Head of IWR Data Engineering and Enablement, Aviva

£140k

+ Bonus opportunity – 25% of annual salary Actual amount depends on your performance and Aviva’s + Up to £1,200 of free Aviva shares per year

SQL

AWS

GCP

Python

Scala

Java

Kafka

Azure

Spark

Snowflake

dbt

Senior and Expert level

London

2-3 days a week in office

Insurance, wealth and retirement business

Be an early applicant

Insurance, wealth and retirement business

1001+ employees

B2CInsuranceFinancial Services

Be an early applicant

£140k

+ Bonus opportunity – 25% of annual salary Actual amount depends on your performance and Aviva’s + Up to £1,200 of free Aviva shares per year

SQL

AWS

GCP

Python

Scala

Java

Kafka

Azure

Spark

Snowflake

dbt

Senior and Expert level

London

2-3 days a week in office

1001+ employees

B2CInsuranceFinancial Services

Company mission

With you today, for a better tomorrow. Aviva exist to be with people when it really matters, throughout their lives.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

Demonstrated success leading complex data initiatives and transformation programmes within large-scale organisations, particularly in financial services
Skilled in managing outsourced and third-party data environments, with a strong focus on aligning data capabilities to business transformation goals
Deep knowledge of data architecture, modelling, integration, and governance, with hands-on experience in tools like Snowflake, DBT, SQL Server, and programming languages such as Python, Java, or Scala
Proficient in big data tools (e.g., Spark, Kafka), cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and embedding AI/GenAI into scalable data infrastructures
Strong stakeholder engagement and the ability to translate technical solutions into strategic business value, with a solid understanding of regulatory and financial environments

What the job involves

At Aviva, data is more than a function—it’s our foundation. We’re on a bold journey to transform how we harness data to drive innovation, power AI, and deliver exceptional outcomes for our customers. As we accelerate this transformation, we’re seeking a visionary leader to join us as Head of IWR Data Engineering and Enablement
This is a pivotal, high-impact role at the heart of our Insurance, Wealth & Retirement (IWR) business—one of the UK’s largest and most dynamic financial services portfolios
You’ll lead the modernisation of our data platforms, architect next-generation solutions, and embed AI-driven intelligence into the fabric of our operations
Working in close partnership with our Data Science and Technology teams, you’ll shape and execute a bold data engineering strategy that delivers secure, scalable, and high-quality solutions—empowering smarter, faster decisions across the enterprise
Beyond the technology, you’ll build and inspire a high-performing team of data engineers, champion a culture of innovation and agility, and ensure our data assets are governed, accessible, and future-ready
Define and lead the data engineering strategy for IWR, aligning with business goals and future data needs
Transform legacy systems into scalable, cloud-native platforms with embedded AI and machine learning
Deliver data solutions focused on business fulfilment, operational efficiency, and measurable impact
Champion best practices in data quality, governance, metadata, and regulatory compliance
Partner across functions and lead a high-performing data engineering team, fostering innovation and agility

Salary benchmarks

Our take

With 18 million international customers, Aviva is the largest provider of insurance and leading life and pension funds in the UK. With a history that dates back to the founding of Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society in 1696, Aviva’s current form is thanks to a merger between Norwich Union and CGU plc in the year 2000.

Over the noughties, Aviva grew its market out to Europe and established a high-profile foothold in America thanks to the most expensive advertising campaign of the time that included celebrities Alice Cooper and Bruce Willis. Into the 2010s, the insurance broker was forced to restructure and close a large number of its non-core businesses in a bid to increase its shareholder returns and streamline its focus. In 2012 it sold its US wing to Athene Holding to further this goal.

Now stripped back after sell-offs of subsidiaries in Indonesia, Italy, and many more countries, Aviva is refocusing on pensions. In the wake of a Pensions Dashboard Programme delay in the UK, Aviva is in the running to take over the programme thanks to its pre-existing private systems. This exemplifies Aviva’s renewed focus on the fintech sector, all whilst playing national analyst during the cost of living crisis thanks to its annual Age of Ambiguity study.

Steph

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Insights

Led by a woman

2% employee growth in 12 months

Glassdoor (3.7)

Company

Company HQ

City of London, London, UK

Leadership

Amanda Blanc

(CEO, not founder)

Currently Group Board Non-Executive Director at BP. Previously Chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union, Senior Advisor at Trov, CEO at Zurich Insurance Company.

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