The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

• joining up public sector services
• harnessing the power of AI for the public good
• strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
• elevating leadership and investing in talent
• funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
• committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Job Description

You will be joining GDS and the Office of the Government Chief Data Officer at an exciting time as we deliver the next critical programme of work of the Data Standards Authority.

Our team has some big ambitions. We want to improve services for end users and improve how new policies are developed through the effective use and reuse of data. A key part of that will be to establish common data standards that enable improved data quality, greater interoperability so systems can exchange and integrate data seamlessly, and improve efficiency by making processes more productive, less expensive and more timely. We need great people to make that happen.

You’ll work on two interrelated data standards projects. The first project relates to an ongoing development and implementation of a logical model to identify and support vulnerable people in different scenarios such as economic hardship or flooding. The second project will be looking at identifying and building consensus on data standards on ‘data primitives’ and key attributes of entities such as a person or an organisation. Both projects will require working with experts from the policy and data professions. After consulting across government, you’ll help deliver simple, accessible and easy to use artefacts to help standardise data so as to improve interoperability and facilitate data sharing, findability and analysis.

You’ll push forward the data vision to wider government, and be able to communicate this to all levels of responsibility, including chief data officers and chief executive officers in government

You’ll work on multiple projects at the same time while working amongst an excellent peer group. You will have the ability to work independently without direct supervision, while prioritising your workload and having confidence in your decisions.

As a Senior Data Architect You Will

• actively progress and champion the aims of Office of the Government Chief Data Officer and the DSA by helping develop and set the right standards for government
• work as part of a multidisciplinary team to build consensus on standards and develop user-friendly artefacts
• form a close working partnership with members of the Domain Expert Group on Core Attributes of a Person and the Government Data Architecture Community to deliver results
• engage and negotiate with stakeholders, suppliers, senior managers and non technical audiences
• attend both highly technical meetings as well as business focused meetings and vary your communication style in line
• be involved in the wider data community, identifying good practices to adopt and sharing your experiences, e.g. through blog posts, tech talks at conferences
• encourage a positive data culture, applying agile methods, open standards and quality assurance

Person specification

We’re Interested In People Who

• listen to and interpret the needs of technical and non-technical stakeholders, and manage their expectations, particularly when defining data strategies and principles
• can shape communication for both technical and non-technical audiences to gain understanding of their business challenges
• have experience designing scalable user-focused services that deliver measurable transformation
• have the ability to produce relevant data models across multiple subject areas
• have experience of working with subject matter experts across the organisation to introduce data standards best practice
• understand how to prioritise work in a fast, customer centric, environment and drive through an agenda (strategic and tactical)
• have the ability to see opportunities for improvement and an interest in forming government data best practices, standards and policies
• are able to read, understand and critique (in order to improve) data design documentation
• have an understanding of agile environments, continual delivery techniques and devops cultures and how this compares with Domain Driven Design

Benefits

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• paid volunteering leave
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: Friday 17th October 2025

Panel interviews: starting Friday 24th October 2025

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.