Lead Data Architect

Lead Data Architect | 6 Month Contract | (Inside IR35) | Hybrid, Edinburgh| Starting ASAP Day Rate: DOE

About The Role

Harvey Nash's Pub Sec client requires senior data architecture expertise to support the delivery of data capabilities underpinning digital products and services for Scotland's Census 2031. The supplier must provide a Lead Data Architect capable of setting and delivering the data vision across the programme, ensuring that data is structured, governed and utilised effectively to meet business and analytical needs. You will set the vision for the organisation's use of data through effective data design, ensuring that data assets are scalable, secure and aligned to organisational objectives and priorities. At this level, the Lead Data Architect will translate business needs into a robust data architecture and ensure consistency across services and products. The role requires leadership across multidisciplinary teams, working within Agile delivery environments and engaging effectively with stakeholders across government partners. You will be accountable for defining and delivering the programme's data strategy, ensuring alignment with wider enterprise and cross-government data standards. You must demonstrate strong capability in designing data models and metadata systems, overseeing multiple data architectures, and ensuring integration across platforms and services. You will champion data architecture standards and best practices, fostering a culture of quality, consistency and reuse within the data architecture community.

Main Duties

• Design, govern and oversee data models and metadata systems, ensuring alignment with business needs
• Provide strategic leadership on data architecture across the programme, supporting the overall architecture lead and data architect vision
• Ensure systems are designed in accordance with agreed data architecture principles and standards
• Champion data architecture practices, standards and ways of working across teams
• Manage data-related risks, resolve complex data issues, and drive continuous improvement
• Ensure effective integration of data across products, services and external partners

Essential Skills & Experience

• Data Strategy & Architecture: Ability to define and deliver a scalable data architecture strategy aligned to programme objectives and external standards (e.g. ONS).
• Data Modelling & Standards: Strong expertise in developing and governing data models, ensuring consistency and interoperability across systems and other government partners.
• Data Integration & Flow: Experience designing end-to-end data flows, enabling seamless data collection, processing, and dissemination at scale.
• Leadership & Governance: Proven leadership in complex programmes, establishing data governance, quality standards, and effective stakeholder engagement

Desirable Qualifications

• Advanced architectures: Data mesh, data fabric, real-time/event-driven systems
• Modern tools: Databricks, Snowflake, Kafka, dbt
• Cloud engineering maturity: CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, DataOps, containers
• AI/ML enablement: Supporting MLOps and advanced analytics platforms
• Analytics expertise: BI tools and semantic data layers
• Certifications & frameworks: TOGAF, DAMA, cloud certifications

This role has been deemed Inside IR35 by the client. Applicants must hold, or be happy to apply for, a valid Basic Disclosure Scotland. Please click the link to apply.