Halfords Group PLC is seeking a Service Assurance Manager to oversee supplier relationships and contract management, ensuring performance aligns with KPIs. The role requires strong commercial experience and excellent communication skills, as you'll collaborate with internal teams and manage multiple supplier relationships. Located in Redditch, Worcestershire, this hybrid role offers a competitive salary and benefits including a car allowance and employee discounts.
03/05/2026
Full time
Halfords Group PLC is seeking a Service Assurance Manager to oversee supplier relationships and contract management, ensuring performance aligns with KPIs. The role requires strong commercial experience and excellent communication skills, as you'll collaborate with internal teams and manage multiple supplier relationships. Located in Redditch, Worcestershire, this hybrid role offers a competitive salary and benefits including a car allowance and employee discounts.
Job no: 564968 Work type: Full time Site: Redditch Categories: IT Location: Worcestershire Salary: Competitive salary + Car allowance Business Area: Halfords Support Centre About us Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We're a place for cocreators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that's still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We're modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end-to-end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long-term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards. Halfords operates a hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands. About the role As Information Security GRC Lead within our Technology Information Security function, you'll own the governance, risk, and compliance capability for the organisation end to end. It's a key role within the function where you'll be responsible for ensuring security risks are understood and managed at the right level, compliance obligations are met without becoming a drag on delivery, and decision-makers have what they need to act with confidence. Day to day, you'll maintain the security policy framework, own the technology and cyber risk register, and lead PCI DSS Level 4 and Cyber Essentials Plus assurance and audit coordination. You'll independently assess and challenge technical security controls from technology teams and third-party suppliers, coordinate internal audits and UK GDPR reviews, and deliver clear compliance reporting to Technology Leadership and the Board. This role requires genuine technical credibility alongside strong governance instincts. You'll need to be equally comfortable challenging a control gap with an engineering team as presenting compliance status to an audit committee. If you want to own a GRC function with real organisational reach, this is a strong platform to do it from. Key responsibilities Own the information security GRC function, maintaining the security policy framework, standards, and supporting procedures, ensuring policies are current, risk based, and practically adoptable without creating unnecessary friction Lead information security risk management, owning the technology and cyber risk register, driving risk ownership across the organisation, and providing clear risk based recommendations to support senior decision making Independently assess and validate technical security controls and evidence provided by technology teams and third party suppliers, challenging where controls are insufficient and forming clear, documented risk conclusions Own PCI DSS Level 4 assurance and audit coordination, managing evidence collection, engaging with assessors, tracking remediation to closure, and maintaining continuous audit readiness Own Cyber Essentials Plus certification, managing the assessment process and ensuring controls remain compliant between certification cycles Coordinate internal information security audits and UK GDPR technical control assurance, managing evidence collection, stakeholder engagement, and remediation tracking Manage third party security assurance, maintaining a supplier security risk framework and ensuring third party controls meet the organisation's standards Deliver clear, decision ready reporting on GRC posture, audit outcomes, and compliance status to Technology Leadership and the Board and Audit and Risk Committee where required Own the security training and awareness programme, including planning and executing campaigns and driving continuous improvement in colleague awareness About you Proven experience leading an information security GRC function, owning policy frameworks, risk registers, audit coordination, and compliance assurance in a complex technology environment Strong technical credibility, with the ability to independently assess and challenge technical security controls across cloud, identity, endpoints, networks, and applications without owning those controls directly Hands on experience managing PCI DSS compliance obligations, including evidence management, assessor engagement, gap remediation, and maintaining continuous audit readiness Experience managing Cyber Essentials Plus certification processes, including scoping, evidence collection, and control validation Proven experience managing information security risk registers, driving risk ownership, and articulating risk clearly to senior and non technical stakeholders Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to produce clear, concise reporting for technical, business, and audit audiences as well as plan and deliver awareness material Experience in UK retail, omnichannel, or customer facing technology environments with payment card and data protection obligations would be an advantage Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, or CRISC are desirable, though equivalent demonstrable experience in security governance, risk, and compliance is equally welcome A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, car allowance, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords. Not sure you meet all the criteria? We'd encourage you to take the wheel and apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family. Halfords operates a hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands.
