Senior Data Architect

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network, with 191 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. IFRC uses the Triple R – response, resilience and respect – to deliver on Strategy 2030. IFRC responds to disasters and crises, ensuring timely, coordinated and locally led humanitarian action. IFRC supports its members in building community resilience in the areas of climate and environment, health and wellbeing, and migration and displacement. IFRC promotes respect for our fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality, including in our work on values, power and inclusion. The IFRC focuses throughout on our core mandate – our raison d’être – of strategic and operational coordination, humanitarian diplomacy, National Society development, and accountability.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General and has its Headquarters in Geneva and five regional offices in Africa (Nairobi); the Americas (Panama); Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); and MENA (Beirut) as well as representation offices, service centres and delegations across the globe.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. IFRC also has country cluster delegations and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

Background to the position

In virtually all countries, people increasingly rely on and expect a diverse range of digital services (e.g., through their mobile devices) to interact with local government, companies, and community organizations and services. This disruption is already happening to humanitarian assistance. Yet, the Digital Divide remains a persistent and significant challenge at both national and local levels.

The need for a successful and large-scale digital transformation is urgent. And Digitally Transforming the IFRC and its 191 members is a complex process which requires collaborative action and support across the membership. Therefore, the IFRC recently developed a Digital Transformation Strategy which was approved by the IFRC Governing Board in May 2021.  

The Digital Transformation Department (DTD) has full leadership responsibility for the implementation of the digital transformation strategy and the positive impact it will have on the 191 National Society members of the IFRC. The DTD provides strategic leadership and guides the IFRC Secretariat as well as the members network to adapt and innovate humanitarian services, drawing on digital services, data-enabled decision-making, and other opportunities for digital transformation in support of the IFRC’s Strategy 2030. In addition, the DTD is responsible for the development and implementation of business transformation, information technology and digitalization services throughout the IFRC Secretariat, thereby supporting the same transformation in 191 NSs, setting the vision, and drawing stakeholders together on this digital journey. 

(...Continued from Organizational Context)

The incumbent report into the AI and Data management unit (“AI & Data unit”), that is accountable to the Director of the DTD. The other units and teams reporting to the DT Director include the Enterprise Architecture, Strategy & Planning unit, the Digital development and management unit, the Infrastructure & Security Team and the Global Service Desk and Endpoint Management team. Under the leadership of the Director, these units and teams serve as members of the global DTD management team, along with the CISO and Regional DT managers. 

The AI & Data unit is responsible to deliver greater value from IFRC’s data, and ensures the development and implementation of IFRCs data and AI governance and strategy, in close collaboration with the IFRC’s Data Protection Office and through indirect management of data professionals in other departments. The unit oversees all data operations, data product lifecycles and manages the organisation’s data platform, as well as the coordination and support to AI initiatives.

The Senior Data Architect will also interact with internal and external AI and data experts, private sector, academia, external suppliers, vendors and consultants who are sourced to deliver AI-related activities. 

Job Purpose

The Senior Data Architect is a strategic technical leadership role responsible for designing, governing, and evolving the enterprise data platform built on Microsoft Fabric and related Microsoft products. This role bridges business strategy, platform engineering, and data architecture, serving as the technical visionary for the organization's data-driven transformation. The Senior Data Architect will lead the Data Platform DevOps Engineer and full-stack data engineering and report development team, establish architectural standards, drive platform evolution, and ensure alignment between technical implementations and organizational objectives. 

