Senior Data Architect

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Hybrid Working

This role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work.

If a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for the role and for you, you will normally be required to spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted working hours from your DWP office.

If you have a disability, caring responsibilities, or other circumstances that may affect your ability to meet the minimum office attendance requirement, please discuss this with us using the contact details in this advert.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application

Your Application Will Consist Of Three Parts

• A Personal Details application form.
• Employment history - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed based on the essential criteria.
• Personal statement - up to 1250 words. This statement should be used to provide examples of how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person specification.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Ensure that all examples provided in your statement are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. If you choose to use gen-AI to support your statement, you must follow the guidelines outlined in the Artificial intelligence and recruitment guide.

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history and personal statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential criteria.

You will be provided with one combined overall assessment score for both your CV and Personal Statement.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

Important Information

You will be asked to complete your employment history. Any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.

Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.

If your employment history/personal statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.

Stage 2: Interview 1

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams.

You Will Be Asked To Do a 10-minute Presentation To Further Assess Your Experience And To Assess The Technical Skill Of Communicating Data (Practitioner). Your Presentation Should Focus On The Following

• Present a data architecture that underpins the modernisation and transition of an on-prem application to a distributed event-driven cloud-hosted architecture – cover both the operational and analytics data aspects where possible.
• Include architecture patterns, standards, best practice, models and principles that were used as part of the design process.
• Also include tooling and architecture paradigms to which you adhered or those that influenced your design

Stage 3: Interview 2

Skills

If you’re successful at interview 1 you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours and Technical Skills:

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills

• Data governance (data architect) (Practitioner)
• Data modelling (Practitioner)
• Data standards (data architect) (Practitioner)
• Metadata management (Practitioner)
• Turning business problems into data design (Practitioner)

Interviews will take place from the end of September 2026. Interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

At the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

Find out more about working for DWP on the DWP Careers Hub.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

If you are placed on a reserve list but we cannot immediately offer you a post, please note:

• If you are later offered the role you applied for, in a location you have expressed a preference for, and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances (e.g. a contractual Part Time Working Pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered or in