South West Secure Data Environment Technical Lead

NHS; Bristol; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health organisation in Bristol is seeking an experienced Technical Lead to drive the South West Secure Data Environment (SWSDE). You will lead a multidisciplinary technical team, ensuring security, stability, and compliance while transforming health and care data. The ideal candidate should have extensive experience in leadership, cybersecurity, and data governance, along with strong communication skills. This role is pivotal for advancing collaborative data science initiatives.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading technical infrastructure teams.
• Proven track record with secure data environments.
• Strong understanding of information governance and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operation and maintenance of the SWSDE platform.
• Manage system security, including threat detection and risk management.
• Develop secure data pipelines ensuring data quality and governance.

Skills

Technical leadership

Cybersecurity knowledge

Data governance

Problem solving

Communication skills

Education

Master's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

AWS

Azure

Job description

Job Summary

We're seeking an experienced, forward-thinking Technical Lead to drive the delivery and evolution of the South West Secure Data Environment (SWSDE). This pioneering regional platform is transforming how health and care data is securely and ethically linked for research. Our aim is to improve health and wellbeing by making research safer, faster and fairer.

SWSDE has implemented secure cloud-based infrastructure to meet SDE requirements. We now need a dedicated Technical Lead to take the platform forward and grow our capacity to deliver projects.

The Technical Lead will build a multi-disciplinary technical team and oversee all aspects of SWSDE's delivery, including infrastructure, data pipelines, security, governance and scalability.

You will ensure the environment remains robust, trusted and aligned with the highest standards of data protection and interoperability, including SATRE and ISO27001, giving partners and the public confidence their data is safe.

This hands‑on role suits a leader who thrives on managing complexity and problem solving. Collaboration is key, working with partners across the NHS, local authorities, academia and national bodies.

This is a rare opportunity to shape a regionally significant, nationally connected data platform, setting new standards for secure, collaborative data science and turning insight into impact.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the operation, maintenance, and performance of the SWSDE platform, ensuring security, stability, and scalability at all times.
• Manage and monitor system security, including threat detection, risk management, and incident response, ensuring compliance with SATRE, ISO27001, DSPT, and NHS cybersecurity frameworks.
• Develop and maintain secure data pipelines from contributing NHS and partner organisations, ensuring interoperability, data quality, and adherence to governance standards.
• Provide technical leadership to engineers, analysts, and platform staff, promoting a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across the NHS, local authorities, academia, and suppliers to ensure that the SWSDE meets the needs of research, innovation, and population health analytics.
• Support governance and assurance by maintaining technical documentation, contributing to audits, and ensuring that infrastructure and operations meet legal, ethical, and regulatory obligations.
• Contribute to architecture planning and review, ensuring the SDE aligns with the Secure Architecture for Trusted Research Environments (SATRE) and NHS digital standards.
• Represent the SWSDE in regional and national technical forums, sharing learning and contributing to the ongoing development of secure data environments across the NHS.

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to master's level equivalent.
• Substantial experience leading technical infrastructure or data platform teams in NHS, public sector, or regulated environments.
• Proven track record of managing secure data environments or similar platforms.
• In-depth understanding of information governance, cyber security, ISO standards, and NHS‑specific compliance frameworks.
• Demonstrable experience designing and implementing infrastructure aligned to best practices in security and resilience.
• Ability to manage and lead a multidisciplinary technical team.
• Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options.
• Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
• Strategic thinking – ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long‑term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
• Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others. Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals.
• Previously responsible for a budget, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes.
• Demonstrates understanding of issues affecting equality, diversity and inclusion, including how individual actions make a difference to this agenda.
• Evidence of delivery of equality, diversity and inclusion improvements through accounting for the particular needs of groups at risk of, or already experiencing, inequalities.

Desirable

• Experience working with SATRE‑compliant environments or NHS Trusted Research Environments.
• Familiarity with national data pipelines, data flows from NHS organisations, and health data architecture.
• Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure) or relevant security certifications (CISSP, ISO Lead Implementer).
• Experience with infrastructure‑as‑code, automation, and DevOps practices.
• Knowledge of cohort discovery tools, federated analytics, or privacy‑enhancing technologies.
• In depth experience implementing solutions in a secure by design principles, and a wider understanding of the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL).
• Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and tools such as Prince 2 and Managing Successful Projects.
• Experience of identifying and interpreting National policy. Experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform (advising on policy implementation).

About us

We are committed to creating an inclusive organisation that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that helps us to deliver the best services. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community; from people of all ages, disabled people, all genders, people from ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, people with diverse gender identity and expression, people from all religions and beliefs and other diverse characteristics, and we have processes in place to ensure that all applications are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Location

NHS Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire ICB – Floor 2, North Wing 100 Temple Street, Bristol, BS1 6AG