Strategic Data Architecture & Platform Vision

• Define and articulate the long-term data architecture vision aligned with IFRC's business strategy and humanitarian objectives.
• Design comprehensive enterprise data architecture leveraging a medallion architecture (bronze/silver/gold zones) for optimal data organization and governance.
• Establish architectural standards, principles, and patterns for data ingestion, processing, storage, access controls, and quality management.
• Design IFRC’s overall data architecture, architect data mesh patterns where appropriate, organizing data around business domains while maintaining centralized governance and platform standards.
• Evaluate and recommend technology investments, infrastructure choices, and platform capabilities to support current and future organizational needs.
• Develop a strategic data platform roadmap spanning 1-3 years with phased implementation, measurable milestones, and clear business value articulation.
• Design scalable multi-region, multi-tenant platform architecture supporting diverse data domains, high-volume data processing, and real-time analytics.
• Conduct regular architecture reviews and optimization, identifying opportunities for performance enhancement, cost reduction, and modernization.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Data Platform DevOps Engineer and full-stack data engineering and report development team, fostering technical excellence and professional growth.
• Establish clear role definitions, responsibilities, and expectations for team members, supporting career development pathways.
• Provide technical leadership through data model and code reviews, architecture assessments, and knowledge sharing sessions on design patterns and best practices.
• Create structured mentoring programs addressing both technical skill development and leadership competencies for high-potential team members.
• Conduct technical interviews and participate in hiring to build a cohesive, skilled team aligned with architectural vision.
• Foster a collaborative culture emphasizing continuous learning, innovation, quality, and adherence to architectural standards.
• Balance hands-on technical work with leadership responsibilities, maintaining credibility while delegating appropriately.
• Support the team with clear boundaries, autonomy, and creative problem-solving within governance frameworks​.

Platform Architecture & Design Leadership

• Lead end-to-end system design for complex data solutions across Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Azure platform components.
• Make critical technology selection decisions regarding Fabric items (Lakehouses, Warehouses, Data Factory, Power BI, Real-Time Intelligence), infrastructure, and tools.
• Design role-based access control (RBAC), data security models, and governance frameworks aligned with IFRC's sensitive humanitarian data requirements.
• Architect data quality frameworks, testing standards, and metadata management approaches ensuring consistency and reliability.
• Guide implementation of complex data integration patterns between enterprise systems and external data sources.
• Oversee system integration and ensure seamless communication between platform components, maintaining architectural coherence.
• Establish patterns for scalability, performance optimization, disaster recovery, and business continuity.

Governance & Standards

• Support development and implementation of organizational data governance framework including policies, standards, and compliance requirements.

• Work with data governance and compliance teams to establish architectural guardrails and ensure regulatory adherence.
• Create comprehensive documentation standards for architecture decisions, technical designs, security controls, and operational procedures.
• Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for data platform quality, reliability, performance, and cost.
• Establish change management and governance processes for architecture reviews, platform evolution, and technology decisions.

Platform Engineering & DevOps Leadership

• Oversee design and implementation of CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, and deployment strategies for Microsoft Fabric.
• Ensure platform engineering best practices including observability, monitoring, alerting, and incident response frameworks are implemented.
• Guide the DevOps engineer in establishing platform maintenance procedures, capacity planning, and operational excellence.
• Review and optimize platform infrastructure design, cost efficiency, and resource utilization strategies.
• Ensure disaster recovery and business continuity strategies are designed, tested, and maintained.

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Develop and maintain stakeholder communication strategy aligned with organizational priorities and decision-making needs.
• Create tailored architectural views for different stakeholder groups including executives, business units, and technical teams.
• Present architectural recommendations and technical strategies to executive leadership, translating complex technical concepts to business impact.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between data platform team, data product teams, business units, and DT governance.
• Serve as the technical authority on data architecture, driving organizational conversations on data strategy alignment and technical standards.
• Establish clear communication cadences and channels for different stakeholder groups (executive updates, team briefings, documentation).
• Build and maintain partnerships with cloud providers, vendors, and technology partners to stay current on innovation.

