Data Architect and Governance Lead

At Mencap, we're driven by a vision of a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included. As we continue to transform our digital and data capabilities, we're looking for an experienced Data Architect & Governance Lead to establish and champion the frameworks, standards and architecture that help us make better decisions, improve services and deliver greater impact.

This is a unique opportunity for a strategic data professional who enjoys combining architectural thinking with practical governance leadership. You'll play a pivotal role in ensuring that data across Mencap is trusted, well-managed, secure and used responsibly, including within emerging AI-enabled solutions.

This is a home based role that will require occasional travel to our Peterborough or London Offices ~3 times per month.

Reporting to the Head of Enterprise Governance
, you'll provide organisation-wide leadership for data architecture and data governance.

Working closely with business leaders, data professionals, architects and technology teams, you'll develop and embed the principles, standards and governance needed to ensure data can be understood, shared and trusted across the organisation.

You'll influence how data is structured and managed across key platforms including Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Salesforce, SaaS applications and enterprise integration services
, helping Mencap build a mature and sustainable data capability.

This is a senior individual contributor role with significant organisational influence, offering the opportunity to shape strategic direction while remaining hands-on with architecture, governance and assurance activities.

• Define and maintain Mencap's data architecture principles, standards and best practices.
• Develop conceptual and logical data models, common definitions and integration patterns.
• Establish standards covering data design, exchange, retention and decommissioning.
• Ensure data architecture aligns with wider enterprise architecture principles.

• Lead and continually improve Mencap's data governance framework.
• Clarify and support Data Owner and Data Steward responsibilities across business domains.
• Provide expert guidance that improves governance maturity across the organisation.
• Resolve cross-domain data challenges and elevate material risks where necessary.
• Chair and facilitate monthly Data Quality Reviews.
• Drive visibility and accountability for priority data quality improvements.
• Define requirements for data dictionaries, business glossaries, metadata management and lineage.
• Establish controls that improve traceability, transparency and confidence in critical data assets.

• Review and assure significant data initiatives through governance and design authority processes.
• Provide expert input into major integrations, migrations and data-enabled transformation programmes.
• Identify and manage strategic data risks, exceptions and governance requirements.

• Define governance requirements for AI-enabled solutions and advanced analytics.
• Support the responsible use of data through clear standards covering ownership, provenance, quality, lineage and permitted use.
• Collaborate with Information Governance, Security and Risk colleagues to ensure appropriate oversight and controls.
• Manage allocated budgets and resources effectively.
• Maintain forecasts and monitor expenditure against agreed plans.
• Assess the need for specialist external support and work within established procurement and governance processes.

To be successful in this role, you'll be able to demonstrate:

• Significant experience in Data Architecture, Data Governance or senior Data Management roles within a complex organisation.
• Strong expertise in developing and applying enterprise data models, architecture standards, data governance frameworks and information management practices
  .
• Experience establishing and embedding data ownership, stewardship and accountability models across business and technology teams.
• Proven knowledge of data quality, metadata management, business glossaries, data lineage and data lifecycle management
  .
• Experience providing governance, assurance and oversight for data solutions, integrations, migrations and analytics platforms
  .
• Strong understanding of modern cloud data and analytics technologies
  , including Microsoft Fabric, Power BI or similar enterprise platforms.
• Experience working…