The Senior Vice President of Data is responsible for driving the enterprise data vision, strategy, and execution. He/she will be accountable and responsible for data quality and data life cycle management, information protection and privacy, internal efficiencies through improved data structures, constant data cleanliness and insight, efficient data governance and sustainable business growth and profitability.
The SVP Data is also a part of the leadership team within the business and together with other executives, the SVP Data participates in business-wide decision-making and strategy formulation.
Strategy: The SVP Data plays a leading strategic role where he/she defines and oversees how the business captures, maintains, and applies data and information to support key business processes. The SVP Data must be “data-obsessed” and focused on the consistent quality, accuracy, and cleanliness of the data. He/she also optimizes how the business uses data both internally and externally.
The SVP Data additionally determines how best to leverage data assets that support the business strategy. The SVP Data is a leader in creating and sustaining a vibrant data organization, technologies, processes, and policies within the department and across the business.
The SVP Data works towards enabling stellar business performance by utilizing not only the data already available to the business, but also tapping into new and innovative sources of data. In this capacity, the SVP Data acts as a thought leader defining our data strategy and data roadmap.
Required Qualifications of the SVP Data
Education: The SVP Data must have a degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Management Information Systems, Statistics, Analytics or a related field. An equivalent of the same in working experience is also acceptable for the position.
Experience: A candidate for this position must have had over 10 years or more work experience in a senior Data Science position within a fast-paced and complex business setting. The SVP Data will have gained vast experience building and leading data science organizations or practices as well as successful experience evangelizing/advocating for data quality and value across a business and to diverse audiences. This candidate must have experience sourcing and acquiring high-quality, accurate data and managing data vendor relationships.
The candidate will be highly skilled in the design, development, and validation of data management techniques. The SVP Data has the last word on collecting and maintaining accurate data, ensuring data security, and devising and implementing data privacy policies. Because of this, the SVP Data is the ethical “conscience” of the company, defining and following ethical guidelines for the collection and use of data.
Because of his or her unique relationship to the data, the SVP Data is the person most responsible for identifying business opportunities discovered through data. In many cases, the SVP Data will also be the visionary responsible for recognizing the value in and monetizing an organization’s data.
Communication Skills: The SVP Data will also play a highly collaborative role where he/she will interact with stakeholders, departmental heads, leadership, and support sales on client engagements. These collaborations will be a determinant of the efficiency in application of data across the business and client environments, therefore, the candidate must be capable of tailoring messages in a clear, concise, unambiguous, engaging, and convincing manner, understandable even by non-technical department personnel.
Analytical Skills: The SVP Data must have an ability to understand and relay complex data-related issues in a simple and easy to understand manner and also able to demonstrate expertise in big data technology infrastructure and environments coupled with business process architecture. A suitable candidate will also be highly knowledgeable in front-to-back data lifecycle and be highly proficient in wide array of data tools and technologies.
Interpersonal Skills: A suitable candidate will also be a result-driven individual, be highly creative and analytical, be a strategic thinker, have an ability to work comfortably in a collaborative setting, be comfortable working with business top-leadership and executives, be highly organized, have an ability to work on multiple simultaneous projects and meet tight deadlines, and have an innate ability to remain calm and composed during times of uncertainty and stress.
Leadership/People Skills: The SVP Data must also be the “charismatic leader” for a data-driven culture within the company. This includes convincing and including everyone from the executive level down to front-line workers of the importance of data, security, and privacy as well as the business value of data. The SVP Data must be a likable and approachable person who inspires trust and confidence in others who will readily give credit for his/her insights/judgments and readily following his/her directives.