Data & Analytics Leader - Head of, Director and CDO Level

We work with a range of UK employers actively hiring across these roles

Job Description:

UK-Based (On-Site, Hybrid or Remote)

About the Role

We're looking for senior Data and Analytics Leaders-from Head of Data, Head of Analytics and Head of Insights through to Director of Data, Director of Analytics, VP Data & AI and Chief Data Officer-for upcoming leadership roles across data, analytics, BI and applied AI functions. These are senior leadership positions where you'll set the data strategy, build and run high-performing teams, and partner with the executive team to turn data into a meaningful commercial asset.

You'll own the data agenda end-to-end-strategy, platform, people, governance and value delivery. The role suits a leader who pairs deep technical breadth across the modern data stack with the commercial nous and executive presence to make data a genuine board-level conversation.

Key Responsibilities

• Set and own the data, analytics and (where in scope) AI/ML strategy in service of the wider business strategy
• Build, scale and lead high-performing data, analytics, BI and ML teams
• Partner with the executive team and the board to align data investment to measurable commercial outcomes
• Own data governance, ethics, privacy and compliance-UK GDPR, FCA and sector-specific obligations where relevant
• Lead platform and vendor decisions across warehouse, lakehouse, BI, orchestration, ML and data activation
• Set and manage the data function's roadmap, budget and operating model
• Develop data literacy and a data-informed decision culture across the organisation
• Attract, develop and retain senior data, analytics, BI and ML talent
• Represent the data function externally-partners, regulators, candidates, the wider data community
• Make the case for data investment in commercial terms the rest of the exec team can act on

What You'll Bring

Leadership Expertise:

• Demonstrable track record building and scaling data, analytics, BI or AI/ML functions at meaningful scale
• Comfort translating commercial strategy into a data strategy that delivers measurable outcomes
• Influence and credibility at executive and board level
• Experience hiring, developing and retaining senior data and analytics talent
• Vendor and platform selection experience at scale-commercial, technical and risk dimensions
• Track record landing change-operating model, structure, ways of working

Technical Breadth:

• Strong working literacy across the modern data stack-cloud warehouse / lakehouse, BI, orchestration, transformation, governance and ML platforms
• Confident evaluating architecture, vendor and build-vs-buy decisions without needing to write the code
• Understanding of data engineering, analytics, BI and applied AI/ML as distinct disciplines and how they interact
• Awareness of contemporary topics-data products, data contracts, data mesh, generative AI, model governance-and the discipline to separate hype from substance

Commercial & Soft Skills:

• Executive communication and storytelling-able to make data legible to a non-data audience
• Strong commercial instincts; can connect data work to revenue, cost, risk or customer outcomes
• Cross-functional leadership across product, engineering, finance, marketing and operations
• Talent magnet-people want to come and work for you, and they stay
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and shaping the brief as much as delivering against it
• Calm, structured and credible during incidents, audits and high-stakes decisions

Domain Flexibility:

• Roles span fintech, retail, consumer, healthtech, public sector, B2B SaaS, media, telco and professional services
• Background in any of these is welcomed; appetite to step into an adjacent sector valued just as much

Experience Level:

• Typically 10+ years in data, analytics, BI or AI/ML, with 5+ in senior leadership; specific scope varies by Head of, Director and CDO / VP level
• Background in data, analytics, BI or AI/ML leadership, with at least one prior role owning function-level strategy
• Examples of data functions, platforms or strategies you've owned end-to-end and the commercial outcomes they delivered

What We Offer

• The opportunity to own the data agenda where it genuinely matters at executive and board level
• Roles where data, analytics and AI investment is treated as a strategic priority, not a back-office cost line
• Levels of seniority that match your trajectory-Head of through to CDO / VP
• Cultures where the data leader is at the executive table, not three layers below it
• Clear scope to shape the operating model, the platform, the team and the agenda
• Flexible working arrangements (on-site, hybrid or remote) and supportive executive peers