AI & Data Enablement Manager

DFI Retail Group; Petaling Jaya; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

DFI Retail Group seeks a hands-on AI & Data Enablement Manager to accelerate practical AI adoption and strengthen data foundations for AI and BI initiatives. You will partner with business teams to scope use cases, prototype AI capabilities, and work with data owners, architects, and engineers to ensure data readiness and governance.

You will lead data profiling, quality improvement, and AI-enabled data management while coordinating with procurement, legal, privacy and security teams for

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in data science, computer science, information systems, engineering, business analytics, statistics, data management, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• AI opportunity discovery and prototyping: Partner with business teams to define and prioritise AI opportunities. Coordinate prototypes and proofs of value to assess business value, user needs, data readiness and technical feasibility.
• Data readiness for AI: Work hands-on with business and engineering teams to profile priority datasets, identify gaps and determine whether data is sufficiently available, accurate, complete, timely, representative and appropriately governed for its intended use.
• Data improvement: Translate AI ambitions into concrete data requirements and remediation plans. Coordinate improvements across data owners, stewards, source-system teams, architects and engineers.
• AI-enabled data management: Prototype the use of AI for data profiling, cleansing, classification, matching, enrichment, metadata generation and anomaly detection. Establish appropriate business validation and human oversight.
• External data acquisition: Identify and evaluate external data required for AI and BI use cases. Partner with Procurement, Legal, Privacy, Security and engineering teams to assess, acquire and onboard data with appropriate usage rights and controls.
• Domain data foundations: Help define the target state or north star for priority data domains. Translate this into practical roadmaps covering authoritative sources, data quality, metadata, ownership, integration, access and AI readiness.
• Governance and responsible AI: Embed data governance, privacy, security, contractual and responsible AI requirements into experimentation and data improvement activities.
• Evaluation and transition: Define clear success criteria for prototypes and recommend whether opportunities should stop, be refined or progress into formal delivery. Support successful handover with documented requirements, ownership, data dependencies and controls.

Skills

Data governance

AI enablement

Data management

Data profiling

Data quality

Metadata

Data lineage

SQL

Python

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in data science, computer science, information systems, engineering, business analytics, statistics, data management, or related field

Tools

SQL

Python

Job description

We are seeking a hands-on AI & Data Enablement Manager to accelerate the practical adoption of AI and strengthen the data foundations required to support AI and business intelligence.

You will partner with business teams to identify high-value opportunities, shape use cases and rapidly prototype new AI capabilities before they progress into formal projects or full-scale implementation. Working closely with data owners, subject-matter experts, architects and engineering teams, you will assess and improve the data required for priority AI initiatives.

You will also drive the acquisition of external data, explore how AI can improve data quality and usability, and help define target-state data foundations for priority business domains.

Is this your next challenge in Governance?

The challenge is to:

• AI opportunity discovery and prototyping: Partner with business teams to define and prioritise AI opportunities. Coordinate prototypes and proofs of value to assess business value, user needs, data readiness and technical feasibility.
• Data readiness for AI: Work hands-on with business and engineering teams to profile priority datasets, identify gaps and determine whether data is sufficiently available, accurate, complete, timely, representative and appropriately governed for its intended use.
• Data improvement: Translate AI ambitions into concrete data requirements and remediation plans. Coordinate improvements across data owners, stewards, source-system teams, architects and engineers.
• AI-enabled data management: Prototype the use of AI for data profiling, cleansing, classification, matching, enrichment, metadata generation and anomaly detection. Establish appropriate business validation and human oversight.
• External data acquisition: Identify and evaluate external data required for AI and BI use cases. Partner with Procurement, Legal, Privacy, Security and engineering teams to assess, acquire and onboard data with appropriate usage rights and controls.
• Domain data foundations: Help define the target state or "north star" for priority data domains. Translate this into practical roadmaps covering authoritative sources, data quality, metadata, ownership, integration, access and AI readiness.
• Governance and responsible AI: Embed data governance, privacy, security, contractual and responsible AI requirements into experimentation and data improvement activities.
• Evaluation and transition: Define clear success criteria for prototypes and recommend whether opportunities should stop, be refined or progress into formal delivery. Support successful handover with documented requirements, ownership, data dependencies and controls.

Requirements:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in data science, computer science, information systems, engineering, business analytics, statistics, data management, or a related field.
• Experience: 5+ years of relevant experience in data, analytics, AI enablement, data management, data products, technology consulting, or technology-enabled business transformation, including leading cross-functional initiatives within large-scale enterprises. Experience in retail, CPG, or e-commerce is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with business stakeholders to identify, shape, and prioritise data, analytics, and AI opportunities.
• Practical experience developing or coordinating AI prototypes, proofs of concept, or proofs of value and translating successful outcomes into requirements for formal delivery.
• Strong understanding of data readiness, profiling, quality, metadata, lineage, and fit-for-purpose assessment.
• Ability to work hands-on with data and translate business and AI ambitions into clear data requirements, remediation actions, and acceptance criteria.
• Experience collaborating with data engineers, architects, analysts, data scientists, product teams, and business subject-matter experts.
• Understanding of data privacy, security, responsible AI, and contractual considerations relating to external and third‑party data.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem‑solving, stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Working knowledge of SQL, Python, or comparable data analysis and prototyping tools is preferred.
• Relevant certifications in data management, cloud platforms, analytics, AI, data governance, agile delivery, or product management are advantageous.

DFI Retail Group is a leading Asian retailer, driven by its purpose to "Sustainably Serve Asia for Generations with Everyday Moments".

At 30 Jun 2025, the Group and its associates operated over 7,500 outlets and employed over 83,000 people. The Group had total annual revenue in 2024 exceeding US$24.9 billion.

The Group is dedicated to delivering quality, value and service to Asian consumers through a compelling retail experience, supported by an extensive store network and highly efficient supply chains. The Group, including its associates, operates a portfolio of well‑known brands across five key divisions: health and beauty, convenience, food, home furnishings, and restaurants.

The Group's parent company, DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited, is incorporated in Bermuda and has a primary listing in the equity shares (transition) category of the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore. The Group's businesses are managed from Hong Kong. DFI Retail Group is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.

DFI Retail Group is responsible for ensuring that all personal information collected from each Candidate presented to DFI Retail Group is used for recruitment purposes only and the data collection process is in accordance with all applicable laws and compliant with the Code of Practice on Human Resource Management.

To find out more about Our Businesses and Our People, please visit our website https://www.dfiretailgroup.com