About this role
Contract: Permanent, 35 hours per week Salary: £36,053 - £38,577 Location: Burford OX18 4PF Closing date: Tuesday 24th November 2026 Interview date: W/C 30th November 2026 We are seeking an experienced Senior Data Engineer to join our Information Services team in Burford, Oxfordshire to lead the optimisation of our data architecture and pipelines. In this role, you will play a critical part in connecting and transforming operational and supporter data into reliable, governed assets that inform strategic decision-making and enhance outcomes for the pets, guardians, and communities we support across the charity.
More about the role
Working closely with the Data Manager and colleagues across Information Services, you will be responsible for building, deploying, and maintaining high-performance, automated data flows that reduce organisational data silos. You will develop and refine ETL pipelines and robust API connections to integrate, cleanse, and ingest data from internal platforms, external partners, and CRM systems with minimal manual dependency. Additionally, you will support the maintenance and evolution of our central data repositories, ensuring that data is securely structured, fully compliant with regulatory standards, and readily accessible for analysis and reporting within tools such as Power BI. The role is central to upholding rigorous data governance and continuous technical improvement across the charity. You will establish automated monitoring to identify and resolve data quality anomalies, standardise operating documentation, and drive efficiencies within key direct marketing and operational campaigns. Furthermore, as the senior technical lead within the function, you will act as a point of escalation for complex data integration challenges and provide coaching and mentorship to the Data Engineer, fostering high technical standards and consistent service delivery. This is a permanent role based at our Burford, Oxfordshire office. This is a hybrid role and you must be able to work from Burford twice a week.
About you
The ideal candidate will offer substantial technical proficiency in modern data engineering principles, ingestion architectures, and database environments. You will demonstrate an analytical approach to complex technical problem-solving, with proven ability in developing scalable automated processes and managing extensive data lifecycles. Alongside your technical depth, you will possess strong stakeholder-engagement capabilities, enabling you to articulate intricate data concepts effectively to non-technical operational and commercial audiences.
You should be highly organised and resilient, skilled at balancing concurrent project priorities, and committed to upholding strict compliance, information security, and data protection standards. A collaborative professional who values continuous learning, you will actively stay abreast of emerging technologies and share technical insights to enhance team capability. Ultimately, you will align with Blue Cross core values, bringing a structured, dependable, and values-led approach to supporting our organisational mission.
Essential Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
- Experience working in data engineering
- Highly accomplished in data synthesis
- Experience of working with a variety of database solutions
- Good understanding of typical ingestion patterns (eg ETL, ELT)
- Experience of collaborating with technical and non-technical audiences, with the ability to adapt communication approach to meet the needs of different audiences
- An understanding of the issues of data ingestion and effective quality control to ensure that data is always a high standard to enable us to achieve charity objectives
- You will be aware of data management best practice, including ensuring data compliance, and will have experience in processes and routines that mean the highest data quality is achieved.
- High aptitude for quickly learning new tools
- Ability to demonstrate, understanding and apply our Blue Cross values
Desirable Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
- Experience working for a charity or not for profit organisation
- Knowledge of Faststats, Peoplestage, SQL, Excel, VBA, Blender
- Experience or knowledge of data warehousing and cloud-based solutions to combine multiple data/application sources
- Knowledge of the GDPR
- Knowledge of CRM applications like D365, Microsoft data technologies
Using AI in your application
We’re happy for you to use AI tools to help you prepare your application, for example to organise your thoughts, improve clarity or check spelling and grammar. However, your application must be an honest reflection of your own skills, experience and achievements, and AI should not be used to write your application for you or create examples that aren’t your own.
Please read our guidance on using AI when applying to Blue Cross (https://www.bluecross.org.uk/applying-to-blue-cross) before submitting your application.
How to apply Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response.
Blue Cross benefits
Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today. In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are. Our generous benefits package includes:
- Full time equivalent of 38 days holiday rising to 43 with service (including Bank Holidays)
- Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
- Free access to GP via MetLife- 24/7 GP services, private prescriptions and more for you and your family
- Health cash plan
- Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
- Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
- Professional fees paid with Continuing Professional Development and personal development support.
- Life assurance
- 20% discount on Pet Plan pet insurance
- Enhanced family friendly policies
- Recognition scheme
- Annual volunteer days
- Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers
To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' (https://www.bluecross.org.uk/why-work-for-us) page on our website.