Data Warehouse Specialist
Contractor Opportunity: Microsoft Fabric BI Implementation Lead
12-Month Contract | Outside IR35 | £600–£700/day
Remote - UK & occasional European travel
An exciting opportunity for a senior Business Intelligence contractor to play a pivotal role in a greenfield Microsoft Fabric implementation, replacing a legacy on-premise SQL data warehouse across a multi-country European organisation.
This is a high-impact, advisory-led role for someone who understands Azure and Fabric deeply, can confidently challenge vendors, and acts as the technical translator between delivery partners, internal BI teams, and non-technical stakeholders.
The Assignment
You'll join a lean, capable BI & IT function as a trusted technical authority, supporting the migration from an on-prem SQL environment to Microsoft Fabric. Acting as the bridge between delivery partners and internal teams, your focus will be on technical assurance, governance, integration, and long-term sustainability rather than day-to-day coding.
This programme will roll out across six European affiliates plus the UK, each operating with a degree of autonomy - making stakeholder management, clarity of communication, and project drive absolutely critical.
What You'll Be Doing
- Provide technical direction and oversight for the migration to Microsoft Fabric
- Act as the technical conscience of the programme - reviewing architecture, data models, pipelines, and design decisions
- Support development of data pipelines, Fabric workloads, and Power BI integration
- Validate ETL/ELT processes, migrated datasets, and performance optimisation approaches
- Ensure data governance, security, privacy, and quality standards are embedded from day one
- Confidently challenge vendors, call out risks, and keep delivery honest and aligned to business needs
- Translate complex Azure/Fabric concepts into clear, practical language for affiliates and senior stakeholders
- Drive knowledge transfer, documentation, and internal upskilling to reduce long-term vendor dependency
What We're Looking For
Non-negotiables
- Proven experience working with Microsoft Fabric implementations
- Strong Azure data platform knowledge (Fabric, Data Lake, Synapse, Data Factory)
- Advanced SQL and solid data modelling capability
- Comfortable operating in a project-led, advisory capacity rather than pure hands-on delivery
- Confident communicator who can hold their own with vendors and senior stakeholders
- Proactive, pragmatic, and happy dealing with issues as they arise
Highly Valued
- Experience working across multi-country or federated business models
- Exposure to regulated or data-sensitive environments (life sciences/pharma a plus, but not essential)
- Power BI integration experience
- Strong understanding of data governance, InfoSec, and privacy considerations
- Political awareness and the ability to navigate emotionally charged or high-visibility programmes
The Environment
- Small, capable BI & IT team who value straight-talking, challenge, and fresh perspective
- A culture that welcomes someone coming in to raise the bar, not just "keep things ticking over"
- High-profile programme with genuine business impact and visibility
Logistics
- Hybrid working – Windsor office for key meetings; otherwise remote
- Occasional travel to European affiliates (limited and planned)
- Start date: Ideally January, with a formal kick-off early February
- Duration: Contract to end on 31st December 2026
- Rate: £600–£700/day (outside IR35)
If you're a Fabric-savvy BI contractor who enjoys advising the business, challenging assumptions, and keeping complex programmes honest, this is a rare opportunity to make a lasting impact.