03/05/2026
Full time
Job no: 564968 Work type: Full time Site: Redditch Categories: IT Location: Worcestershire Salary: Competitive salary + Car allowance Business Area: Halfords Support Centre About us Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We're a place for cocreators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that's still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We're modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end-to-end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long-term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards. Halfords operates a hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands. About the role As Information Security GRC Lead within our Technology Information Security function, you'll own the governance, risk, and compliance capability for the organisation end to end. It's a key role within the function where you'll be responsible for ensuring security risks are understood and managed at the right level, compliance obligations are met without becoming a drag on delivery, and decision-makers have what they need to act with confidence. Day to day, you'll maintain the security policy framework, own the technology and cyber risk register, and lead PCI DSS Level 4 and Cyber Essentials Plus assurance and audit coordination. You'll independently assess and challenge technical security controls from technology teams and third-party suppliers, coordinate internal audits and UK GDPR reviews, and deliver clear compliance reporting to Technology Leadership and the Board. This role requires genuine technical credibility alongside strong governance instincts. You'll need to be equally comfortable challenging a control gap with an engineering team as presenting compliance status to an audit committee. If you want to own a GRC function with real organisational reach, this is a strong platform to do it from. Key responsibilities Own the information security GRC function, maintaining the security policy framework, standards, and supporting procedures, ensuring policies are current, risk based, and practically adoptable without creating unnecessary friction Lead information security risk management, owning the technology and cyber risk register, driving risk ownership across the organisation, and providing clear risk based recommendations to support senior decision making Independently assess and validate technical security controls and evidence provided by technology teams and third party suppliers, challenging where controls are insufficient and forming clear, documented risk conclusions Own PCI DSS Level 4 assurance and audit coordination, managing evidence collection, engaging with assessors, tracking remediation to closure, and maintaining continuous audit readiness Own Cyber Essentials Plus certification, managing the assessment process and ensuring controls remain compliant between certification cycles Coordinate internal information security audits and UK GDPR technical control assurance, managing evidence collection, stakeholder engagement, and remediation tracking Manage third party security assurance, maintaining a supplier security risk framework and ensuring third party controls meet the organisation's standards Deliver clear, decision ready reporting on GRC posture, audit outcomes, and compliance status to Technology Leadership and the Board and Audit and Risk Committee where required Own the security training and awareness programme, including planning and executing campaigns and driving continuous improvement in colleague awareness About you Proven experience leading an information security GRC function, owning policy frameworks, risk registers, audit coordination, and compliance assurance in a complex technology environment Strong technical credibility, with the ability to independently assess and challenge technical security controls across cloud, identity, endpoints, networks, and applications without owning those controls directly Hands on experience managing PCI DSS compliance obligations, including evidence management, assessor engagement, gap remediation, and maintaining continuous audit readiness Experience managing Cyber Essentials Plus certification processes, including scoping, evidence collection, and control validation Proven experience managing information security risk registers, driving risk ownership, and articulating risk clearly to senior and non technical stakeholders Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to produce clear, concise reporting for technical, business, and audit audiences as well as plan and deliver awareness material Experience in UK retail, omnichannel, or customer facing technology environments with payment card and data protection obligations would be an advantage Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, or CRISC are desirable, though equivalent demonstrable experience in security governance, risk, and compliance is equally welcome A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, car allowance, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords. Not sure you meet all the criteria? We'd encourage you to take the wheel and apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family. Halfords operates a hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands.
