Senior Finance Data Architect

Job Type:  Permanent 

Location: This role can be located in either our Birmingham, Edinburgh or London office on a hybrid basis with time spent in the office and at home.

Flexible working: All roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about flexible working here.

Closing Date: 5 May 2026

Salary and benefits: Up to £95,000 depending on experience plus an indicative bonus range of 30-60%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more.

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Who are we? 

We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures.

Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters - so you can bring your best, every day.

The role  

We are seeking a Senior Finance Data Architect to shape the next generation of Finance and Actuarial data capabilities at Standard Life.

This is a rare opportunity to influence enterprise‑wide data strategy at the most senior levels and to architect the foundations that underpin our regulatory reporting, financial performance, actuarial modelling and strategic insight.

• Provide enterprise‑level leadership for the design and governance of highly complex finance and actuarial data architectures.

• Shape the strategic direction of Finance and Actuarial data ecosystems across all business units.

• Define data integration patterns, lineage designs, and enterprise‑wide data flow architectures.

• Lead the creation of data governance artefacts including glossaries, definitions and quality rules.

• Design the financial reporting architecture for management, statutory and regulatory reporting.

• Define ETL pipeline standards, API/interface specifications, validation rules and reconciliations.

• Develop secure and compliant controls frameworks including audit trails and retention policies.

• Set the blueprint for the Finance Data Platform including storage, security and access.

• Architect AI‑ready and optimised data environments for Finance.

• Create long‑term data strategies and roadmaps including target and interim states.

• Prepare and present Executive‑level papers including risk assessments and data value propositions.

What are we looking for?

Essential Experience

• Enterprise finance or actuarial data architecture; proven experience designing large-scale data models and architectures supporting finance, actuarial or regulatory reporting.

• Deep knowledge of finance, actuarial and data platforms; hands-on experience with actuarial engines, core finance systems, reporting platforms and cloud-based data environments.

• Enterprise-level strategic influence; track record of shaping data strategy and influencing senior leaders or Executive-level stakeholders.

• Governance, risk and regulatory design; experience building secure, compliant architectures including data governance, controls, lineage and auditability.

• Complex problem-solving and communication; ability to simplify complex technical concepts and provide clarity in ambiguous, transformation-led environments.

Desirable Experience

• Postgraduate qualification in Finance, Actuarial Science or a related discipline.

• Membership of a professional body (e.g. ACCA, ICAEW, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries).

• Financial services or insurance sector data architecture experience.

We want to hire the whole version of you.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you. 

 If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best. 

We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.

Find out more about working at Standard Life

• Guide for Candidates: standardlifeplc.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates

• Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.standardlifeplc.com/careers/talk-to-us

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