Our client is looking for a Chief Data Architect
Context
Our client in the public water sector has a strong ambition to promote data as a strategic asset shared between operators.
This ambition is part of a sector-wide approach that brings together public water operators—wastewater treatment organisations, public authorities and distributors—around the efficient, equitable and mutualised management of sector data.
This request originates from the business side, which is responsible for its management.
The mission will be delivered “as a Service” through our client’s preferred digital transformation partner for the Walloon water sector.
The strategy concerning sector data is coordinated and shared within the Digital platform, which regularly brings operators together to coordinate common data-related initiatives, including:
- The implementation of master data management
- The harmonisation and interoperability of data between operators in support of business activities
- The sharing of dashboards and quantitative data between organisations
- The promotion of data as a genuine asset for optimising investments
In this context, our client wishes to benefit from the services of an experienced Data Architect / Data Governance Manager to design and deploy the sector data governance framework and architecture—including a data dictionary, master data repository and target data model—for operators in the water sector, covering wastewater treatment and drinking water, with a view to controlled data sharing and interoperability between organisations.
The selected profile will ensure that all deliverables are consistent with the standards and guidelines collectively defined within the Digital platform.
The consultant will collaborate with the architecture team, Data Managers, business representatives responsible for process data, and the different teams of the organisations concerned. The Data representatives ensure cross-functional consistency and maintain the link with operational activities, while the business representatives have in-depth knowledge of the data within their domain and contribute to cross-functional governance.
Mission
The Chief Data Architect will be responsible for the complete management of the definition and implementation of the sector’s data governance framework and data architecture, according to the phasing and planning agreed with the sector.
The Chief Data Architect will be responsible for developing—in very close interaction with the different sector stakeholders—and presenting the following deliverables:
- Data governance and architecture roadmap
- Data dictionary
- Master Data Management repository and associated management rules
- Target data model and architecture
- Data governance framework: policies, roles and standards
- Classification scale and ownership principles
- Data quality catalogue and indicators
- Sector KPI repository
- Mapping of data flows and interoperability
- Consideration of regulatory obligations—NIS2, GDPR, etc.
- Register of data decisions and arbitrations, including master data conflicts, classification exceptions and backlog prioritisation
- Presentation materials for the sector-wide Digital platform
The Chief Data Architect is accountable for all project deliverables and for their compliance with quality, planning and governance requirements.
To achieve this, the Chief Data Architect will rely on internal teams, including Data Managers, internal Enterprise Architects, business representatives and all other relevant business stakeholders from the organisations concerned, who will contribute to the production of these deliverables.
However, the Chief Data Architect remains responsible for the overall consistency, quality and validation of the deliverables produced, as well as for their presentation to the project’s governance bodies, including the sector-wide Digital platform.
Skills
Required General Experience
- Minimum 10 years of experience in data governance, data architecture or data management
- Proven experience implementing data governance frameworks and repositories, including MDM, data dictionaries and quality catalogues
- Experience in strategic consulting assignments for executive management teams or management committees
- Experience in multi-business or multi-entity organisations, including public-sector organisations, semi-public organisations and utilities
Relevant Sector Experience Desired
Experience in:
- Public services, intermunicipal organisations or local authorities
- Utilities, including water and energy
- Technical organisations working with industrial and geospatial data
Knowledge of the following would be appreciated:
- Water business systems and associated data
- GIS and geomatics, including distribution areas and networks
- SAP master data
- SCADA, sensor and IoT data
- Asset data management
Data Governance and Architecture Skills
The profile must combine collective facilitation, technical data expertise and cross-functional governance, from the data dictionary to master data and throughout the entire asset lifecycle.
Expected skills:
Facilitation and structuring of the data dynamic
- Facilitation of workshops and data communities and change management
- Facilitation of the owners and stewards community and the representatives’ circle, with an awareness plan for each population
- Ability to explain data-related challenges in an accessible manner
- Data education and awareness
- Facilitation
- Diplomacy, management and alignment of inter-organisational stakeholders
- Strategic vision linking data to public-service missions
- Presentation to governance bodies
Technical data expertise
- Data dictionaries and metadata management
- Master Data Management and data quality
- Data modelling and data architecture
- Data interoperability and exchange, including APIs and standards
- Data asset lifecycle
Cross-functional governance and compliance
- Governance framework: roles, policies and standards
- Cross-functional use throughout business processes
- Integrated regulatory compliance—NIS2 and GDPR
- Value-driven management and quality indicators
- End-to-end data security and trust
Appreciated frameworks and standards
- DAMA-DMBOK
- DCAM
- ISO 8000 / ISO 11179 for quality and metadata
- TOGAF / ArchiMate for the Information and Data domains
Understanding of Public-Sector Challenges
Knowledge of the following would be appreciated:
- Data sharing between operators
- Digital transformation of public services
- Public-sector budgetary constraints
- Data openness and sharing, including open data
Mission Conditions
Duration: Mission lasting from six months to one year, extendable if necessary.
Start date: As soon as possible.
End of the mission: The first expected deliverables must be provided within six months following the start of the mission.
Workload: 120 days, part-time at three days per week.
Main workplace: Loyers, Namur. Travel will be required to the offices of the different sector operators.
Work organisation: In-person discussions and meetings should be prioritised. Consolidation work and report preparation may be carried out remotely.
Work model: Hybrid
Languages:
- French: Native or bilingual proficiency
- English: Nice to have