Overview
Job Title: Head of Data Architecture
Reports To: CDO
Key Relationships: IT and Data Management, Data Science, Actuarial, Business Analysts, Platform Leads, Product Owners, Business Stakeholders
Beazley’s data reflects the complexity of our business, and our data architecture is in need of modernisation and rationalisation. We are seeking a visionary and technically skilled Head of Data Architecture to lead this transformation. This role is pivotal to our evolution into a digital-first organisation and supports our ambitious growth plans.
You will be a passionate data leader, capable of inspiring and influencing stakeholders across the business. You will shape and lead a high-performing team of expert data architects and data modellers responsible for enabling data-driven business outcomes, maturing our platform governance, delivery cadence, and overall capability across our platform(s). You will work collaboratively with adjacent functions including our IT team. The role operates within a matrix reporting structure, with accountability to both the Head of Enterprise Architecture and the Head of Data Engineering to ensure alignment between IT strategy, Data Strategy and Enterprise standards and guardrails.
This is a strategic leadership role, requiring a blend of technical depth, architectural vision, and stakeholder engagement to drive the design and delivery of modern, scalable, and governed data platforms.
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will be responsible for:
- Strategic Leadership
- Continuous improvement of Beazley’s data architecture aligned with business goals and technology strategy.
- Enhancing data governance and data product framework including data modelling, data quality, metadata management, and data lineage.
- Collaborating with senior stakeholders (CDO, CIO, Head of Shared Services Engineering, Head of Enterprise Architecture) to ensure data architecture supports enterprise initiatives.
- Architecture Design & Oversight
- Designing scalable, secure, and resilient data architectures (data lakes, data warehouses, real-time streaming platforms).
- Standardising technologies (cloud platforms, ETL tools, data modelling tools).
- Ensuring interoperability of data products across systems and platforms (APIs, data integration patterns).
- Optimising use of data platforms, reducing technical debt, and decommissioning legacy systems.
- Team & Capability Building
- Lead and mentor data architects, modellers and engineers, fostering a high-performing team.
- Develop architectural standards and best practices, ensuring consistency across projects.
- Support hiring and capability development in data architecture, data products and engineering.
- Governance & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA).
- Implement data security protocols and access controls.
- Monitor data usage and integrity, ensuring ethical and compliant data practices.
- Innovation & Continuous Improvement
- Evaluate emerging technologies (AI, data mesh, lakehouse, AI/ML platforms).
- Lead technical design and implementation of Beazley’s Modern Data Platform, ensuring architecture, engineering and data modelling unlocks reuse and scale for our data product blueprint.
- Drive modernisation initiatives, such as cloud migration and legacy system decommissioning.
- Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
- Work closely with business units to understand data needs and translate them into architectural solutions.
- Partner with software engineering, analytics, and product teams to ensure data architecture supports their workflows.
- Communicate architectural decisions clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
General
At Beazley we are committed to doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. It is important that within all your interactions both internally and externally you adhere to this principle through adoption of Beazley’s core values and behaviours.
- Adopt the Beazley culture of being bold, striving for better and do the right thing. This contributes to an internal environment of teamwork and promotes a positive brand image and experience to all our external customers.
- Comply with Beazley procedures, policies and regulations including the code of conduct which incorporates the PRA and FCA Conduct Rules. Undertake training on Beazley policies and procedures as delivered by your line manager, Talent Management or assurance teams (compliance, risk, internal audit) either directly, via e-learning or the learning management system.
- Display business ethics that uphold the interests of all our customers.
- Ensure all interactions with customers are focused on delivering a fair outcome, including having the right products for their needs.
- Comply with any specific responsibilities necessary for your role as outlined by your line manager, Talent Management or assurance teams (compliance, risk, internal audit) and ensure you keep up to date with developments in these areas. This may include, amongst others, Beazley’s underwriting control standards, Beazley’s claims control standards, other Beazley standards and customer relationship management.
- Carry out additional responsibilities as individually notified, either through your objectives or through the learning management system. These may include membership of any Beazley committees or working groups.
Personal Specification
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in data relevant area such as STEM, finance, economics or a related field of study desirable but not essential
Knowledge & Experience:
- Experience managing small teams of experts highly desirable.
- Extensive knowledge of and experience with RDBMS architectures, including full command of SQL and ETL languages and tools.
- Understanding of basic data concepts such as ACID, BASE and the ability to determine the best fit to a business problem.
- Ability to synthesise complex data problems into logical models and physical solutions.
- Knowledge of and experience with Event Streaming architectures desirable.
- Hands on experience and demonstrable thought leadership on our specific technology stack highly desirable:
- Kafka (Confluent)
- ADLS
- Snowflake
- Power BI / Fabric
- SQL Server
- Azure PostgresSQL (and other similar Azure options)
- Integration of the above in a zero-trust hybrid cloud architecture
- Knowledge of business re-engineering principles and processes.
- Strong modelling capability with the ability to clearly represent complex ideas graphically.
- Familiar with a variety of modelling approaches, tools and model repositories.
- Ability to translate complex domain specific concepts into knowledge that can be understood and consumed across domains.
Competencies
- Highly supportive of the business and of its ideals and strategies,
- Neutral toward technology, vendor and product choices; more interested in results than in personal preferences,
- Ability to work with projects and change initiatives to deliver their goals without compromising the delivery of wider strategy,
- Effective at driving short-term actions that are consistent with long-term goals,
- Is motivated by long-term results
- Stakeholder management, understanding of needs, and influencing
- Collaboration skills to drive towards common goals across multiple line management chains,
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation, and negotiation.
- Excellent problem solving and analytical skills,
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