Service Assurance Manager - Retail & Customer Apply now Job no: 564971 Work type: Full time Site: Redditch Categories: IT Location: Worcestershire Salary: Competitive salary + Car allowance Business Area: Halfords Support Centre About us Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We're a place for co creators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that's still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We're modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end to end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards. About the role As a Service Assurance Manager within our Technology Service and Operations team, you'll take ownership of the quality, performance, and commercial rigour of the technology partnerships that underpin how Halfords operates. This is a heavily commercial role, centred on supplier and contract management across a significant partner landscape, where you'll own relationships, hold partners to account, and ensure we're getting genuine value, innovation, and delivery against agreed KPIs. Day to day, you'll manage contracts, lead supplier reviews, and assess whether we have the right scale and shape of supply base to support what we're trying to achieve. You'll ensure spend is properly aligned to cost centres and investment boards, support audit and governance activity, and work with the risk team on enterprise risk. This is a high influence role joining at a crucial moment as Halfords makes a significant push to modernise its technology organisation. There's real appetite from leadership to improve governance and supplier performance, and there's plenty to manage and put right, so you'll need to be comfortable rolling your sleeves up and operating with some ambiguity. If you're commercially sharp, confident at any level of conversation, and motivated by making a tangible difference to how a major retailer manages its technology partnerships, this could be the role for you. Key responsibilities Own the quality and performance of technology supplier and partner relationships, ensuring services are delivered against contracted KPIs and that partners are innovating and adding value Lead commercial and contract management activity across the partner landscape, including contract negotiation, renewals, and ensuring obligations are clearly understood and met on both sides Assess the supplier and partner landscape to ensure the organisation has the right partners at the right scale, identifying consolidation or rationalisation opportunities where appropriate Ensure all technology spend is aligned to approved cost centres and investment boards, supporting financial budget planning and maintaining visibility of committed and forecast expenditure Support audit and governance activity, working alongside the risk team to ensure enterprise risk is identified, owned, and managed appropriately Operate within a squad focused model, taking clear accountability across specific partnerships and service areas through a defined RACI structure Maintain service performance reporting, providing transparent insight into availability, reliability, and operational risk across critical business systems Collaborate with Service Experience Leads and internal teams to ensure operational insight informs service reviews and improvement activity About you Strong, demonstrable commercial experience in a supplier or partner management environment, including contract negotiation, commercial governance, and the ability to read and interpret complex contracts Experience working within or alongside audit and governance processes, with an understanding of risk management frameworks Confident communicator who can engage credibly at any level, from technical teams to exec stakeholders, and hold suppliers to account with clarity and professionalism Comfortable working across a broad and complex supplier landscape, with the organisational skills to manage multiple relationships and priorities simultaneously A working understanding of technology and how enterprise systems operate, sufficient to have meaningful conversations with partners and internal teams without needing to be hands on technically Background in supplier / service management, service assurance, or technology operations within a complex enterprise environment Experience in retail, omnichannel, or 24/7 operational environments is advantageous, as is familiarity with ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow Comfortable with ambiguity and able to operate effectively in an environment where not everything is defined yet. This is a role that rewards initiative and effort A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, car allowance, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords. Note Hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands.
03/05/2026
Full time
Service Assurance Manager - Retail & Customer Apply now Job no: 564971 Work type: Full time Site: Redditch Categories: IT Location: Worcestershire Salary: Competitive salary + Car allowance Business Area: Halfords Support Centre About us Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We're a place for co creators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that's still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We're modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end to end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards. About the role As a Service Assurance Manager within our Technology Service and Operations team, you'll take ownership of the quality, performance, and commercial rigour of the technology partnerships that underpin how Halfords operates. This is a heavily commercial role, centred on supplier and contract management across a significant partner landscape, where you'll own relationships, hold partners to account, and ensure we're getting genuine value, innovation, and delivery against agreed KPIs. Day to day, you'll manage contracts, lead supplier reviews, and assess whether we have the right scale and shape of supply base to support what we're trying to achieve. You'll ensure spend is properly aligned to cost centres and investment boards, support audit and governance activity, and work with the risk team on enterprise risk. This is a high influence role joining at a crucial moment as Halfords makes a significant push to modernise its technology organisation. There's real appetite from leadership to improve governance and supplier performance, and there's plenty to manage and put right, so you'll need to be comfortable rolling your sleeves up and operating with some ambiguity. If you're commercially sharp, confident at any level of conversation, and motivated by making a tangible difference to how a major retailer manages its technology partnerships, this could be the role for you. Key responsibilities Own the quality and performance of technology supplier and partner relationships, ensuring services are delivered against contracted KPIs and that partners are innovating and adding value Lead commercial and contract