Head of Data

Head of Data required to lead a major multi-organisational data transition programme supporting Local Government Reorganisation.

-750 per day
6-month contract
Hybrid working - Oxfordshire

Your new organisation
We are working with a large, complex public sector partnership undergoing a significant Local Government Reorganisation programme. This transformation will bring together multiple councils into new unitary authority structures, requiring the consolidation, migration and assurance of critical data that underpins essential public services. Operating in a highly regulated environment, the organisation is delivering a complex, multi-year programme where data integrity, governance and readiness are fundamental to success. This role sits within the central data workstream and will work closely with programme leadership, digital teams and service areas across multiple councils. It is a delivery-focused position at the heart of the transformation, requiring strong coordination across organisational boundaries.

Your new role
This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for delivering the end-to-end data transition required to support Local Government Reorganisation. You will coordinate the collection, preparation, validation and migration of data across multiple councils, ensuring that information is accurate, well understood and ready for use on day one of the new operating model. Working closely with programme leadership, you will act as the central coordination point for data activities, bringing together service leads, system owners, analysts and technical teams. You will oversee data quality work including cleansing, mapping and reconciliation, ensuring that data remains meaningful and usable throughout transition. A key part of the role will involve coordinating a virtual team of analysts, commissioning and quality assuring insight that supports programme planning, service design and readiness assurance.

You will also work alongside digital and IT teams to support migration planning, testing and execution, ensuring risks are identified and mitigated early. This includes overseeing data-related elements of user acceptance testing, cutover activities and post-migration validation to ensure continuity of critical services. The role requires a strong understanding of information governance, ensuring compliance with data protection requirements while maintaining delivery pace. Throughout the programme, you will provide clear, concise reporting to senior stakeholders, translating complex data challenges into practical delivery actions and ensuring full visibility of progress, risks and readiness. This is a hands-on leadership role where success is defined by delivery, quality and coordination across a highly complex landscape.

What you''ll need to succeed
You will bring strong experience delivering data-related change or migration programmes within local government or a similarly complex public sector environment. You should have hands-on expertise in data preparation, cleansing, validation and migration activities, alongside a solid understanding of how data is structured and managed across operational systems. The role requires experience working across multiple teams or organisations without direct line management authority, with the ability to influence, align and drive progress through collaboration. A practical understanding of data quality management, documentation and information governance is essential, particularly in environments where data protection and compliance are critical. You will need to be highly organised, capable of managing complex interdependencies, competing priorities and programme timelines. Strong communication skills are essential, with the ability to engage both technical specialists and non-technical stakeholders, and to remain calm and effective under pressure. Experience navigating differing levels of data maturity, systems and resource constraints will be highly advantageous.

What you''ll get in return
This is a contract with genuine impact at the centre of a once-in-a-generation public sector transformation. Alongside a competitive rate, you will have the opportunity to shape how data underpins future services, working across multiple organisations and influencing outcomes at a strategic level.

What you need to do now
If you''re ready to lead a critical data workstream within a major transformation programme, click ''apply'' to submit your CV and begin a confidential conversation.

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