Microsoft Fabric & Power BI Lead

Job summary

Use your data expertise to support better care, planning and improvement.

Birmingham Hospice is looking for a Microsoft Fabric & Power BI Lead to shape, build and support our data and reporting platform. Youll help colleagues turn clinical, operational, finance, fundraising, retail and people data into reliable information they can use with confidence.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role, taking work from initial requirements through to delivery and ongoing support. Youll develop secure data pipelines, reusable data models and accessible Power BI dashboards, replacing fragmented reporting with consistent measures and maintainable solutions.

Working with service leaders, data owners, analysts and Technology colleagues, youll turn practical questions into useful reports and insights. Youll set engineering and reporting standards, strengthen data quality and governance, and keep the platform reliable through testing, monitoring and support. Youll also coach colleagues and help teams use data more confidently.

Main duties of the job

Were looking for someone with: Substantial experience delivering and supporting production BI and cloud data platforms Strong Microsoft Fabric knowledge and Power BI expertise, including DAX, semantic modelling, security and performance Strong SQL and data-modelling skills, with working knowledge of Python and/or PySpark Experience of data integration, governance, quality controls, source control, testing and deployment The ability to explain technical issues clearly, work collaboratively and develop colleagues skills

Experience in a hospice, charity, healthcare or another regulated setting would be welcome. Youll have a relevant degree or equivalent substantial professional experience.

Our values are Kindness, Togetherness, Positivity, Openness, Respect and Innovation. Were looking for someone who brings these values to their work and handles sensitive information with care and integrity.

If you would like to find out more about the role, please email Leon Claraway, Head of Data and Technology on leon.claraway@birminghamhospice.org.uk

About us

Birmingham Hospice provides expert palliative and end of life care for people and their families living with life-limiting illnesses.

We believe that all people in Birmingham should have access to the best specialist care and support - when, where and how they need it. Our vision is a future where everyone with a life-limiting illness will live and die with dignity and in comfort. Our mission is to enable more people from all communities to access the care of their choice at the end of life.

During a recent CQC inspection our sites have been rated outstanding, with independent health care regulators highlighting that colleagues and services are caring, responsive and well-led.

Our outstanding teams are passionate about providing the very best care, and patients and their loved ones are at the heart of everything we do.

Our values of kindness, respect, innovation, togetherness, positivity and openness are at the centre of who we are, what we do and how we behave. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive, welcoming, caring and supportive team. We are offering a competitive salary, with generous holiday allowance, a contribution pension scheme, and a commitment to investing in our people through employee benefits and ongoing professional development.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job title

Microsoft Fabric & Power BI Lead

Department

Digital, Data & Technology

Hospice band

TBC (subject to job evaluation)

Reports to

Head of Technology & Data

Responsible for

Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and Business Intelligence delivery

DBS required

Enhanced

Job purpose

Lead the design, delivery and operation of Birmingham Hospices Microsoft Fabric and Power BI platform. Turn clinical, operational, financial, fundraising, retail and people data into trusted, secure information that supports care, planning and improvement.

Reporting to the Head of Technology & Data, combine hands-on technical leadership with stakeholder engagement, governance and service management. Replace fragmented datasets and recurring manual reports with reusable data products and consistent organisational measures.

Scope of the role

Own the platform architecture, engineering and reporting standards, development practices and operational support. Work with service leaders, data owners, analysts, ICT and external partners to deliver proportionate, maintainable solutions that meet information-governance, clinical-safety and cyber-security requirements.

Platform strategy and technical leadership

Maintain a Fabric and Power BI roadmap aligned with organisational priorities, clear ownership, governance and support arrangements.

Advise on platform options, delivery plans and investment needs, contributing to business cases, procurement and budget planning.

Assess Microsoft developments for value and supportability, and share learning through partners and professional networks.

Main duties and responsibilitiesMicrosoft Fabric engineering and data quality

Design secure, scalable Fabric architecture using appropriate OneLake, lakehouse, warehouse, pipeline and notebook patterns, avoiding unnecessary complexity.

Build reliable ingestion, transformation and orchestration across applications, APIs, databases, files and external sources. Set SQL, Python or PySpark and ETL/ELT standards, using reusable integration patterns.

Map authoritative sources and information flows. Work with data owners to improve capture at source and implement validation, reconciliation, exception handling and accountable resolution of data-quality issues.

Maintain documentation, metadata, lineage, definitions and dependencies. Build in logging, alerting, recovery and maintainability, assessing ownership, security, licensing and support before integrating new systems.

Power BI modelling and product delivery

Develop governed workspaces, apps, reusable semantic models and dashboards, agreeing consistent measures and definitions across directorates.

Set dimensional-modelling, DAX, calculation, visual-design and accessibility standards. Optimise model, query, refresh and report performance.

Translate service questions and statutory needs into prioritised requirements. Lead discovery, build, testing, release, adoption and benefits review, with clear product purpose, ownership and success measures.

Explain technical constraints and data limitations. Use feedback and usage evidence to improve products, consolidate duplicated reports and retire obsolete or low-value outputs.

Enable controlled self-service analytics and build data literacy through guidance, training, communities of practice and user support.

Development testing and release management

Use source control, peer review, reusable components and deployment pipelines, with separate development, test and production environments.

