Manchester, United Kingdom Posted on 15/05/2026
We're seeking a seasoned Data Lead to own and deliver the data strategy for a government client that uses services employed by over 18 million citizens across three newly rebuilt benefits systems.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the end to end Data Strategy for Bereavement & Care services.
- Map the "as is" and "to be" state of our data platforms and pipelines.
- Develop a 3 month strategic roadmap aligned with the wider Government Data
- Define and embed organisational policies, standards and guidelines for secure,
Technical Leadership & Architecture
- Select and evolve data engineering methods, tools and techniques.
- Ensure adherence to agreed technical strategies and architectures.
- Plan and drive delivery of complex data engineering programmes across multiple systems.
- Balance functional and non functional requirements when designing data solutions.
- Define the optimal data team structure (roles, skills, capacity) to deliver the
- Design and chair multi functional delivery teams, mentoring engineers, scientists and analysts.
- Partner with our delivery provider to onboard specialist roles per your recommendations.
- Oversee implementation of new data platforms, ETL pipelines, and analytical
- Monitor application of data standards, governance frameworks and security controls.
- Embed strong data quality, lineage and protection practices across all systems.
- Contribute to and enforce enterprise wide data engineering policies and compliance.
Required Experience & Skills
- Data Leadership: 10 years across data engineering, data science or analytics; proven track record setting/executing data strategies in complex organisations.
- Technical Breadth:
- Cloud based data platforms AWS must (Azure, AWS or equivalent)
- Modern ETL/ELT tools and data pipeline frameworks
- Data modelling, warehousing and transformation best practices
- Data science/ML lifecycle from prototype to production
- Government/Public Sector: Experience to GDS equivalent standards; strong grasp of GDPR, FOI and public sector procurement.
- Communication & Stakeholder Management: Able to translate technical concepts for non tech executives; excellent mentoring and team building skills.
- Domain experience in benefits or civic services (e.g. public sector).
- Previous contracting under SIFA or similar public sector frameworks.
- Security clearance (BPSS, SC or DV) or willingness to obtain.
Diversity & Inclusion
At Scrumconnect Consulting, we believe that diversity drives innovation. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where every individual is respected, valued, and supported. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences, and we actively encourage applications from women, people with disabilities, underrepresented communities, and those seeking flexible working arrangements.