Head of Data Quality

As Head of Data Quality, you will play a leading role providing strategic leadership and assurance over data quality and data asset management across Companies House, ensuring that organisational data is accurate, trusted, well-governed, and fit for operational delivery, decision-making, and transparency.

The role’s current objectives are to define and embed consistent data quality standards, business rules, and metadata; lead organisation-wide data quality assessment and improvement activity; establish clear data ownership and governance arrangements; and provide authoritative assurance to senior leaders on data quality risk and maturity. Collectively, these objectives enable Companies House to strengthen its data capability, support reliable service delivery and regulatory compliance, and build long-term confidence in the data it provides to internal and external stakeholders.

About the role

This is an exciting time to join Companies House. The organisation is delivering significant organisational and legislative change, alongside major investment in its data capabilities through the Data Scheme and wider transformation programmes.

As Head of Data Quality, you will play a leading role in improving the quality, transparency and management of Companies House data assets. Working with senior stakeholders across the organisation, you will help embed good data management practices, improve data maturity, manage risks and support informed decision-making.

You will be part of a collaborative and supportive leadership team that is passionate about improving data maturity and delivering meaningful outcomes for customers, colleagues and the wider UK economy.

About Companies House

Companies House holds one of the largest sources of data in the UK, supporting transparency, economic research and public trust. As we continue to evolve through legislative reform, the need for well-governed, trusted and clearly defined data has never been more important.

Security Clearance

Successful candidates must meet the requirements for Security Check (SC) clearance before they can be appointed. To be eligible for SC clearance, you must normally have lived in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Applications from candidates who do not meet these residency requirements are unlikely to be successful as clearance may be refused.

As a Head of Data Quality main duties consist of but are not limited to:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for data quality and data asset management across Companies House.
• Develop and implement the organisation's data quality strategy, including defining data quality standards, business rules, metadata.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team responsible for assessing, monitoring and improving the quality of priority datasets.
• Work collaboratively with data owners, service teams and digital colleagues to ensure data quality is effectively measured, governed and embedded within business processes, identifying root causes of data quality issues and delivering sustainable improvements.
• Provide expert advice and assurance to senior leaders on data quality risks and maturity, supporting data governance activities and influencing organisational priorities and decision-making.
• Promote the effective management of data as a strategic asset, enabling reliable operational delivery, regulatory compliance, transparency and trust.
• Enable Companies House to rely on high-quality, well-described and trusted data to support operational delivery, regulatory compliance and transparency.

About the team:

You will join the Data Management team, a growing multidisciplinary function at the centre of Companies House's data transformation agenda. The team is responsible for strengthening how data is governed, managed, understood and used across the organisation, helping to ensure that data is trusted, accessible and fit for purpose. Working closely with operational, digital, policy and analytical colleagues, the team provides leadership across areas including data quality, data governance, data asset management, metadata, information rights and data ownership.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a developing function and help shape how data is governed, managed and trusted across Companies House for years to come.

Where You'll Be Working

You will be aligned to either the Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast office, where you will be expected to attend at least once a week. We are currently using a hybrid approach to the way we work which provides opportunities for you to be adaptable in the way you work so that you can achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life.

Your manager will agree regular patterns of attendance with you; however, you may be required to make yourself available to attend the office more frequently when required to meet business needs.

Important Information for Belfast-Based Applicants

For Belfast, this vacancy is only open to existing Companies House employees based in the Belfast office. Applications from external candidates and wider Civil Service colleagues will not be considered.

Working Hours:

Due to the nature of the role and team structure, this is a full-time position of 37 hours per week.

We can accept applications for those looking to work full time, part time or compressed hours, a minimum of 30 hours over 4 days per week.

Sponsorship

Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. Companies House holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship, your application may be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment withdrawn.

A degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience is essential alongside evidence of continuing professional development.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Key information

Additional details on security and vetting

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements for Security Check (SC) before they can be appointed. Further information on the vetting process can be found at National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK.

To be eligible for SC clearance, candidates must meet the vetting criteria and have been a resident in the UK for at least 3 out of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

Please review our vetting charter to understand what you can expect from the process - The vetting charter - GOV.UK

If you have questions regarding this or are unsure if you meet the eligibility criteria, please contact recruitmentch@companieshouse.gov.uk

What will the process look like?

