The Football Association have an exciting opportunity for a Business Data Architect to provide additional resource to central data activity. You will play a critical role in aligning data architecture with business objectives. You will be responsible for defining and managing data operating models, ensuring they meet organisational needs, and facilitating effective data governance. Your work will involve functional decomposition, conceptual data modelling, and collaboration with various stakeholders to ensure data integrity and accessibility across the organisation. Additionally, you will define and oversee the data operating model to ensure efficient data management practices. What will you be doing? Develop and maintain comprehensive data architecture strategies that align with business goals. Conduct functional decomposition to understand and document business processes and requirements. Map business understanding to the Data Architecture by constructing the conceptual data models representing high-level business requirements. Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business needs into data architecture, data quality and data management solutions. Collaborate with Data Quality Analysts, Product Managers, Product Owners, Architects and Business Analysts to enable The FA's and Architecture & Data Engineering's Practice Maturity Ensure data architecture supports data governance, quality, and security standards. Define and implement data management frameworks and operating models, ensuring clear roles and responsibilities. Perform enterprise strategy refinement alongside business process analysis to identify opportunities for process improvements Target Business Enterprise Architecture and data integration. Work closely with business units to identify data needs and ensure alignment with data architecture. Define and oversee the data operating model to ensure efficient data management practices. Facilitate data integration across various systems using Azure tools and practices. Implement and manage the Purview Data Catalogue to ensure effective data discovery and metadata management. Promote best practices in data management and governance across the organisation. Conduct regular reviews and assessments of data architecture to ensure it meets evolving business needs. Support strategic planning by providing insight and recommendations to reduce total cost of ownership and key technology risks Executes additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group changing priorities. Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing can be maintained. As part of The FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance. What are we looking for? Essential for the role: Knowledge Bachelor's Degree or higher in a relevant computing, mathematics, or business-related discipline, or equivalent industry experience. Experience Extensive experience in data architecture, with a strong focus on business alignment and conceptual data modelling. Experience with cloud-based architectures and modern tech stacks, particularly Azure. Technical Skills Proficiency in functional decomposition and business process analysis. Proficiency in BPMN diagramming. Advanced proficiency in creating and managing conceptual data models. Strong knowledge of data governance, data quality, and compliance best practices. Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail. Exceptional communication and documentation skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Proven ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams. Beneficial to have: Knowledge Master's Degree in a relevant field. Certified Business Architect (CBA) or similar certification. Experience Experience with business process modelling tools and methodologies. Strong understanding of enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, Zachman). Experience in strategic planning and business analysis. Experience with data orchestration tools within Azure, such as Azure Data Factory. Strong understanding of business intelligence and analytics tools such as Power BI. Experience in designing and implementing data governance frameworks and policies. Experience of Data Science. Technical Skills Strong project management skills, including experience with agile methodologies. Familiarity with customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. What's in it for you? We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, to achieve this we have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English Football. We are also delighted to offer a world-class, Elite Performance Centre, St. George's Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders. We pride ourselves in offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below: Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season encouraging you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and wellbeing. Free, nutritious lunches, at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park. Free private medical cover. A contributory pension scheme. An additional Thank You days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days annual leave. A hybrid working model offering greater flexibility. Our Organisation The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year. The FA oversees England international teams across men's, women's, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup and Women's Adobe FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park, all with a purpose to Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation. We currently work within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary. Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location of Wembley Stadium or St. George's Park unless the role is advertised as a home-based contract. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page. The FA, For All, For You Our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination. A Game For All outlines three key strategic commitments - Lead the Change, Be the Change, and Inspire the Change - which will ensure tackling discrimination remains a core priority for English football for years to come. We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work. We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application. As part of The FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
