Data Director

La Fosse; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 230,000; Part time

Job summary

La Fosse is seeking a Director of Data to lead an enterprise-wide transformation of its data capability in London. The interim role will own data strategy, governance, platforms, and analytics enablement while partnering with executives to translate data investments into measurable outcomes.

The role requires building a scalable data ecosystem, modernising the data platform (Databricks focus) and establishing DataOps and governance disciplines to support advanced analytics and ML initiatives.

Qualifications

• Experience leading enterprise data platform transformations at scale.
• Ability to own data strategy and three-year roadmap.
• Strong leadership of cross-functional data teams and executives.
• Retail/consumer sector experience valued.

Responsibilities

• Own enterprise data strategy and three-year roadmap.
• Modernise and scale data platform and engineering.
• Build DataOps, governance, and quality disciplines.
• Establish enterprise ownership, lineage, and standards.
• Develop data product management and self-service analytics.
• Accelerate analytics adoption across the organisation.
• Lead a high-performing data leadership team.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to translate data investment into outcomes.

Skills

Enterprise data platforms

Databricks

Data governance

Data product management

Self-service analytics

Data leadership

Stakeholder management

Cloud data environment

Job description

Director of Data | Enterprise Data Transformation

High End Luxury Retail | 6 - 12 Month Interim - London | Hybrid

We’re partnering with a major global consumer organisation to appoint a Director of Data to lead an enterprise-wide transformation of its data capability. This is a significant leadership mandate with ownership across data strategy, engineering, platforms, governance, data products, BI and analytics enablement.

The organisation is investing in creating a more modern, scalable and trusted data ecosystem and needs a leader who can bring structure to the existing landscape, raise engineering and governance standards, and build the operating model required to make data genuinely usable across the business.

The opportunity:

You will own and execute the enterprise data strategy, leading a broad data organisation spanning:

• Data Platforms
• Data Governance & Quality
• Data Product Management
• BI & Analytics Enablement
• Data Operations

The initial priority is to stabilise, simplify and centralise the data capability creating clearer ownership, stronger standards and greater reliability before evolving towards a more federated, domain-led operating model.

You’ll also own the roadmap for the wider data ecosystem, with Databricks at the heart of the target architecture, alongside Power BI and Looker, while driving the rationalisation of legacy platforms and reporting.

Key areas of focusL

• Own and evolve the enterprise data strategy and three-year roadmap
• Modernise and scale the data platform and engineering environment
• Build strong DataOps, observability, quality and governance disciplines
• Establish clear enterprise ownership, stewardship, lineage and data standards
• Build a mature data product management capability
• Accelerate self-service BI and analytics across the organisation
• Rationalise legacy platforms, reporting and tooling
• Build and develop a high-performing senior data leadership team
• Partner with senior business leaders to translate data investment into measurable commercial outcomes
• Create the foundations required to support advanced analytics, ML and future AI use cases

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for an established Director of Data / Head of Data / Enterprise Data Leader who has led meaningful transformation within a large, complex organisation.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Experience owning enterprise data platforms and engineering at scale
• Strong knowledge of modern cloud data environment. Databricks experience would be particularly relevant
• A track record of improving data governance, quality, lineage and stewardship
• Experience building data product and self-service analytics capabilities
• Leadership of sizeable, multidisciplinary data teams
• Strong commercial and executive-level stakeholder management
• The credibility to operate strategically while still engaging deeply with architects and engineers

Experience within retail, luxury, consumer, digital commerce or another highly complex customer-led environment would be particularly valuable.

This is a role for someone who enjoys transformation: building clarity from complexity, creating strong foundations and then turning data into a genuine enterprise capability.