management activity across the partner landscape, including contract negotiation, renewals, and ensuring obligations are clearly understood and met on both sides Assess the supplier and partner landscape to ensure the organisation has the right partners at the right scale, identifying consolidation or rationalisation opportunities where appropriate Ensure all technology spend is aligned to approved cost centres and investment boards, supporting financial budget planning and maintaining visibility of committed and forecast expenditure Support audit and governance activity, working alongside the risk team to ensure enterprise risk is identified, owned, and managed appropriately Operate within a squad focused model, taking clear accountability across specific partnerships and service areas through a defined RACI structure Maintain service performance reporting, providing transparent insight into availability, reliability, and operational risk across critical business systems Collaborate with Service Experience Leads and internal teams to ensure operational insight informs service reviews and improvement activity About you Strong, demonstrable commercial experience in a supplier or partner management environment, including contract negotiation, commercial governance, and the ability to read and interpret complex contracts Experience working within or alongside audit and governance processes, with an understanding of risk management frameworks Confident communicator who can engage credibly at any level, from technical teams to exec stakeholders, and hold suppliers to account with clarity and professionalism Comfortable working across a broad and complex supplier landscape, with the organisational skills to manage multiple relationships and priorities simultaneously A working understanding of technology and how enterprise systems operate, sufficient to have meaningful conversations with partners and internal teams without needing to be hands on technically Background in supplier / service management, service assurance, or technology operations within a complex enterprise environment Experience in retail, omnichannel, or 24/7 operational environments is advantageous, as is familiarity with ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow Comfortable with ambiguity and able to operate effectively in an environment where not everything is defined yet. This is a role that rewards initiative and effort A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, car allowance, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords. Note Hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands.
Apply now Job no: 564966 Work type: Full time Site: Redditch Categories: IT Location: Worcestershire Salary: Competitive salary + Car allowance Business Area: Halfords Support Centre About Us Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We're a place for co creators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that's still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We're modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end to end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards. Halfords operates a hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands. About the Role As Data Solution Architect within our Technology Architecture function, you'll design end to end data solutions that deliver measurable business value across our Technology delivery portfolios. You'll be embedded close to delivery squads, while remaining part of the broader Architecture function. Working closely with the Data Architect, Platform Architect - Data, Business Process Consultants and Data Engineers, you'll ensure data intensive initiatives are designed securely, scalably and in line with enterprise standards from the outset. You'll translate requirements into robust logical and physical designs, helping delivery teams move at pace while ensuring the long term data estate remains coherent, reusable and governed. You'll be working across a uniquely broad data landscape spanning retail stores, garages, mobile services, digital journeys, customer, loyalty, supply chain and operational data. The role will support analytical, BI and AI/ML use cases across a complex organisation undergoing significant technology transformation. This is a strong opportunity for a hands on Solution Architect with a real depth in data, someone who enjoys being close to delivery, but who also understands the importance of good architecture, data quality, lineage, ownership and reuse. Key Responsibilities Lead the architectural design of data centric initiatives, defining end to end data flows, data domains and solution intent while enabling engineering teams to own implementation detail. Translate business requirements into logical and physical data solution designs aligned to enterprise data standards, canonical models and platform reference architectures. Provide architectural assurance across data ingestion, transformation, storage and consumption patterns, including integrations, APIs, streaming and batch processing pipelines. Support the delivery of key data and technology programmes, ensuring data architecture is properly designed and governed from the outset. Ensure solution designs maximise reuse of canonical data models and shared datasets, reducing duplication and improving consistency across initiatives. Own and document architecture decisions, trade offs and rationale, presenting solution designs to the Data Design Authority for alignment and assurance. Collaborate with the wider Architecture team to ensure alignment between solution design, enterprise architecture and long term platform evolution. About You Proven experience in a Solution Architect role with a strong specialism in data, including hands on Databricks and Azure stack experience is essential. Strong understanding of data modelling, ETL/ELT patterns and data integration architectures, with the ability to design end to end solutions rather than advise at a surface level. Experience producing architecture artefacts such as data flow diagrams, logical and physical data models and solution overviews to support governance and delivery. Solid understanding of data governance, lineage, security and regulatory considerations, with the ability to embed these into designs from the outset. Able to translate complex business problems into structured architecture designs and clearly articulate options and trade offs to both technical and non technical audiences. Confident working within agile, product aligned delivery squads, influencing without direct authority and shaping solutions collaboratively. Experience in retail, customer data or supply chain environments is a bonus, as is exposure to real time streaming or event driven architectures. A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, car allowance, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords. Not sure you meet all the criteria? We'd encourage you to take the wheel and apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family.
