Senior Data Manager 

This role is a full-time opportunity to join the Local Peoples team permanently, with your first project supporting our Federal Government client. Local Peoples partners with government agencies to deliver data-driven insights, governance frameworks, and information management capabilities. Beyond this project, you will contribute to impactful initiatives that improve data quality, accessibility, and decision-making across Australian Government agencies.

About the first project:

The initial engagement involves supporting Services Australia to implement and maintain robust data management practices, quality controls, and governance arrangements. You will work closely with the agency’s data community to monitor, report, and ensure adherence to policies, frameworks, and standards. The role combines technical data expertise, stakeholder engagement, and business process improvement to maximise the value of organisational data. The position is based in the ACT with hybrid working arrangements, requiring full-time presence for the first 6 weeks and typically a minimum of 3 days onsite thereafter.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure agency-wide adherence to data quality assurance and governance practices.

• Develop, implement, and maintain data management and platform documentation to support best practice.

• Manage and provide advice on data stewardship, classification, business glossaries, and data quality documentation.

• Undertake validation and analysis of business rules, metadata, statistics, relationships, and patterns.

• Support the uplift of agency data literacy, governance maturity, and quality management practices.

• Facilitate integration, collection, and editing of data, ensuring compliance with security, privacy, and ethical standards.

• Contribute to business process improvements using data insights and technology solutions.

• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to deliver actionable data outputs, products, and services.

• Support database design, storage management, and the production of reports, ensuring reliability and consistency of data.

• Provide expert advice and guidance to maximise the use and value of organisational data.

Qualifications:

• Experience in data management, information management, or related disciplines.

• Strong understanding of data governance, data quality assurance, and business process improvement.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently under limited direction, manage competing priorities, and contribute to organisational planning.

Essential Criteria: 

• Business Process Improvement: Level 5 – analysis, design, and implementation of process improvements.

• Data Access, Governance, and Management: Level 2-5 – ensuring data security, privacy, ethics, and adherence to standards.

• Data Classification and Collection: Level 2 – knowledge of protocols, coding, methodologies, and metadata analysis.

• Data Editing and Quality Assurance: Level 2 – ability to produce accurate, trustworthy, and fit-for-purpose datasets.

• Data Modelling, Integration, and Database Design: Level 4 – implement structures and designs to support organisational data needs.

• Governance and Information Management: Level 5-6 – implement frameworks, policies, and standards, advising stakeholders.

• Value Organisational Data as Assets: Level 1 – identify opportunities to leverage data for evidence-based decision making.

Residency and Clearance

• Must have Baseline Clearance or be able to obtain one

• Australian Citizen

This role is open to ACT (full-time onsite for the first 6 weeks, then hybrid arrangements)

Who are Local Peoples?

Local Peoples is a strategic research and design studio based in Melbourne and Canberra.

Our mission is to design healthy, resilient and resourceful communities. We are proud to be a certified B-Corporation with a strong focus on our social, environmental and economic impact.

We work across brand and digital design, place and experience design,, content and community engagement. Our key partners include state and local government, social enterprises, universities and large commercial organisations. All are experiencing complex challenges right now and we believe that design research, thinking and delivery can help to solve these challenges and make positive change for people and the planet.

We produce www.mattersjournal.com, a publication and community of 100K+, which focuses on design-led social innovation and impact.

Why join Local Peoples?

• Representative and inclusive - we are dedicated to building an inclusive and accessible workplace for people from diverse backgrounds

• Impact driven - work towards achieving real impact for people and the environment

• Fantastic culture - driven by a welcoming, supportive and collaborative team environment

• Professional support for design excellence- benefit from being a part of one of Australia’s fastest growing design and delivery communities

• Flexible working arrangements - including the ability to work remotely

• Market rate salaries - attractive remuneration packages in line with the market rate

• Flexible employment types - including the preference for permanent, but will consider contracting

Local Peoples proudly supports the LGBTQ+ community, neurodiverse individuals, and First Nations people. We are committed to creating inclusive spaces where everyone, regardless of their identity, feels valued and respected. Together, we strive for equality and a positive future for all.

Local Peoples works, creates, and plays on the lands of the Wurundjeri, Bunurong, and Wathaurong peoples of the Kulin Nation, land which has never been ceded. We thank them for caring for this land for over 40,000 years and recognize and pay our deepest respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land