Head of Data Solution

AXA Partners; Redhill; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

AXA Partners is seeking a senior data leader to steer a distributed team across Spain, France and the UK. You will translate business goals into scalable data solutions using Azure Databricks, PySpark and SQL, while building BI capabilities with Power BI.

You will own the data roadmap, enforce best practices, manage cloud costs, and drive governance and responsible innovation including Generative AI. A strong leadership mindset and cross-country collaboration are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
• About 8 years of experience in the data field.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams, managing distributed, multi-cultural teams.
• Cloud & Big Data Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in the Azure data stack, particularly Azure Databricks, with PySpark and SQL.
• Business Intelligence: Strong working knowledge of Power BI architecture, performance optimization, and design best practices.
• Data Architecture: Understanding of data warehousing principles and star schema patterns.
• Software Engineering Mindset: Git, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing.
• Strategic Partnership & Influence: Ability to build partnerships with stakeholders and influence priorities.
• FinOps: Budgeting, cost awareness and reporting to leadership.

Responsibilities

• Steer and develop a distributed team of data professionals across Spain, France and UK, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability.
• Lead, mentor, and manage the day-to-day operations of the Data Solution team across three countries.
• Build technical capabilities across the team in Azure Databricks, PySpark, SQL, and modern data practices through structured guidance and knowledge-sharing.
• Foster a collaborative and engaging team environment that leverages individual areas of expertise.
• Prioritize work and delegate effectively, fostering ownership within the team while retaining ultimate accountability for all deliveries.
• Act as the primary technical partner to translate business requirements and goals into robust technical solutions.
• Advise on technical feasibility, development effort, and architectural best practices to prioritize analytics roadmap.
• Define, implement and enforce development best practices for version control, documentation, and coding standards.
• Organize and conduct regular code reviews to ensure quality and maintainability.
• Own the team’s cloud cost footprint (FinOps) and optimize across Azure and Databricks.
• Drive responsible innovation including Generative AI while maintaining delivery quality and governance.
• Ensure data governance, security and compliance standards are followed by the team.

Skills

Leadership & management

Azure Databricks

PySpark

SQL

Power BI

Data warehousing

Kimball / star schema

Git

CI/CD

Generative AI awareness

Stakeholder influence

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Azure Databricks

Power BI

Git

Job description

Data is a key part of AXA’s journey “from Payer to Partner”, and the transformation of the organisation as a Data Driven company. To succeed in this journey, AXA Partners Data Strategy has been organised around 6 pillars: Enable Business initiatives, Protect Data, Organise and Govern initiatives, Manage Data, Empower People on Data, Deliver and operate Data Platforms.

What You’ll Be Doing

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Steer and develop a distributed team of data professionals across Spain, France and UK, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability
• Lead, mentor, and manage the day-to-day operations of the Data Solution team across three countries.
• Build technical capabilities across the team in Azure Databricks, PySpark, SQL, and modern data practices through structured guidance and knowledge-sharing.
• Foster a collaborative and engaging team environment that leverages individual areas of expertise.
• Prioritize work and delegate effectively, fostering ownership within the team while retaining ultimate accountability for all deliveries.

Strategic Technical Partnership & Solutioning

• Act as the primary technical partner to the Global Product Owner (GPO), translating business requirements and strategic goals into robust and feasible technical solutions.
• Advise on technical feasibility, development effort, and architectural best practices to help prioritize the analytics roadmap.
• Propose the best technical solution for each business need, ensuring alignment with long-term strategy and platform capabilities.

Technical & Architectural Ownership

• Provide expert technical guidance to the team, challenging and validating the design of data solutions before development begins.
• Define, implement, and enforce development best practices for version control (Git), documentation, and coding standards.
• Organize and conduct regular code reviews to ensure quality, performance, and maintainability.
• Act as the ultimate guarantor for the reliability and robustness of all data solutions delivered by the team.

Financial Management & FinOps

• Define the team's technical roadmap, enforce best practices, and own the team's cloud cost footprint (FinOps) to balance performance with efficiency.
• Own and optimize the team's cloud cost footprint across Azure and Databricks.
• Drive a cost-awareness culture within the team to balance performance with efficiency.
• Report on spend trends and optimization efforts to leadership.

Accountable Innovation & Governance

• Foster a culture of responsible innovation, encouraging the team to explore and pilot emerging technologies, including the pragmatic use of Generative AI.
• Ensure that while experimenting, the team remains accountable for the quality and timeliness of their deliveries.
• Ensure all delivered solutions adhere to the data governance, security, and compliance standards defined by Data Domain Owners and the Central Data Office.
• Follow and influence these governance policies by providing technical feedback and embedding them into the development lifecycle.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
• About 8 years of experience in the data field.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams (e.g., as a Chapter Lead, Tech Lead, or Data Manager), managing distributed, multi-cultural teams.
• Cloud & Big Data Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in the Azure data stack, particularly Azure Databricks, with strong, hands‑on skills in PySpark and SQL.
• Business Intelligence: Strong working knowledge of Power BI architecture, performance optimization, and design best practices. Able to review and guide BI solutions for quality and maintainability.
• Data Architecture: Solid understanding of data warehousing principles, dimensional modeling (Kimball, star schema), and modern data architecture patterns.
• Software Engineering Mindset: Strong command of software development best practices, including version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing.
• Strategic Partnership & Influence: Exceptional ability to build strong, collaborative partnerships with business and technical stakeholders (GPO, Data Domain Owners, Central Data Office). Capable of influencing without direct authority and negotiating priorities effectively.
• Business Acumen & Pragmatism: A strong understanding of how data solutions create business value. The ability to make pragmatic decisions that balance technical excellence, speed‑to‑market, and financial constraints.
• Financial Management (FinOps): A strategic mindset regarding cloud costs. Experience owning a budget or cost center, driving a cost‑aware culture, and reporting on financial efficiency to leadership.

We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and don’t discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics. If you have a long‑term condition or disability and require adjustments during the application or interview process, please send an email to AXA Partners Global HR Response - [e-mail]

Who We Are

We’re AXA Partners, experts at designing and delivering assistance solutions and specialised insurance, credit, and lifestyle protection – with and for our partners worldwide. What sets us apart? The expertise and passion of our 8,500+ people, and a strong network of over 55,000 professionals all over the world. Powered by them and our sector‑leading technology, we continuously evolve, adapt and thrive – offering solutions and services that make sure we’re always at people’s side, no matter what. Helping others is our passion. Combining the best digital technology with our warm, human touch, we’re always looking at new ways to offer seamless and reassuring experiences when it really matters.

Join a company that helps protect the forests! At AXA Partners, we plant a tree for every new recruit (with a permanent contract)