Full job description

Chief Data Officer£160,000 - £180,000
London (Hybrid - 1 Day per Week in Office)
The CompanyThis is a high-growth, private equity-backed financial services organisation. As part of an ambitious growth strategy, the business is making significant investments across technology, data, and product, creating an exciting opportunity for a senior data leader to shape the future of the organisation’s data capabilities.
This is a critical executive appointment, with a mandate to modernise the data estate, enhance engineering capability, and maximise the impact of data across the end-to-end customer journey.
The RoleAs Chief Data Officer, you will be responsible for defining and delivering the organisation’s data vision while leading a large-scale transformation of its data and analytics function. Working closely with the executive leadership team, you will play a pivotal role in establishing data as a strategic business asset.
Key responsibilities include:
*Reviewing and reshaping the current data function, operating model, and organisational structure.
*Defining and executing a long-term data strategy aligned to business growth objectives.
*Leading the design and implementation of a modern data platform, including data lake and warehousing capabilities.
*Building a scalable, self-service data environment that empowers teams to access and leverage data effectively.
*Driving improvements in data engineering, governance, architecture, and analytics capabilities.
*Partnering with product, technology, and business leaders to embed data-driven decision-making across the organisation.
*Leveraging AI and emerging technologies to improve engineering productivity, accelerate software development, and enhance operational efficiency.
*Leading data initiatives focused on customer onboarding, personalisation, insight generation, and overall customer experience optimisation.
*Establishing best-in-class data practices, ensuring scalability, security, and long-term value creation.
Skills & Experience*Proven experience operating in a senior data leadership role, ideally at Data Director, VP Data, or Chief Data Officer level.
*Strong background within a technology-driven or digitally enabled organisation.
*Demonstrated success building, scaling, or transforming enterprise-wide data functions.
*Deep understanding of data engineering, architecture, cloud platforms, analytics, and modern data ecosystems.
*Experience designing and implementing data lakes, cloud data platforms, and modern warehouse architectures.
*Strong track record of delivering self-service data and reporting capabilities that drive business adoption.
*Credibility operating at both strategic and technical levels, with the ability to challenge and influence stakeholders.
*Hands-on understanding of modern data technologies and engineering best practices.
*Experience with Azure and the Microsoft data ecosystem would be highly advantageous.
*Strong appreciation of AI, automation, and their application to software engineering productivity and business performance.
*Proven ability to collaborate effectively with architecture, engineering, product, and executive leadership teams.
*Commercially minded leader who can balance long-term strategy with practical execution.
*Experience within financial services, fintech, lending, payments, or another regulated environment would be beneficial.