Data Architect (Expert) - ETNIC
Description
ETNIC, the IT operator of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, is seeking an Expert Data Architect for an assignment supporting Wallonie-Bruxelles Enseignement (WBE). The mission is to analyze the existing data landscape, produce its mapping, and create conceptual and logical domain models. The architect will translate business framing into data requirements and models. The role works closely with business analysts, enterprise architects and solution architects.
The consultant will assess several target architecture options, including data hub, lakehouse, data mesh, data fabric and virtualization, without imposing a predetermined target. The role will define data architecture principles and usage rules for exchange and exposure patterns such as APIs, event-driven approaches, replication, virtualization and analytical feeds. Security, personal-data protection, sovereignty and digital-sobriety constraints must be translated into enforceable architecture rules. Architecture choices will be documented to support a collective decision.
The assignment also covers governance prerequisites, including roles, bodies, metadata, cataloging, access rights and implementation of the “only once” principle. The architect will build a prioritized roadmap, work packages and transition architectures aligned with the AIGLE program schedule. Workshops, decisions, open points and recommendations must be documented. Knowledge transfer will ensure that ETNIC and WBE teams can continue using the deliverables after the assignment.
Top Reasons to Apply
Strategic data architecture
Public sector impact
Collaborative target design
Future AI readiness
Broad data ecosystem
Detailed Responsibilities and Skills
Additional Responsibilities
- Designate master systems
- Clarify data ownership
- Produce data dictionary
- Define quality rules
- Compare architecture paradigms
- Challenge architecture options
- Define pattern rules
- Position target architecture
- Translate security constraints
- Preserve analytics AI
- Define governance foundations
- Specify metadata repository
- Control access rights
- Describe only-once implementation
- Split target workstreams
- Define transition architectures
- Prioritize implementation roadmap
- Transfer team knowledge
- Document workshop decisions
General skills
- Workshop facilitation and architecture decision preparation at confirmed level.
- Ability to work with business analysts, enterprise architects and solution architects and translate their framing into usable data requirements.
- Ability to propose and defend a reasoned position before a decision-making body.
- Ability to accept challenges and evolve recommendations according to real ETNIC and WBE constraints without weakening their substance.
- Ability to explain architecture choices to business and management stakeholders.
- Strong writing skills to create readable, structured and directly reusable deliverables.
- Ability to act as a bridge between business, technology and governance.
- French: native level.
- English: passive knowledge.
Technical skills
- Expert data landscape mapping covering sources, flows, applications, repositories and gap analysis.
- Expert reference data and quality expertise covering MDM, systems of record (SoR), data dictionaries and metadata catalogs.
- Confirmed knowledge of architecture frameworks and canvases including TOGAF, ArchiMate, DAMA-DMBOK or equivalents.
- Confirmed data governance knowledge covering roles, lifecycle, access rights, GDPR and the “only once” principle.
- Expert conceptual and logical data modeling using entity-relationship/Merise, UML, ArchiMate and dimensional modeling.
- Expert knowledge of data architecture paradigms including hub, lakehouse, data mesh, data fabric and virtualization, with the ability to compare and arbitrate in a constrained context.
- Confirmed knowledge of exchange and exposure patterns including APIs, event-driven approaches, replication, virtualization and analytical feeds, including implications and usage rules.
- Confirmed data security and sovereignty expertise, translating constraints into architecture rules.
Tools
- Confirmed use of modeling and mapping tools such as Sparx Enterprise Architect.
- Confirmed use of data cataloging tools.
Nice to have
- TOGAF certification.
- Knowledge of the public sector and ideally the education domain.
- Experience mapping and modeling a data domain in a comparable-sized public organization.