Data Architect

CGR Services; Wellington; On-site; NZD 132,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

Ara Poutama Aotearoa in Wellington, NZ is seeking a Data Architect to design and govern a unified people data ecosystem. You will define the target state, own core models, and set standards for dimensional and semantic modelling, ensuring coherence across source systems and analytics platforms.

You will balance short-term delivery with long-term architectural integrity, collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive sustainable, scalable data architecture aligned to the organisation’s goals.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience designing data architectures and analytical data models.
• Proficient in conceptual, logical, dimensional and semantic modelling.
• Ability to create reusable data standards and business rules.
• Experience with modern analytics platforms such as Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.
• Ability to balance short-term delivery with long-term architectural integrity.
• Strong communication and influencing skills across technical and business stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define target data architecture and standards for a unified ecosystem.
• Own conceptual and logical data models and establish modelling standards.
• Develop and enforce dimensional and semantic modelling, data lineage and reusable rules.
• Influence stakeholders across technical and business teams to ensure coherence across source systems.
• Ensure data architecture aligns with organisational goals and reduces fragmentation.

Skills

Data architecture design

Modelling: conceptual/logical

Reusable data standards

Analytics platforms knowledge

Stakeholder influence

Tools

Microsoft Fabric

Power BI semantic models

Job description

Data Architect New Zealand Government Wellington (Te Whanganui a Tara), NZ

Create a unified people data ecosystem from fragmented foundations

• Real data architecture, not solution design with a different title
• Drive significant change through influence, not authority

Mō te tūnga | About the role Ara Poutama Aotearoa is rebuilding its people data ecosystem. We are moving away from disjointed source systems and separate reporting products, duplicated transformations and competing definitions, toward a unified data model. As Data Architect, People Data, you will make that ambition architecturally real. You will define the target state, own our conceptual and logical data models, and establish standards for dimensional and semantic modelling, metrics, hierarchies, reference data, lineage and reusable business logic. Your job is to ensure individual products contribute to one coherent ecosystem rather than becoming another collection of isolated solutions. Your scope does not begin when data lands in the analytics platform. You will influence how people data is represented in source systems, where key entities and attributes are mastered, and how information moves and aggregates across the wider ecosystem. This is fundamentally a data architecture role focused on information design, modelling and reuse. Candidates whose experience is primarily solution architecture or platform selection may find the role less aligned to their strengths You will inherit complexity, with established practices and definitions that do not always agree. Some decisions will require balancing competing priorities and perspectives, technical debt and innovation. You will need to challenge short-term choices that create long-term fragmentation and influence people who do not report to you. This is not a role for someone seeking to maintain the status quo. It is an opportunity to shape the foundations of how one of New Zealand's largest government departments understands its workforce. You will have a clear mandate, significant autonomy and the support to make difficult but necessary change. The work will be complex, progress will not always be linear, and the easiest answer will often not be the right one.

Mōu | About you

You are comfortable moving between business concepts, source-system realities, logical models, dimensional structures and semantic layers. You understand that good architecture is not just technically sound - it creates clarity, consistency and reuse across an entire information ecosystem. You are willing to resolve conflicting definitions, challenge decisions that create long-term fragmentation, and influence stakeholders without relying on formal authority. Most importantly, you care deeply about how information is defined, structured, related and reused, recognising that good data architecture is ultimately about creating a coherent and trusted information ecosystem.

Ngā pūkenga me ngā wheako | Skills and experience

• Significant experience designing data architectures and analytical data models.
• Expertise in conceptual, logical, dimensional and semantic modelling.
• Experience creating reusable data standards, business rules and modelling patterns.
• Strong knowledge of modern analytics platforms, ideally including Microsoft Fabric, Power BI semantic models or similar technologies.
• The judgement to balance short-term delivery needs with long-term architectural integrity and sustainability.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to build consensus across technical and business stakeholders.

Ngā painga | The benefits

The midpoint of the salary range is $155,285 per annum and the full range (85%-120%) is $131,993 - $186,342 per annum. Appointment and remuneration will reflect skills and experience relevant to the role.

Mō mātou | About us

Join Ara Poutama Aotearoa - Department of Corrections, where your work will contribute to improving public safety, reducing re-offending, and address the overrepresentation of Māori in correctional facilities. As a values-led organisation, we use the principles of rangatira (leadership), manaaki (respect), wairua (spirituality), kaitiaki (guardianship), and whānau (relationships) to guide our work and achieve the goals of our Hōkai Rangi strategy. We value inclusion and diversity in our workforce, and as a Public Service organisation we are committed to building a workforce that reflects the public we serve. We strive to make our recruitment process fair, and we encourage you to discuss reasonable accommodations with us if required.