Head of Metadata Management and Discovery, UKDA

Job description

Are you an experienced metadata professional with the vision and leadership skills to shape the future of research data discovery and reuse?

The UK Data Archive, based at the University of Essex, is seeking a Head of Metadata Management and Discovery to lead the strategic development of metadata standards, governance, and discovery services across one of the UK's most important research data infrastructures.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in ensuring that high-quality, interoperable and sustainable metadata supports the full data lifecycle - from acquisition and curation through to discovery, access, impact and reuse by researchers, policymakers and other data users worldwide.

About the Role
As a senior member of the Data Operations team, you will provide strategic leadership for metadata policies, standards, workflows and services across the UK Data Service. Working closely with colleagues across data collections, curation, access, user support, and technical services, you will ensure metadata remains central to delivering high-quality services and an excellent user experience.

You will:

 Lead the development and implementation of the UK Data Service metadata strategy.
 Oversee metadata governance, standards, quality assurance and lifecycle management.
 Champion the use of controlled vocabularies, ontologies and semantic assets, including the European Languages Social Science Thesaurus (ELSST).
 Represent the UK Data Service in national and international collaborations, standards bodies, and communities of practice.
 Manage and develop specialist staff, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
 Help shape future discovery systems and metadata services, including participation in major European initiatives such as CDIF4EOSC and AI4SOCIAL+.

About You
You will bring substantial experience in metadata management within a research, data, library, archive or digital infrastructure environment, together with a strong understanding of metadata standards, interoperability, controlled vocabularies and data lifecycle management.

You will be a confident leader and communicator, capable of translating strategic priorities into practical solutions, influencing senior stakeholders and working effectively across multidisciplinary teams. Experience of metadata quality frameworks, governance and service improvement will be essential.

Why Join Us?
The UK Data Archive is the lead partner in the UK Data Service which hosts the UK's largest collection of social, economic, and population data and plays a vital role in supporting world-leading research. This role offers the opportunity to influence national and international metadata practice, contribute to innovative European research infrastructure projects and help shape the future of data discovery in an increasingly AI-enabled research landscape.

Join us and make a lasting impact on how research data is discovered, understood and reused around the world.

This post is full-time and fixed term until 31st March 2030.

This post involves access to Government systems, information or data and will be subject to the staff vetting process. Further information can be found in the job pack.

At the University of Essex, internationalism and diversity is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries, faiths and backgrounds, where you can find the world in one place.

To support this commitment we have our Global Forum , a staff-led network that promotes and celebrates the rich cultural diversity among Essex staff, and our Colchester campus based Faith Centre, which hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representatives. For more information see: https://www.essex.ac.uk/life/student-facilities/religion-and-faith

Please see the attached job pack, which contains a full job description and person specification, which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role plus more information relating to the post. We recommend you read this information carefully before making an application. Applications should be made on-line, but if you would like advice or help in making an application, or need information in a different format, please email the Resourcing Team ( [email protected] ).

*More information: Working at the University