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Client

Leading digital media company

Sector

Digital media

Duration

9 weeks, early 2026

Architecture resource

Permanent Data Architect

The challenge

A flood of CVs, and still no Data Architect

In early 2026, a leading digital media organisation came to Konvergent after struggling to recruit a Data Architect. Its talent team, overwhelmed with open roles, lacked the capacity and specialist knowledge to screen the volume of applications properly. As a result, the Head of Architecture received more than 50 CVs. He could not review each one, so he built a basic AI screening script based on job title and a handful of technical skills.

Collage of a question mark in a speech bubble, representing an unclear role

After 15 first-round interviews, only one candidate progressed to the next stage. It was clear the approach was not working, so he turned to Konvergent. What we found explained why:

  • The role profile mixed enterprise data architecture, data governance, data engineering and some information architecture, so the talent team had no picture of what good looked like.
  • Most of the CVs reaching interview belonged to data engineers with "architect" added to their job titles.
  • Little thought had gone into the company's culture, or who would thrive in it.
  • The process only reached active candidates, many of whom were applying for numerous other roles.

Our approach

Define the role, then sell it to people who are not looking

Konvergent ran its full role diagnostic as the first stage of an engaged search. Working with the Head of Architecture, we rewrote the role profile around data standards, governance and data modelling, with a dotted line into data engineering. The result was a far more focused role profile, aligned to what the business actually needed, and a clear basis on which to go to market.

Collage of a person icon with a clock, representing a clearly defined role

The pool of people who could do the job was small. The client needed a Data Architect with a sales-focused personality, someone able to win the business over to better data practices, and very few people combine that with strong data architecture experience. So we weighted the search towards culture fit rather than a checklist of technical skills, which a good Data Architect can pick up in a matter of weeks.

That focus meant Konvergent held only five face-to-face interviews. Ironically, one was with a candidate who had applied for the original role but had been screened out by the client's first process.

Before Konvergent

  • 50+ CVs sent to the Head of Architecture
  • 15 first-round interviews, with one candidate progressing
  • A role profile that mixed several different jobs
  • Only active job seekers reached

With engaged search

  • A focused role profile built on data standards, governance and modelling
  • Five interviews, all with people who could do the job
  • Culture fit weighted as highly as technical skill
  • Candidates who were not looking, reached directly

The result

A clear winner who was not looking to move

The candidate who had been screened out first time came close, but there was one clear winner: a Data Architect who was not looking to move and who had known Konvergent's founder, Ben Clark, since 2007. They knew that when Ben got in touch, it was not to waste their time.

The work the client and Konvergent did together to sell the role and the opportunity, along with a 12% salary uplift, was enough to persuade them to make the move.

Collage of a gold trophy, representing a clear winner

The whole process was completed in 9 weeks. The Head of Architecture stopped sifting CVs and gained a Data Architect focused on standards, governance and modelling, with the personality to bring the rest of the business with them.

9 weeks

from start to finish, for a permanent Data Architect

5

interviews to find a clear winner, after 15 had not

Hiring a Data Architect?

Get the role profile right before you read a single CV

When a role mixes data architecture, governance and engineering, the wrong people apply and the right ones never hear about it. Our engaged search starts with a Role Clarity Call to define what the architect must deliver, then reaches the people who are not on the job boards. For permanent hires, that means a fully vetted shortlist in four weeks and an offer within eight.

Get the right architect in days, not months.
Book a Role Clarity Call

Ben Clark · bclark@konvergent.co.uk