Test data, models, security, performance, accessibility and user acceptance. Maintain release records, dependencies, rollback plans and change communications.

Automate platform deployment, validation, monitoring and administration where useful. Prioritise technical debt, defects and improvements alongside new delivery.

Service assurance and collaborationGovernance security and information assurance

Embed data protection, confidentiality, records management, cyber security and clinical safety, working with Information Governance, clinical governance and system owners on lawful, ethical data use.

Implement least-privilege access, row-level or object-level security, workspace governance, sensitivity controls and secure sharing, with auditable ownership, approval and publication arrangements.

Assess privacy, security, clinical and operational risks for new data, features, integrations and AI. Support audits, assurance reviews and incident investigations, improving controls from findings.

Performance capacity and service management

Monitor Fabric capacity, Power BI performance, refreshes, gateway health, storage, consumption and cost. Plan licensing and capacity against demand, roadmaps and financial constraints.

Resolve service incidents, failed refreshes and technical data defects, communicating impact and applying root-cause analysis. Maintain support routes, escalation, recovery procedures and service measures.

Manage vulnerabilities, updates, gateways, connections and dependencies with ICT, cyber-security and application teams to improve resilience and reliability.

Advanced analytics AI and automation

Protect confidential information and separate experimentation from production. Ensure solutions are validated, documented and explainable, with clear ownership and support before adoption, and monitor bias, privacy, accuracy and continued fitness for purpose.

Capability and supplier collaboration

Mentor data, and colleagues, helping them apply agreed standards, share knowledge and reduce dependency on individuals.

Work across directorates and manage specialist suppliers and Microsoft partners, maintaining technical quality, value for money, knowledge transfer and sustainable internal ownership.

General duties

Confidentiality

All employees are required to uphold the confidentiality of all information records in whatever format, encountered in the course of employment and after it.

All employees are bound by the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations when, in the course of their employment, they deal with information records relating to individuals.

Equality and Diversity

The hospice is committed to promoting an environment that values diversity. All staff are responsible for ensuring that they treat individuals equally and fairly and do not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. The hospice expects all staff to behave in a way that recognises and respects diversity in line with the appropriate standards.

Health and safety

All employees have a responsibility under the terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect and promote their own health and that of others in the workplace.

All employees must comply with all hospice health and safety procedures, including infection control.

The prevention and control of infection is the responsibility of everyone who is employed by the hospice. Employees must be aware of infection control policies, procedures and the importance of protecting themselves and their clients in maintaining a clean and healthy environment.

Information governance

All employees are responsible for ensuring they undertake any training relating to information governance, read the hospices policies, procedures and guidance documents relating to information governance, and understanding how this affects them in their role.

Professional development

All employees must participate in an annual appraisal and develop a personal development plan with their line manager.

All employees are responsible for maintaining their statutory and mandatory training.

Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults

The hospice is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All employees and volunteers are expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Degree-level education or equivalent substantial professional experience in data, Business Intelligence, software engineering, IT or a related discipline.
Continuing professional development in Fabric, Power BI, data engineering, analytics, cloud technology or data governance.
Substantial experience designing, delivering and supporting production BI and cloud data platforms, with hands-on technical leadership, standards, solution review and roadmaps.
Deep Power BI experience covering workspaces, apps, semantic models, DAX, refresh, gateways, security, deployment and performance optimisation.
Strong practical knowledge of Fabric, including OneLake, lakehouses, warehouses, pipelines, notebooks and deployment patterns.
Strong SQL and data modelling, including dimensional models, reusable semantic layers, transformation and performance-aware design.
Working knowledge of Python and/or PySpark, APIs, databases, files, ETL/ELT and orchestration.
Experience integrating business systems and implementing reliable validation, reconciliation, monitoring and data-quality controls.
Experience of source control, peer review, testing, deployment pipelines, release management and technical documentation.
Strong understanding of governance, ownership, stewardship, lineage, metadata, privacy and access controls; ability to meet information-governance, cyber-security and clinical-safety requirements.
Experience managing capacity, performance, refreshes, gateways, licensing and cost; resolving production incidents and defects through root-cause analysis and continual improvement.
Experience translating stakeholder needs into governed data products, with strong analytical, problem-solving and operational judgement.
Experience coaching colleagues, developing team capability and managing specialist suppliers, with a collaborative approach to standards and knowledge sharing.
Clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences; strong relationships, organisation and resilience when balancing delivery, incidents, technical debt, quality, security and user needs.
Integrity, discretion and ethical judgement with sensitive information; commitment to the Hospices purpose and values of Kindness, Togetherness, Positivity, Openness, Respect and Innovation.

Desirable

Relevant Microsoft certification, or qualifications in data management, information governance, project delivery, service management or leadership.
Experience in hospice, charity, health, social care or another regulated setting; knowledge of clinical systems, healthcare standards, fundraising, retail or charity data.
Experience of Azure data services, Microsoft Purview, Power Platform, Microsoft 365 or related technologies, including migration of legacy reporting or data workloads.
Experience supporting forecasting, statistical analysis, machine learning or responsible AI use cases.
Experience developing governed self-service analytics, data literacy or a reporting centre of excellence, and improving capability across directorate or professional boundaries.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Birmingham Hospice

Address

76 Grange Road

Erdington

Birmingham

B24 0DF

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.birminghamhospice.org.uk

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