Contract Data Architect

Contract Data Architect (Insurance & Pensions)

URGENT REQUIREMENT

Interviews taking place immediately with a view to commencing Monday 27th July.

Location: Fully Remote (occasional travel to London)

Contract Length: 6 Months Initial Contract

Day Rate: £600-£650 per day

Engagement: Outside IR35

Start Date: Monday 27th July

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Data Architect to join a high-profile data modernisation programme within the insurance and pensions sector. This consultant will play a critical role in defining the target-state data architecture, supporting the migration of legacy data estates into a modern cloud-native platform, and shaping the architectural standards that underpin enterprise-wide data transformation.

This is an ideal opportunity for a Data Architect with strong insurance or pensions experience, a deep understanding of modern data platforms, and the ability to engage effectively with both technical and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead discovery, assessment and technical design activities for large-scale data modernisation programmes.
• Define conceptual architectures, logical data models and detailed low-level designs (LLDs).
• Design target-state Lakehouse and Medallion architectures, including Bronze, Silver and curated data product layers.
• Develop migration strategies for transitioning legacy and mainframe-based datasets into modern cloud-native platforms.
• Define data ingestion, profiling, mapping, validation, reconciliation and governance processes.
• Produce canonical data models across policy, member, scheme, contribution, benefit, payment, adjustment and reporting domains.
• Design scalable API and microservices-based integration patterns.
• Establish data quality, reconciliation and control frameworks to support regulatory and operational reporting.
• Produce architecture artefacts including:
• Solution designs
• Data models
• Source-to-target mappings
• API specifications
• Security models
• Migration plans
• Runbooks
• Work closely with engineering, platform, security and operations teams to ensure solutions are scalable, secure and production-ready.
• Provide architectural leadership and engage with stakeholders at all levels across business and technology functions.

Essential Experience

• Extensive experience as a Data Architect within insurance or pensions.
• Strong understanding of insurance and pension data domains.
• Proven delivery of enterprise-scale data architecture and modernisation programmes.
• Experience designing modern cloud-native data platforms.
• Strong knowledge of Lakehouse and Medallion architecture patterns.
• Experience migrating legacy, on-premise or mainframe data platforms into cloud environments.
• Ability to create conceptual architecture, logical data models and detailed LLDs.
• Strong understanding of enterprise data modelling and canonical data structures.
• Experience designing API-led and microservices architectures.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Strong understanding of data governance, data quality, reconciliation and regulatory reporting requirements.

Highly Desirable

• Experience with:
• Bulk Purchase Annuities (BPA)
• Pension Risk Transfer
• Actuarial Reporting
• Scheme Administration Data
• Regulatory Reporting
• Operational Analytics
• Experience within highly regulated financial services environments.
• Exposure to enterprise data engineering and cloud transformation initiatives.

Key Skills

• Data Architecture
• Insurance & Pensions
• Data Modernisation
• Cloud Data Platforms
• Lakehouse Architecture
• Medallion Architecture
• Data Modelling
• Legacy/Mainframe Migration
• Conceptual Architecture
• Low-Level Design (LLD)
• APIs & Microservices
• Data Governance
• Data Quality & Reconciliation
• Stakeholder Management
• Solution Design