Data Architecture Strategy & Roadmap Development

• Contribute to overall organizational data strategy aligned with business objectives and humanitarian mission.
• Define organizational capability building needs including platform enablement, team skill development, and process improvements.
• Regularly reassess strategy based on evolving business needs, technological advancements, and lessons learned.
• Monitor emerging technologies and industry trends in data platforms, architecture patterns, and analytics.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging experimentation and calculated risk-taking within governance boundaries, supporting innovation.
• Establish knowledge management practices capturing architectural decisions, lessons learned, and best practices.
• Lead data architecture work and define data architecture and data modelling standards across the organization.

Duties applicable to all staff

1. Work actively towards the achievement of IFRC’s goals. 
2. Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles.
3. Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager.

Required

• Degree in in computer science, information technology, data science, or related field.

Preferred

• Certifications for Microsoft Azure (Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Administrator, Azure Data Engineer). 
• Certifications for Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.

Required

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or enterprise architecture roles.
• 5+ years of experience leading technical teams, managing engineers, and driving architectural decisions in enterprise environments.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with modern cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP).
• 3+ years of experience with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric or related Microsoft data solutions, including OneLake, Lakehouses, Warehouses, Data Factory, Power BI, Real-Time Intelligence, and Azure Synapse.
• Proven track record designing and implementing enterprise-scale data architectures supporting complex, mission-critical operations.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into scalable, secure technical solutions.
• Understanding of CI/CD practices, Azure DevOps repos (repos (git) and pipelines) and pipelines, MMicrosoft Entra service principals, and IaC icrosoft Entra service principals, and IaC infrastructure automation (Terraform, ARM templates).
• Experience with data quality frameworks, testing standards, and metadata management.
• Proficiency in designing scalable ETL/ELT architectures and data pipeline orchestration strategies.
• Experience developing data pipelines in PySpark and SQL.
• Experience with report development (Power BI or Tableau or similar products).
• Proven track record in building, leading and coaching high-performing technical teams with diverse skill sets.

Preferred

• Experience implementing self-service data platforms and data literacy programs.
• Experience implementing data mesh architectures in large, complex organizations.
• Experience with Azure Function Apps and Kubernetes and cloud Kubernetes services (AKS, EKS, GKE).
• Background in multi-region or multi-cloud data architecture deployments.
• Experience in humanitarian, international development or non-profit work.

Required

• Expert-level knowledge of big data systems (Hadoop and Spark), Delta Lake, Parquet, modern data formats.
• Technical Excellence: Deep understanding of data lakehouse architecture, medallion patterns, and data mesh organizational frameworks.
• Expertise in data security, encryption, identity and access management (IAM), and privacy controls (GDPR, HIPAA, row/column-level security).
• Knowledge of monitoring, observability, and alerting techniques for data platforms.
• Familiarity with big data and SQL database design, optimization, and relational/non-relational data models.
• Problem-Solving: Ability to break down complex challenges into solvable problems.
• Communication: Excellent in translating complex technical concepts to executive and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaboration: Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work and influence effectively across organizational boundaries and disciplines.
• Continuous Learning: Drive to stay current with rapid cloud security and data and AI field evolution.
• Attention to Detail: Precision in code quality, data validation, and model documentation.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking and ability to align technical decisions with business objectives, and to maintain hands-on credibility while leading.
• Strong project and portfolio management capabilities, sequencing complex initiatives with dependencies.

Preferred

• Understanding of Microsoft Purview for data governance, cataloging, and lineage management.
• Knowledge of real-time analytics, streaming architectures, and event-driven data processing.
• Familiarity with machine learning operations (MLOps) and AI workload integration.
• Familiarity with Data Vault and other data modelling techniques.
• Knowledge of organizational design and operating models for distributed data ownership.
• Familiarity with agile and iterative delivery frameworks for data platforms.
• Understanding of humanitarian context, operational challenges, and impact measurement.

Languages

Required

• Fluent spoken and written English.

Preferred

• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic).

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability.

Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust.

Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Leadership; Empowering others.

Managerial competencies: Managing Staff performance; Managing Staff development.

Application Instruction

Please submit your application in English only.