To apply, please complete the online application form and provide the information outlined below.

Communications will be electronic via email therefore it is important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder.

We welcome applications in Welsh / Rydym yn croesawi ceisiadau yn y Gymraeg.

Key dates (dates are indicative only and could be subject to change)

• Closing date - 21st September 2026, at 23:55
• Sifting - 22nd September 2026 onwards
• Interviews - w/c 5th October 2026, via Microsoft Teams

To apply, please complete the online application form and provide the information outlined below.

Communications will be electronic via email therefore it is important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder.

Stage 1 – Sift

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. Please ensure your application is anonymous by removing personal identifiers, including names, from your employment history and supporting statements.

An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist. This will be based on the evidence provided for the following Success Profile elements:

Experience

Your CV will be used to assess your suitability for the role alongside your 500 word Personal statement.

CV

• Tell us about your employment history, including key responsibilities and achievements.
• Qualifications - Please provide details of your qualification(s) and/or relevant professional experience that demonstrate how you meet the following requirement: A degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience is essential alongside evidence of continuing professional development.

Personal statement

Tell us why you’re a great fit for this role by writing a 500-word personal statement that highlights your relevant experience, skills, and motivations. As part of the assessment process, we’ll be reviewing your statement for clear evidence of how you meet the essential criteria outlined below:

• Significant experience in data quality, data governance, data management, analytics or a related discipline.
• A proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, influence senior stakeholders and deliver organisational change through the effective use of data.

We encourage you to provide specific examples that demonstrate the impact of your work, the actions you took and the outcomes you achieved.

Technical

We’ll also assess you against the following technical criteria. For each technical skill, please provide evidence of up to 250 words demonstrating how you meet the criteria.

The technical skills being assessed are:

• Experience of developing and embedding data quality, metadata and data ownership frameworks. (Lead Criteria)
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex information, identify root causes and use evidence to support decision-making and prioritisation.
• Practical knowledge of analytical and business intelligence tools, such as SQL, Python and Power BI.

Please note: Should a large number of applications be received, a pre-sift may be conducted using the lead essential criteria highlighted in bold above. We may also raise the score required at sift stage to progress to interview if we receive a high number of applications.

Candidates who achieve the highest scores will progress to the next stage of the recruitment process. If vacancies remain after the initial selection process, we may subsequently consider additional candidates in merit order.

Stage 2 - Interview

If invited to interview Behaviours, Technical and Strength based questioning will be used.

Behaviours

The below Behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others
• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership

Technical Skill

The below Technical skill will be assessed at interview:

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex information, identify root causes and use evidence to support decision-making and prioritisation.

Please note: candidates that proceed to the interview stage will be required to take part in an activity as part of the interview. This will be assessed against Technical skill listed directly above. Further details will be provided to candidates invited to interview.

Strengths

Strength questions are designed to assess a candidate's natural and immediate response to a situation, reflecting the Civil Service Strengths framework used by Companies House. The specific strengths being assessed will not be shared in advance and will be explored during the interview.

Specific information regarding the Success Profile elements that will be assessed at interview will be contained within the interview invitation.

Interviews for this role will be carried out virtually interview via Microsoft Teams.

Stage 3 – Offer

Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months. If suitable vacancies arise during this period, appointments may be made from the reserve list in merit order for the same, similar or lower-grade roles, subject to business need. Our recruitment process is based on the principles of fair and open competition and selection on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

Applicants to note

Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be accepted or considered.

CVs sent direct to Companies House will not be accepted.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, or if you'd like to discuss any person-centred adjustments then please let the recruitment team know via; recruitmentch@companieshouse.gov.uk

Pre-Employment Checks

Successful candidates will be required to complete pre-employment screening, including Right to Work checks.

As part of the pre-employment screening process, successful candidates will also be subject to a check against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check compares personal details, including name, date of birth and National Insurance number, against records relating to individuals who have been dismissed, or would have been dismissed had employment continued, for fraud or dishonesty offences within the Civil Service. Where a match is identified, employment will normally not be offered unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated.

Candidates whose application is affected by information held on the Internal Fraud Database will be informed accordingly. Please note that individuals dismissed from a Civil Service organisation for internal fraud are not eligible to apply for Civil Service employment for a period of five years following their dismissal.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.