Data Migration Specialist

Location: Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland (Hybrid, 1 day on-site per week - 4 days remote working)

Start Date: 17th August 2026

Contract Duration: 12 Months with further extension.

About the Client

The CLIENT is an independent statutory body established in 2003 to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities.

CLIENT's mission is to support an inclusive education system that enables students and adults with special educational needs to achieve their potential.

Role Overview

CLIENT is seeking a highly experienced Senior Data Migration Specialist to support Project Nexus, a strategic programme focused on modernising the organisation's data management, analytics, and enterprise systems.

The successful candidate will provide expert advisory, planning, governance, and technical oversight services for data migration activities, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives, security requirements, and industry best practices. This is a new role within CLIENT and offers an opportunity to contribute to a significant enterprise transformation initiative.

Key Responsibilities

Data Landscape Assessment

• Review existing databases, data models, schemas, and storage systems.
• Identify interdependencies, data quality issues, and legacy constraints.
• Assess enterprise metadata and identify improvement opportunities.
• Map current-state data flows, interfaces, and ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Create a Conceptual Data Model (CDM) representing key business concepts and relationships.
• Define the target-state migration approach aligned to Project Nexus objectives.
• Recommend and validate migration tools and automation solutions.
• Define migration sequencing, staging, and cutover approaches.

Data Quality, Cleansing and Preparation

• Assess data quality and identify cleansing requirements.
• Develop remediation plans and validation approaches.
• Define reconciliation methods and acceptance criteria.
• Establish migration scope and data inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Technical Advisory & Oversight

• Provide oversight of migration scripts, data mapping, and transformation logic.
• Support development teams and subject matter experts throughout planning and execution.

Risk, Security & Compliance

• Identify migration related risks and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with data protection, cybersecurity, and public sector standards.
• Provide guidance on secure data transfer, temporary storage, encryption, and auditability.

Documentation & Knowledge Transfer

• Produce migration documentation, mapping specifications, validation frameworks, and assurance reports.
• Deliver workshops, walkthroughs, and knowledge transfer sessions for internal teams.

Governance & Reporting

• Report to the Project Nexus Programme Manager (or nominated equivalent).
• Attend fortnightly project meetings (virtual and onsite).
• Maintain logs of decisions, risks, issues, and assumptions.
• Collaborate with CLIENT ICT and data teams, OGCIO stakeholders, and external suppliers.

Mandatory Requirements (Pass / Fail): Candidates MUST meet ALL of the following

Experience

• Equivalent of 7 years minimum experience in database architecture and data migration.

Qualifications

• Relevant certifications (desirable).
• Azure and AWS data engineering certifications.
• Oracle and Microsoft DB certifications.
• DAMA, DMBOK or similar data governance frameworks.

Availability

• Must be available to start from 17th August 2026.

English Language Proficiency (MANDATORY)

• CEFR C2 Proficiency/Mastery (or equivalent).
• If there is no certificate, fluency will be assessed at the presentation stage.

The requested Senior Data Migration Specialist resource will play an active role in the development and execution of the CLIENT data migration activities and associated data management practices. They will be expected to provide expert advisory, planning, and oversight services for data migration activities associated with the CLIENT's major system replacement project. This will include:

• Data Landscape Assessment Report
• Data Quality Assessment & Remediation Plan
• Data Mapping & Transformation Specifications
• Migration Risk Register & Mitigation Plan
• Security & Compliance Checklist
• Workshop and Knowledge Transfer Sessions
• Final Advisory Report & Recommendations

Requirements

The following Experience/Competencies/Skillsets are applicable to this Role.

• Extensive experience with enterprise scale database systems (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL).
• Strong knowledge of data migration frameworks, Extract Transform (ETL) and Load/Extract Load and Transform (ELT) tools, and automation platforms.
• Experience with cloud based databases and data platforms (e.g., Azure SQL, AWS RDS).
• Proven ability to design and validate data models, schemas, and transformation logic.
• Experience providing technical consultancy in public sector or regulated environments.
• Strong communication skills, with ability to explain technical concepts to non technical stakeholders.
• Experience producing formal documentation for governance boards or programme steering groups.

Professional Requirements

• Relevant certifications (desirable).
• Azure and AWS data engineering certifications.
• Oracle and Microsoft DB certifications.
• DAMA, DMBOK or similar data governance frameworks.

References for Similar Projects

Please provide clear references of similar projects that you have undertaken as part of this application.