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Job Description

Head of Enterprise Data Engineering

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Total Package: Minimum Range £67,000 - £72,000

Salary Minimum: £67,000 East Kilbride, £68,750 Milton Keynes (including the £1,750 allowance) and £72,000 for London, also inclusive of a £5,000 allowance.

FCDO would match the base pay of existing Civil Servants if joining on level transfer. Existing Civil Servants would receive the greater of (i) the pay range minima or (ii) a 10% increase in current salary, if applying on promotion.

A non-pensionable, non-consolidated specialist allowance may be offered up to £20,000 depending on demonstration of skills, competence, experience and location.

A non-pensionable, non-consolidated Location Allowance of up to £5,000 may also apply, subject to location.

Contract: Permanent

Location: London, Milton Keynes, East Kilbride – you will be required to work from this location in line with FCDO policies on Hybrid Working (minimum 60% in the office).

We lead the UK’s diplomatic, development and consular work around the world. We employ around 17,000 staff in our global network of 281 offices worldwide. Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street in London, Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and in Milton Keynes.

Your role with us

Our Information and Digital Directorate is responsible for delivering the Foreign Secretary’s ambition to make the FCDO the most technologically integrated and innovative foreign ministry globally. This involves harnessing digital, data, technology, IT security and information management to deliver our diplomatic, development and consular aims while keeping our people and information safe and secure.

We are currently looking for a Data Engineering leader with outstanding technical skills to improve the use of data to inform all our decision making, as well as leading our approach to how we deliver analytics to users.

Working alongside senior team members, you’ll identify, plan, develop, and deliver data services and specific technical approaches for Data Engineers across the whole of the FCDO. You will aim to strengthen professional capacity and excellence, ensuring a consistent and coherent approach throughout. There will also be opportunity to deepen your expertise through our online learning platform, visits to overseas offices, and networking with data leaders in other government departments.

For your team, you’ll provide inspirational technical leadership and career development. This will be achieved by overseeing the development of learning and career pathways, capability assessment criteria, (including for recruitment), aiming to foster high performance. Your team will be responsible for production of key data products across our new Microsoft Azure based Data Platform and across other cloud-based data warehouses, including Oracle and AWS systems. You’ll make evidenced-based decisions on the best tools, platforms, services and content to support the wider profession. 

Crucially, you’ll mediate with stakeholders at all levels, acting as a key communicator between the technical and the non-technical. Through understanding the needs and challenges of delivery teams, you’ll identify opportunities for joined-up work. You’ll present data to senior leaders, explaining clearly the opportunities while balancing limitations, risks and ethics. At every opportunity, you’ll work across UK Government and the international community to identify areas for collaboration, and promotion of success.

Who we’re looking for

You have a successful track record of mediating and strengthening relationships, managing stakeholder expectations, and handling complex, high-risk discussions under time constraints. As an expert in the data development process, you establish enterprise-scale data integration procedures across the data development life cycle and effectively manage resources. You also excel in data innovation, investigating emerging trends in data-related approaches, performing horizon-scanning for the organisation, and introducing innovative ways of working.

With confidence in data integration design, you establish standards, keep them up to date, and ensure adherence to best practices across industry and government. You can identify how metadata repositories support different areas of the organisation and set up robust governance processes to maintain accuracy. Problem-solving is a strong suit, including anticipating challenges, understanding their broader impact, and helping others develop the same capability. Your astute technical understanding enables you to anticipate and advise on future technology changes that present opportunities for products or programmes.

Your senior leadership experience includes delivering modern solutions to data-driven organisations. Plus, you have an expert understanding of data platforms built on cloud environments (e.g. Azure), including data transformation, monitoring, and storage. This is demonstrated by your ability to plan, prioritise, and communicate your team’s work effectively, balancing both long-term strategy and immediate demands.

For more information on these skills, see the outline in Head of Data Engineering role in the Profession Capability Framework.

We encourage applications from all communities, so that we reflect the very best of 21st century Britain. Everyone here gets the support to develop their skills and capabilities as well as benefits that help to make the most of life in and out of work, including a Civil Service pension.

Use your talent and experience to shape our nation’s future, and deliver tangible improvements to millions of lives, including your own.

Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 28th July 2025.