Microsoft Data Protection Architect

Job Description

Job Title: Microsoft Data Protection Architect

Location: London / Manchester / Leeds / Birmingham

Salary: Competitive Salary depending on experience

Career Level: Manager

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. With our thought leadership and culture of innovation, we apply industry expertise, diverse skill sets and next-generation technology to each business challenge.

We believe in inclusion and diversity and supporting the whole person. Our core values comprise of Stewardship, Best People, Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual and Integrity. Year after year, Accenture is recognized worldwide not just for business performance but for inclusion and diversity too.

“Across the globe, one thing is universally true of the people of Accenture: We care deeply about what we do and the impact we have with our clients and with the communities in which we work and live. It is personal to all of us.” - Julie Sweet, Accenture CEO

The Accenture Microsoft Business Group (AMBG) is a global team of 80,000+ professionals, recognised 19 times as Microsoft Global SI Partner of the Year. We’re leaders in AI and Business Applications, helping clients achieve end-to-end transformation-from strategy to delivery and managed services.

Role Purpose: As a Microsoft Data Protection Architect, you will lead the design and delivery of data protection solutions across Microsoft 365, Azure, and hybrid environments. You will be instrumental in helping clients secure their data estates, especially in AI-enabled environments, using Microsoft’s full security stack and Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) capabilities.

This is a client-facing, delivery-focused role with opportunities to contribute to pre-sales, solution shaping, and thought leadership across Accenture engagements.

Key Responsibilities:

Delivery Leadership (approx. 80%) -

• Architect Microsoft Purview solutions for Information Protection, DLP, Insider Risk Management, Records Management, and Data Lifecycle Management.
  
• Design and implement DSPM for AI using Microsoft Purview’s AI-specific controls to secure generative AI platforms (e.g. Copilot, Fabric, OpenAI integrations).
  
• Lead AI data risk assessments, including oversharing analysis, data classification, and adaptive protection enforcement.
  
• Integrate Microsoft Defender suite (Defender for Cloud, Endpoint, Identity, Office 365, XDR) to protect against threats like data poisoning, jailbreaks, and credential theft.
  
• Establish compliance frameworks aligned to GDPR, EU AI Act, ISO 42001, and NIST AI RMF.
  
• Support pre-sales and solution shaping, including workshops, assessments, and roadmap development.
  
• Mentor junior architects and consultants, and contribute to AMBG capability building and innovation.
  
• Support client workshops and steer solution evolution during delivery.
  

Pre-sales & Solutioning (approx. 20%)

• Contribute to shaping opportunities and technical solutioning for pursuits;
  
• Support RFx responses with architecture inputs and delivery approach;
  
• Develop reusable assets and share best practices across the team.
  

Qualification

We are looking for experience in the following skills:

Technical Skills:

• Expertise in Microsoft Purview: Information Protection, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Insider Risk Management, Records Management, and Data Lifecycle Management.
  
• Advanced configuration of sensitivity labels, retention policies, and adaptive protection across Microsoft 365 workloads.
  
• Implementation of Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI environments, including Microsoft Copilot, Fabric, and third-party LLMs.
  
• Risk modelling for prompt injection, oversharing, and data poisoning in generative AI workflows.
  
• Use of Microsoft Purview AI-specific controls for classification, policy enforcement, and reporting.
  

Manager-Level Skills (Data Security Architecture Lens):

• Experience leading data protection programmes ;
  
• Strong understanding of data governance, lineage, and compliance (Purview, security, privacy);
  
• Stakeholder management and ability to influence senior client decision-makers;
  
• Competence in estimating, shaping SoWs, and managing RAIDs for large-scale data protection programmes.
  

Certifications & Experience:

• Industry experience in Microsoft 365 and Azure security architecture
  
• Deep understanding of AI data risks and compliance frameworks
  
• Certifications: SC-400, SC-401, SC-300, SC-100
  
• Microsoft Purview: Information Protection, DLP, Insider Risk, Records Management, DSPM for AI
  
• Microsoft Intune: Endpoint protection and policy enforcement
  
• Microsoft Fabric: Secure data engineering and AI development environments
  
• Microsoft Sentinel: SIEM/SOAR integration
  
• Security Copilot: Embedded and standalone threat detection and response
  
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills
  

What’s in it for you

At Accenture in addition to a competitive basic salary, you will also have an extensive benefits package which includes 30 days vacation.

Flexibility and mobility are required to deliver this role as there will be requirements to spend time onsite with our clients and partners to enable delivery of the first-class services, we are known for.

Closing Date for Applications 31/01/2026

Accenture reserves the right to close the role before this date should a suitable applicant be found.

Locations

London

Birmingham

Leeds

Manchester

Additional Information

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.

Job candidates will not be obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrest as part of the hiring process.

Accenture is committed to providing veteran employment opportunities to our service men and women.

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About Accenture

We work with one shared purpose: to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity. Every day, more than 775,000 of us help our stakeholders continuously reinvent. Together, we drive positive change and deliver value to our clients, partners, shareholders, communities, and each other.

We believe that delivering value requires innovation, and innovation thrives in an inclusive and diverse environment. We actively foster a workplace free from bias, where everyone feels a sense of belonging and is respected and empowered to do their best work.

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