Lead Data Architect

Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Ltd; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

National Highways is hiring a Lead Data Architect to define data strategies and drive governance across the data lifecycle. The role is hybrid with two days per week in an office location across National Highways offices.

You will lead data flows, translate requirements into architectures, and collaborate with technical peers to ensure governance and alignment with data principles, enabling trusted data for decision-making.

Qualifications

• Ability to communicate between technical and non-technical stakeholders with clear insights.
• Strong data modelling, design interactions across multiple subject areas, and industry standards.
• Experience in metadata management, repositories, impact analysis, and compliance across systems.
• Translate business challenges into scalable data architecture across domains.
• Demonstrated leadership, driving improvement, collaboration, and evidence-based decisions.

Responsibilities

• Define data strategies, principles, and objectives meeting business needs.
• Lead design authorities to manage data lifecycle: design, upgrade, archive per data policies.
• Lead data flow design and translate requirements into architecture; guide other data architects.
• Collaborate with technical architects to ensure governance and alignment with data principles.
• Provide assurance that systems meet data policies throughout the lifecycle.
• Manage data dictionary and governance artefacts to ensure high data quality.
• Embed governance, quality, and responsible AI practices with metadata management.
• Governance enabled through Unity Catalog and Microsoft Purview.

Skills

Data modelling

Stakeholder comms

Leadership

Metadata management

Data governance

Data architecture design

Tools

Unity Catalog

Microsoft Purview

Job description

Overview

As part of the development of our Digital Services function, we are strengthening internal digital capability within the Data Team. These roles are central to building sustainable in‑house expertise that supports the design, development, and delivery of digital solutions across the transport network.

We are recruiting Lead Data Architects to define data strategies, principles, and objectives. This pivotal, hybrid role requires two days per week in the office, based at any National Highways office location.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with stakeholders to define data strategies, principles, and objectives that meet business needs.
• Take an active role in technical and business design authorities, ensuring systems are designed, upgraded, managed, decommissioned, and archived in line with data policies across the full data lifecycle.
• Lead the design of data flows and translate business requirements into effective data architecture, providing oversight and guidance to other data architects.
• Collaborate with technical architects to ensure consistency, strong governance, and that the organisation's systems align with agreed data architecture principles, enabling better use of trusted data for decision‑making.
• Provide assurance through verification and validation that systems meet data policies throughout the full lifecycle.
• Manage data dictionary and other governance artefacts, supporting consistent standards and high data quality.
• Embed data governance, quality, and assurance practices, including responsible use of AI, strong metadata management, and high data quality standards.
• Governance is enabled through Unity Catalog and Microsoft Purview.

Qualifications

• Ability to communicate effectively between technical and non‑technical stakeholders, translating complex data concepts into clear insights and facilitating interdisciplinary discussions.
• Strong understanding of data modelling, design interactions across multiple subject areas, and industry standards.
• Experience in metadata management and data standards, including maintaining accurate repositories, conducting impact analysis, and ensuring consistency and compliance across systems.
• Proven ability to translate business challenges into scalable data architecture solutions across multiple domains.
• Demonstrated leadership behaviours, including driving continuous improvement and innovation, building collaborative relationships, communicating a clear vision, and making informed, evidence‑based decisions that align with organisational objectives.

About us

Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England's motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother, and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership.

The Digital Services Directorate is helping to reshape the way National Highways operates by delivering digital, data, and technology services across all areas, from frontline to back office, in a modern and efficient manner. Our vision is to develop integrated information and technology that empowers our colleagues and provides real‑time information to our customers, as well as integrating with intelligent vehicle and transport systems as they evolve, to enhance journey safety and reliability.

External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.