Head of Data Platform

Head of Data Platforms 

Location: Hybrid 

9 Months FTC

We are looking for a hands-on expert and leader, someone who has ‘been there and done that’ and is able to demonstrate to his team, peers and stakeholders ‘what good looks like’

Purpose of the role: 

• To be the commercial and strategic owner for the new Enterprise Data Platform ultimately leading to a single location of trusted data used across the business
• Work closely with other GDA&A teams, such as Product Development, BI and Data Science, to ensure that the data platform meets business requirements.
• To build, manage, prioritise and deliver the backlog and roadmap for all development and support of the EDP and associated tools
• Preovision secure, safe and reliable data that meets the needs the business, aligned to the overall Technology strategy and business wide objectives
• To be the voice of Data Platforms in GDA&A and across the organisation
• To manage the commercial relationships with third party suppliers and vendors
• Closely collaborate with the Head of Data Governance & Quality and other peers within GD&A

Key Responsibilities: 

EDP Delivery

•    Own the translation of business, functional and technical requirements into a well architected, documented, secure, well governed and a high performing data platform
•    Manage the roadmap, backlog, and prioritisation of requirements for Squads, from requirements gathering through development to production.
•    Lead the execution of data engineering, data architecture, and data operations to align with GDA&A’s data and analytics strategy.
o    Ensure that solutions within the data portfolio are complimentary and best fit with existing and future technologies and IT solutions
o    With Lead Engineer, Enterprise Data Architect and Solution Architect, set and agree system service metrics
o    Manage the outstanding technical debt with an appropriate programme of work to address it
•    Manage and improve performance
o    Define KPIs for each squad type, and with the support of the Service Delivery Lead monitor the KPIs and identify opportunities for improvement.
o    Define KPIs for the system, such as up-time. With the support of the lead engineer, monitor the KPIs and identify opportunities for improvement

Data Management

o    Participate in creating, refining, managing and enforcing data management policies, procedures, conventions and standards
o    Oversee the creation and ongoing development of the technical infrastructure for data governance such as the data catalogue, data flows, security and recovery processes

Stakeholder Management

o    Collaboration with senior stakeholders to improve the perception and utilisation of the data platform
•    Talent management.
o    Manage your teams from recruiting to resourcing; from budgeting to people development to create a high performing team.
o    Review team capabilities and skills and design a plan to upskill / nurture / develop and retain / recruit the best talent
o    Forecasting and forward planning of resource and skills in line with existing and predicted needs

Leadership

o    You will be the go-to leader in your field of expertise for pioneering thinking and innovation that creates value for the Group. 
o    Actively contribute to the GDA&A leadership team. You will play an active part with the technology teams to ensure alignment of roadmaps and enterprise architecture.
o    Adhere to, champion, and seek to improve Data and Analytics processes and best practices

Useful Experience 

• Enterprise Platform Development & Management Experience
  • Significant experience as product owner of technical tools and platforms
  • Extensive experience of standing up Enterprise Data Platforms, ideally with Snowflake as part of the stack
  • Experience delivering data initiatives and commercial impact
  • Significant experience in data engineering and executing cloud data migrations / platform and tool decommissioning
  • Extensive experience in technical framework development and a strong track record of enforcing best practice in line with such frameworks
  • A deep technical background, with prior or current hands-on development experience,.
  • using AWS Cloud Services and ideally Snowflake. You know how to use the technology effectively and efficiently.
  • Experience of the usage of API’s and consuming data for analysis purposes
• Technical Experience
  • Extensive knowledge and experienced in multiple Agile approaches, ideally certified.
  • Experience in resetting TOM and realignment of teams, roles and responsibilities
  • Experience and understanding of secure development frameworks, engineering operating models, and cloud engineering
  • Experience of building integrations between with internal and third-party solutions.
  • Proven ability to understand and relay complex data-related issues in a simple and easy to understand manner; demonstrating expertise in cloud data technology infrastructure and environments coupled with business process architecture.
• Data Management
  • Good knowledge of data governance principles, data cataloguing, data lineage and master data management.
  • Advocate and experience of data governance and/or data quality initiatives and experience in the wider risk management field is desirable.
  • Understanding of processes, standards and policies related to data management, governance and/or data quality
• Business and People Skills
  • Proven experience leading geographically dispersed teams would be desirable.
  • Excellent business acumen and excellent people management experience.
  • Ability to deliver in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
  • Experience in effectively managing a range of tasks and priorities, simultaneously  
  • Proven track record in excellent negotiation, communication and engagement at multiple levels
  • Proved ability to influence, winning hearts and minds to bring people on the data journey.