At WHSmith our people are at the heart of everything we do. They are the ones that go the extra mile for our customers, the ones that enable our growth. As Data Architect, you’ll play a pivotal part in driving data integrity, governance and reuse in a relevant security context. You will shape how information flows across the business, ensuring clarity, consistency, and accessibility for decision-makers and operational teams.
You will be responsible for designing and governing the structures, standards, and processes that make information meaningful and actionable. Your work will enable WHSmith to deliver trusted insights, improve customer experiences, and support strategic initiatives across retail and travel channels.
What you will be doing:
- Define and maintain the Enterprise Information Architecture aligned to business goals, ensuring that information assets are structured for clarity, reuse, and compliance.
- Partner with business stakeholders to understand information needs, pain points, and priorities, translating these into actionable architecture and governance strategies.
- Develop standards for information design, metadata, taxonomies, and classification to ensure consistency across systems and channels.
- Establish governance frameworks for information stewardship, data quality, and lifecycle management, ensuring accountability and transparency.
- Collaborate with technology teams to ensure that information flows and integrations support operational efficiency and decision-making.
- Champion information accessibility and usability, ensuring that business users can easily find, interpret, and trust the information they need.
- Monitor compliance with internal policies and external regulations (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS), working closely with InfoSec and Compliance teams.
- Stay ahead of emerging trends in information management, governance, and digital experience, evaluating their relevance to WHSmith’s business context.
- Drive continuous improvement in how information is captured, enriched, and delivered to support innovation and cost efficiency.
What we are looking for:
- Experience in Information Architecture, Data Architecture, Data Governance, or Enterprise Architecture within a business-facing role.
- Proven ability to engage and influence stakeholders across business and technology teams.
- Experience in retail and/or hospitality industry processes and information flows.
- Knowledge of metadata management, taxonomy design, and governance frameworks (DAMA knowledge advantageous).
- Expertise in Data Modelling, in designing and implementing data lakes, master data management and data warehouses
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills: able to translate technical concepts into business language.
- Knowledge of Oracle and Teradata systems advantageous
How we reward our teams:
- Hybrid Working Model from home and in the office
- 4pm Friday Finish
- Flexible Working
- 25 Days holiday, plus your Birthday off, plus Bank Holidays with an opportunity to buy extra days holiday
- Family Friendly Leave
- Company Pension scheme
- Annual Bonus based on company and personal performance
- Competitive Salary and Car Allowance
- Private Medical
- Staff Discount Card for stores and online
About us:
Celebrating over 230 years, we’re proud to have grown and evolved into a globally recognised brand present in over 30 countries around the world, and we’re proud to be that air of familiarity people love and trust on their journey, both in life and through life. As a diverse group of over 5,000 colleagues, we are all on the same journey to a better business through our commitments to our planet, people and the communities we serve.
Our business operates from two key locations. Our UK Travel and International office is based in a vibrant area of London, close to Aldgate and Liverpool Street Station, while the other is located at Swindon's International Business Park, just off the M4 with excellent transport links and over 100 on-site parking spaces.
Across both locations, we're an ambitious team that thrives on pace, collaboration, and innovation. We foster an entrepreneurial culture where people are encouraged to take initiative, embrace new challenges, and help shape the future of our business.
At WHSmith, we’re all about creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace where everyone can be themselves and do their best. No matter your background, age, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, race or ethnicity, marital status, religion, sex, sexual orientation or anything else that makes you, you—you’re welcome here.
We’re also open to flexible working where possible, so if that’s something you need, let’s chat. And if you need any adjustments during the selection process, just let our Talent Acquisition team know—we’re happy to help!
