Data Platform Technical Lead

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

12/2/2024

General

Job Title: Technical Delivery Lead - Modern Data Platform

Division: Beazley Shared Services - Information Technology

Reports To: Head of Strategy, Architecture & Innovation - Group Technology

Key Relationships

Chief Data Office, Enterprise Architecture, Business Change leaders and Delivery Leads, Technical delivery leaders and teams, Infrastructure and Operations, software vendors, system integrators, service providers and business leaders across the organization.

Role Overview

The Technical Lead for the Modern Data Platform will be responsible for overseeing the strategic implementation and management of the company's modern data platform. This role involves leading the hybrid, multi-cloud platform strategy, architecture, infrastructure and management of third-party service providers, along with associated budgets. While the delivery of data products sits within the organisation of the Chief Data Officer (CDO), the Technical Lead will be accountable for delivering the right data, in the right timeframes and to the right quality, to the CDO organisation, to facilitate the delivery of high-quality data products to our customers.

Technical expertise and strategic vision, allied to strong leadership and inter-personal skills, will be fundamental for this role. We want to foster a culture of innovation, but also want to ensure enhanced operational efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of information security, integrity and compliance.

We are looking for an accomplished technology expert, who will work closely with various business, operations, and technology stakeholders. As much of our data engineering is outsourced, this role will be responsible for the performance management of third parties, always ensuring we’re able to quantify the value we deliver.

    

Key Responsibilities

• Work with the Head of Data Architecture to define, maintain and evolve the technical architecture roadmap and strategy for the Modern Data Platform (MDP) and associated processes, ensuring efficiency, scalability, reliability, and security
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of the existing technology landscape, identifying opportunities for improvement and optimisation
• Accountable for delivery of the architecture, implementation and enhancement of the data ingestion, streaming and batch processes, ensuring accurate and efficient flow of data from various sources into the MDP
• Collaborate with the IT infrastructure team to ensure a robust and secure IT infrastructure that supports the MDP
• Deliver the right data, in the right format, to the right level of quality, to meet demand of the CDO
• Work with the Architecture team to implement and enhance software/data architecture best practices, standards, patterns, and reference architectures
• Manage the data engineering delivery lifecycle for the MDP, ensuring consistency, quality, and adherence to governance frameworks
• Manage third-party service providers, ensuring services are delivered in line with contractual agreements and budgets
• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation for system design and support
• Stay up to date on emerging technologies, industry trends and competitor activity, providing thought leadership, insight into a vision of the possible, recommending and driving adoption of relevant advancements
• Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Beazley data and systems through the implementation of robust security measures and compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., data protection, Beazley security standards and privacy laws).
  
  

Qualifications And Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field preferred, but not essential
• Proven experience in leading data platform initiatives in a financial services environment
• Strong understanding of (including hybrid) cloud-based data services, data architecture, and data governance
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to mentor and guide technical teams
• Experience in managing budgets and third-party vendor relationships
• Familiarity with regulatory compliance and data security standards relevant to the financial services industry.
  
  

General

It is important that within all your interactions both internally and externally you adhere to Beazley’s core values - Being Bold, Striving for Better, and Doing the Right Thing - as they contribute to an internal environment of teamwork and promote a positive brand image and experience to our external customers. We also expect Beazley employees to:

• Comply with Beazley procedures, policies and regulations including the code of conduct which incorporates FCA and PRA Conduct
• Undertake training on Beazley policies and procedures as delivered by your line manager, the Culture & People 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, the Culture & People 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 corporate functions 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

The successful candidate will be a natural relationship builder and team player, with high energy and a personal drive and passion that shines through. You will have the ability to influence, inform, and successfully manage senior stakeholders, and possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. You will be able to distil complex information into simple and understandable language and contribute to creating product/program/project vision, roadmap, and content presentations.

Skills And Abilities

• Ability to connect with other subject matter experts and collaborate to find competitive advantage through the innovative use of new technologies to resolve business challenges, improve operational efficiency and enable business strategy
• Ability to work at pace and meet challenging timelines
• Ability to think systemically and to connect strategically complex pieces of work both current and into the future
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams, articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to turn that collaboration into agreement, delivering a balance between early value release and long term sustainability.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex data sets, identify patterns, and make data-driven decisions.
• Ability to stay up-to-date with industry trends and developments, and incorporate new technologies and approaches as appropriate.
• Ability to lead and manage an outsourced development team, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate business requirements into effective technology solutions.
• Ability to think strategically and deliver tactically would be a distinct advantage
  
  

The Rewards

• The opportunity to connect and build long-lasting professional relationships while advancing your career with a growing, global organization
• The opportunity to collaborate on and shape a transformative enterprise wide set of capabilities and technologies.
• Attractive base compensation and discretionary performance related annual bonus
• Private medical insurance coverage for both you and your dependents
• Company paid life assurance and long term disability insurance
• Pension with 10% employer contribution, plus a further matched contribution up to 2.5%
• 25 days of annual leave (prorated for 1st calendar year of employment), plus public holidays, with the ability to flex the religious bank holidays to suit your religious beliefs, subject to approval. Additional annual leave purchase is also available up to a maximum of five additional days per year.
• Up to 2.5 days matched paid leave for volunteering at a charity of your choice and 5 days paid leave to provide or arrange care for a dependent with a long term care need annually
• Up to £550 reimbursement towards home office setup
• Free in-office lunch and monthly lifestyle allowance
• Monthly travel allowance or annual season ticket
• The opportunity to save for, and purchase, shares of Beazley stock
• Six months fully paid parental leave, regardless of how you come to parenthood
• Company paid sabbatical up to 12 weeks after 10 years of continued service
• Support with exam/study leave and fees for relevant qualifications related to furthering education
• Smart working policy and flexible working culture, trusting our employees to do what works best for them, their role and the needs of the business
  
  

Don’t meet all the requirements? At Beazley we're committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every requirement and qualification in the job specification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the right candidate for this, or one of our other roles.