Lead Data Analyst

Step into the role of Lead Data Analyst at Barclays and play a pivotal part in shaping data-driven solutions across our banking platforms. In this role, you will bridge business needs and technical delivery, ensuring requirements are clearly defined, prioritized, and translated into high-quality solutions within an agile environment.

A strong understanding of banking domains—such as Core Banking, Onboarding, Payments, FX, Liquidity, and Cash Management—is essential. Experience working within or understanding data mesh concepts and “data as a product” principles will enable you to effectively collaborate across distributed data teams.

Desirably, you bring exposure to broader banking product stacks, including payments processing, core banking systems, ETL and reporting flows, and integrations using middleware technologies such as Kafka, MQ, or file-based patterns. Technical awareness is key, including proficiency in SQL, data interpretation, understanding of data models and system interfaces, and the ability to support defect triage and test cycles.

To be successful as a Lead Data Analyst, you should have:

• Strong Requirements Engineering & Agile Analysis: Eliciting, validating and documenting BRDs/FRDs/user stories, Backlog refinement, feature mapping, supporting testing, Working within Agile frameworks
• Domain Expertise in any banking stack: Core Banking, Onboarding, Payments, FX, Liquidity and Cash Management etc. Having worked in a data mesh world or understanding concepts around data as a product.
• Agile Ceremonies & SAFe Program Events: Strong proficiency in writing epics, capabilities, features, and user stories with acceptance criteria that meet Definition of Ready/Definition of Done.

Other highly valued skills include:

• Exposure to Broader Banking Product Stacks: Payment’s domain deep dive, Core banking systems, ETL / reporting flows, Integration with middleware (Kafka, MQ, file-based patterns).
• Technical Awareness & Analytical Tools: SQL/data interpretation, understanding of data models, interfaces and system behaviour, Ability to support issue triage (defects, test cycles).
• Risk Management & Regulatory Awareness: Risk & Controls, Regulatory Reporting, Liquidity Risk.

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

This role is based in Glasgow with a hybrid working model of working a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.

To enable data-driven strategic and operational decision making through extracting actionable insights from large datasets, performing statistical and advanced analytics to uncover trends and patterns, and presenting findings through clear visualisations and reports.

• Investigation and analysis of data issues related to quality, lineage, controls, and authoritative source identification, documenting data sources, methodologies, and quality findings with recommendations for improvement
• Designing and building data pipelines to automate data movement and processing.
• Apply advanced analytical techniques to large datasets to uncover trends and correlations, develop validated logical data models, and translate insights into actionable business recommendations that drive operational and process improvements, leveraging machine learning/AI.
• Through data-driven analysis, translate analytical findings into actionable business recommendations, identifying opportunities for operational and process improvements.
• Design and create interactive dashboards and visual reports using applicable tools and automate reporting processes for regular and ad-hoc stakeholder needs.

• To contribute or set strategy, drive requirements and make recommendations for change. Plan resources, budgets, and policies; manage and maintain policies/ processes; deliver continuous improvements and elevate breaches of policies/procedures.
• If managing a team, they define jobs and responsibilities, planning for the department’s future needs and operations, counselling employees on performance and contributing to employee pay decisions/changes. They may also lead a number of specialists to influence the operations of a department, in alignment with strategic as well as tactical priorities, while balancing short and long term goals and ensuring that budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements.
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.
• OR for an individual contributor, they will be a subject matter expert within own discipline and will guide technical direction. They will lead collaborative, multi-year assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.
• Advise key stakeholders, including functional leadership teams and senior management on functional and cross-functional areas of impact and alignment.
• Manage and mitigate risks through assessment, in support of the control and governance agenda.
• Demonstrate leadership and accountability for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work your team does.
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the organisation functions to contribute to achieving the goals of the business.
• Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategies.
• Create solutions based on sophisticated analytical thought comparing and selecting complex alternatives. In-depth analysis with interpretative thinking will be required to define problems and develop innovative solutions.
• Adopt and include the outcomes of extensive research in problem solving processes.
• Seek out, build and maintain trusting relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in order to accomplish key business objectives, using influencing and negotiating skills to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.