Head of Data Governance and Data Architecture

Job summary

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This role is part of HMRC Valuation Office, formerly known as the Valuation Office Agency. We have recently integrated into HMRC.

HMRC Valuation Office (VO) are the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers with a vision to be a world-leading provider of public sector valuations. Our work is vital to the collection of over £60 billion of revenue which goes back into communities, touching every citizen and every business across England and Wales.

Data sits at the heart of everything we do with the use of data woven throughout the operation of the business. The need to strengthen the VO’s data maturity across the lifecycle of our enterprise-wide data is now crucial to being able to maximise the trust, confidence and value in our property data.

As we continue our journey towards becoming a world-leading provider of public sector valuations, ensuring the integrity, quality and effective use of the organisation’s data is key to the success of this ambition. As such this role provides you with a fantastic opportunity to shape and drive data culture and data maturity across the organisation.

Job description

Role Overview

The Head of Data Governance and Architecture is a leadership role that requires organisation-wide strategic thinking. You will implement our Data Strategy ensuring that new ways of working are integrated into teams across the entire organisation to better manage our data and, oversee the design of organisation data architecture and data models.

Sitting within the Information, Data and Analysis (ID&A) Division, your work will be fundamental to helping HMRC Valuation Office operate efficiently and effectively, both now and as we look towards our longer-term ambitions. We have a vision of unleashing innovation and bold plans to unlock the value of the data in the VO and across the public sector. Your role will be pivotal in making our vision a reality through overseeing development of our data architecture, data models, and data governance while leading the delivery our new ambitious Data Strategy that drives VO in becoming a world-leading provider of public sector valuations.

Data Architecture and Governance is a diverse multi-disciplinary team at the heart of VO transformation supporting the NextGen Rating programme and the delivery of our Data Strategy. You will work on some of the most fascinating challenges and business problems in the civil service. Importantly your work supports communities across the nation, and you’ll be driving real change across the public sector.

"I am proud to lead a team of passionate, talented, and committed professionals and I am passionate to make ID&A even better place to work where people enjoy their work and can bring themselves in. ID&A is a highly knowledgeable and, above all, very friendly directorate comprising of 130 members across data, analytical, and other professions, based in various locations across the country. The teams within ID&A take care to create a welcoming, supporting environment for colleagues from a wide range of socioeconomic, professional and educational backgrounds. We put a particular focus on learning and development, career development, supporting each other to overcome challenges, learn new skills and creating a culture where innovation is a norm. If you are a strategic thinker with experience of successfully leading on organisation-wide data architecture I want to hear from you. We can provide you with a unique opportunity to shape, change and drive data culture across VO and provide an excellent experience that’ll enhance your future career prospects and skills development”

Tetyana Mykhaylyk, Deputy Director of Information, Data & Analysis

Key responsibilities

Sets the vision for the organisation’s use of data. To lead the VO’s data architecture, data governance, ownership and stewardship model, ensuring our data is trusted, secure, high‑quality, discoverable and transparently managed. This role sets the principles, standards and guardrails for data across the Valuation Office, drives stewardship and data quality, leads governance bodies and ensures alignment with the Data Strategy, HMRC Enterprise Data Strategy, and the National Data Strategy.

• Build senior-level engagement and commitment to data-led change , influencing leaders and stakeholders across VO, HMRC and wider government to adopt consistent data architecture and governance practices and to recognise data as a strategic asset.
• Set the strategic direction for data governance across VO , ensuring clear principles, standards, guardrails and decision-making routes are in place to support the delivery of the VO Data Strategy, HMRC Enterprise Data Strategy and wider government data ambitions.
• Lead the design of VO’s data architecture, establishing enterprise data models and architectural standards that support business priorities and transformation programmes.
• Provide senior architectural assurance across VO and major transformation programmes, ensuring solutions are aligned with architectural and data modelling standards, strategic objectives and long-term business needs .
• Lead the VO’s data governance framework, embedding clear accountability for data ownership, stewardship, quality, access controls and metadata to ensure data is effectively managed across the organisation.
• Drive delivery of the Data Strategy implementation plan , including the data maturity programme, ensuring progress is measurable, risks and dependencies are actively managed, and improvements are embedded into business-as-usual ways of working.
• Lead and develop a high-performing specialist team , including direct line management of four team leaders and oversight of a wider team of around 12 colleagues, building capability, professional standards, resilience and an inclusive team culture.
• Act as a senior member of the ID&A leadership team , contributing to directorate-wide strategy, planning, prioritisation and delivery, and deputising for the Deputy Director of Information, Data and Analysis where required.
• Champion VO’s data architecture and governance approach externally , collaborating with HMRC, cross-government partners and professional communities to share best practice, influence standards and ensure VO’s approach is aligned with wider public sector direction.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please get in touch with the Vacancy Holder, Tetyana Mykhaylyk. Contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.

Person specification

We are looking for a passionate and collaborative leader who can engage senior stakeholders, build trust and drive data-led change across a complex organisation. You will be an excellent communicator with strong relationship-building skills, able to inspire high-performing teams, foster an inclusive culture, and navigate competing priorities with confidence. Strategic, resilient and credible, you will champion a shared vision for data and collaborate effectively across the organisation.

Essential Requirements

We welcome applications from a range of professions. Applicants should be able to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and experience in the specified areas.

• Proven ability to set and deliver a strategic vision for data-led change, securing senior-level buy-in and engaging internal and external stakeholders to embrace change across an organisation.
• Strong understanding of data governance, ability to define the data governance strategy for the organisation and connect it with the wider organisational strategy.
• Strong understanding of data architecture, data trends and experience of enhancing data maturity within a fast paced, dynamic delivery organisation.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, including presenting expert subject matter, influencing stakeholders, briefing senior management and motivating staff.
• Profound understanding of how information and data are used to support delivery of business outcomes.
• Resilience in managing a range of conflicting priorities, often at pace, as the role can be pressurised and priorities varied.
• A visible, enabling leadership style, championing inclusion and collaboration and promoting a high-performance culture.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience of developing and delivering a data strategy or enterprise data improvement programme.
• Understanding and experience of geospatial information sources, how they are acquired, managed, assessed and exploited.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• How you meet the technical skills aligned to your profession at Grade 6 Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,092, HM Revenue and Customs contributes

£21,174 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance that starts at 25 days, increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days and a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it’s really like to work for HMRC   hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service

Things you need to know

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.

How to Apply

If you can meet our person requirements above, we are keen to hear from you. To apply for this post, you must complete an online application with the following:

A CV setting out your Job History, Skills and Experience.

A Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words) please outline your suitability for the role. Please pay particular attention to the ‘Essential Requirements’ and ‘Person Specification’ outlined in the advert when providing your answer.

Sift 18 September Please note these dates are provisional and may be subject to change.

We will assess you on your CV and Personal Statement.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift will be made on the Personal Statement.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

Staff Engagement Exercise