability, and coherence at enterprise scale.

What you’ll get for this role

Our purpose - with you today, for a better tomorrow – is a promise we make to our colleagues too. And one of the ways we live up to that promise is by investing in you. We have so much to offer when it comes to being an Aviva colleague.

• Bonus opportunity – 25% of annual salary. Actual amount depends on your performance and Aviva’s.
• Generous pension scheme - Aviva will contribute up to 14%, depending on what you put in.
• 29 days holiday plus bank holidays, and you can choose to buy or sell up to 5 days
• Aviva-funded Private Medical Benefit to help you get expert support when you need it
• Make your money go further - Up to 40% discount on Aviva products, and other retailer discounts
• Up to £1,200 of free Aviva shares per year through our Matching Share Plan and share in the success of Aviva with our Save As You Earn scheme
• Brilliantly supportive policies including parental and carer’s leave
• Flexible benefits to suit you, including sustainability options such as cycle to work
• Make a difference, be part of our Aviva Communities and use your 3 paid volunteering days to help others
• We take your wellbeing seriously with lots of support and tools

We’d love it if you could submit your application online. If you require an alternative method of applying, please contact Chloe Nettley at 07795 207964 or email to [e-mail]

Aviva is for everyone: We’re inclusive and welcome everyone – we want applications from all backgrounds and experiences. Excited but not sure you tick every box? Even if you don’t, we would still encourage you to apply. We also consider all forms of flexible working, including part time and job shares.

We flex locations, hours and working patterns to suit our customers, business, and you. Most of our people are smart working – spending at least 50% of their time in our offices every week - combining the benefits of flexibility, with time together with colleagues.

To find out more about working at Aviva, take a look.

We’d love it if you could submit your application online. If you require an alternative method of applying, please contact Chloe Nettley on 07795 207964 or email [e-mail]