Data Quality

**About The Role**: The Data Standards Protocol Officer helps people with sight loss to live the life they choose by ensuring that the organisation’s data assets are accurate, consistent, and fit for purpose. This involves implementing and maintaining data protocols, standards, and governance practices, as well as supporting data-informed decision-making across teams. This role serves as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders to embed a strong data quality culture, enforce protocols, and support compliance (e.g. GDPR) in alignment with the organisation’s mission. Key Responsibilities Data Quality Management & Oversight - Define, implement, and maintain data quality rules, validations, and checks (e.g. completeness, consistency, accuracy, uniqueness, timeliness). - Monitor data quality metrics / KPIs across key datasets/systems, generate regular dashboards/reports, and highlight issues or trends. - Perform data cleansing, deduplication, validation, and correction routines. - Investigate root causes of data quality problems and work with system owners and process owners to resolve underlying issues. - Audit datasets periodically to ensure compliance with data standards and detect anomalies. - Promote "data quality at source" practices by embedding validations at point-of-entry (e.g. forms, CRM, intake processes). Data Protocols, Standards & Documentation - Develop and document data protocols, standards, and policies (naming conventions, data definitions, metadata, data lifecycle, access rules). - Maintain and govern the data dictionary, data glossaries, and metadata catalogues. - Ensure consistent use and interpretation of field definitions, code lists, default values, and formats across systems. - Update data retention and archival protocols, data versioning, and record deletion standards. - Ensure that new data systems or changes to existing systems comply with established protocols. Data Governance & Compliance - Assist in embedding data governance practices, roles and accountability (e.g. data stewards, owners) within teams. - Support compliance with data protection regulations (e.g. UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018), ensuring that protocols and data handling practices adhere to legal requirements. - Support Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), privacy by design reviews, and risk assessments for data projects. - Work with the legal, IT, security and compliance teams to ensure protocols align with information security, privacy and data sharing agreements. - Support audits, both internal and external, around data/data processing/security. Stakeholder Engagement, Training & Culture - Act as a point of contact and advisor for staff on data quality and protocol issues, queries or escalations. - Develop training, guidance materials, and documentation (e.g. user guides, standard operating procedures) to build data literacy among users and stakeholders. - Facilitate workshops or sessions with teams to understand their data needs, ensure adherence to protocols, and gain input into evolving standards. - Engage with cross-functional teams so that data requirements and constraints are understood upstream in projects or system changes. Reporting, Insight & Support - Extract, transform, and present data (via dashboards, reports, visualisations) for internal and external stakeholders, ensuring the underlying data meets quality standards. - Collaborate with the Monitoring & Evaluation, Programmes, Fundraising, Finance, and other teams to support their reporting needs, ensuring consistency in metrics and definitions. - Support funder or regulatory reporting by ensuring data submitted is accurate, documented, validated, and auditable. - Provide ad-hoc analysis, data sampling, profiling and validation as requested. System Improvements, Integration & Change Management - Work with IT/data teams, developers, and vendors to ensure system changes, upgrades or integration projects preserve or enhance data quality and protocol compliance. - Support data migrations, database merges, system decommissions, ensuring proper mapping, validation and reconciliation. - Participate in user acceptance testing (UAT) phases of system development to validate compliance with protocols. - Recommend enhancements, tools or automation (e.g. validation rules, quality engines, scripts) to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort. Risk Management & Escalation - Identify data-related risks (e.g. data loss, inconsistent data, unauthorised access) and propose mitigation strategies. - Maintain logs of data quality incidents, track corrective actions, and report on trends/progress to leadership. - Escalate significant data issues to senior management or data governance committees where required. This role follows a standard working pattern of Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with a hybrid working model. You’ll be expected to work two days per week in the office, with the flexibility to choose your nearest Guide Dogs offi