03/05/2026
Full time
Apply now Job no: 564966 Work type: Full time Site: Redditch Categories: IT Location: Worcestershire Salary: Competitive salary + Car allowance Business Area: Halfords Support Centre About Us Halfords is on a journey - building the future of motoring and cycling and looking for people who want to help shape what comes next. We're a place for co creators: people who want to make a real impact, take ownership and be part of something that's still evolving. Technology at Halfords is at a turning point. We're modernising our foundations, sharpening our delivery, and ensuring every technology decision is connected to real commercial and customer outcomes. We're looking for people who act as trusted advisors to the business, take end to end accountability for outcomes, and can balance pace with long term architectural integrity. Innovation here means practical, scalable solutions, not ideas that stay on whiteboards. Halfords operates a hybrid working policy - this position will be based 3 days per week at our support centre in Redditch, West Midlands. About the Role As Data Solution Architect within our Technology Architecture function, you'll design end to end data solutions that deliver measurable business value across our Technology delivery portfolios. You'll be embedded close to delivery squads, while remaining part of the broader Architecture function. Working closely with the Data Architect, Platform Architect - Data, Business Process Consultants and Data Engineers, you'll ensure data intensive initiatives are designed securely, scalably and in line with enterprise standards from the outset. You'll translate requirements into robust logical and physical designs, helping delivery teams move at pace while ensuring the long term data estate remains coherent, reusable and governed. You'll be working across a uniquely broad data landscape spanning retail stores, garages, mobile services, digital journeys, customer, loyalty, supply chain and operational data. The role will support analytical, BI and AI/ML use cases across a complex organisation undergoing significant technology transformation. This is a strong opportunity for a hands on Solution Architect with a real depth in data, someone who enjoys being close to delivery, but who also understands the importance of good architecture, data quality, lineage, ownership and reuse. Key Responsibilities Lead the architectural design of data centric initiatives, defining end to end data flows, data domains and solution intent while enabling engineering teams to own implementation detail. Translate business requirements into logical and physical data solution designs aligned to enterprise data standards, canonical models and platform reference architectures. Provide architectural assurance across data ingestion, transformation, storage and consumption patterns, including integrations, APIs, streaming and batch processing pipelines. Support the delivery of key data and technology programmes, ensuring data architecture is properly designed and governed from the outset. Ensure solution designs maximise reuse of canonical data models and shared datasets, reducing duplication and improving consistency across initiatives. Own and document architecture decisions, trade offs and rationale, presenting solution designs to the Data Design Authority for alignment and assurance. Collaborate with the wider Architecture team to ensure alignment between solution design, enterprise architecture and long term platform evolution. About You Proven experience in a Solution Architect role with a strong specialism in data, including hands on Databricks and Azure stack experience is essential. Strong understanding of data modelling, ETL/ELT patterns and data integration architectures, with the ability to design end to end solutions rather than advise at a surface level. Experience producing architecture artefacts such as data flow diagrams, logical and physical data models and solution overviews to support governance and delivery. Solid understanding of data governance, lineage, security and regulatory considerations, with the ability to embed these into designs from the outset. Able to translate complex business problems into structured architecture designs and clearly articulate options and trade offs to both technical and non technical audiences. Confident working within agile, product aligned delivery squads, influencing without direct authority and shaping solutions collaboratively. Experience in retail, customer data or supply chain environments is a bonus, as is exposure to real time streaming or event driven architectures. A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, car allowance, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave. Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations. We offer hybrid working with a blend of working in our Support Centre and from home. You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services. Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords. Not sure you meet all the criteria? We'd encourage you to take the wheel and apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family.