Digital Data & AI Manager

Westland Milk Products; Christchurch; Hybrid; NZD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Westland Milk Products in Christchurch seeks a Digital Data & AI Manager to lead enterprise Data, BI and AI capabilities across Yili Oceania. Based in Hornby, you will shape strategy, governance and adoption of AI to deliver measurable business value.

You will lead a multidisciplinary team in BI, data engineering and information management, ensuring trusted dashboards and scalable data pipelines across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading Data, Analytics, BI, AI or Digital capability within a complex organisation.
• Strong track record delivering enterprise data and analytics strategies and roadmaps.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, suppliers and cross-functional delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder management with the ability to translate complex data concepts into business language.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of the enterprise Data, BI and AI strategy and roadmap.
• Own the AI strategy, governance and adoption roadmap, identifying value opportunities.
• Lead and develop the Data & AI team across BI, data engineering and information management.
• Shape how Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure Data & AI services and other platforms are used enterprise-wide.
• Lead the delivery of trusted dashboards, reporting and scalable data pipelines.
• Improve data governance, quality, lineage, metadata and information management.
• Establish responsible AI practices covering privacy, security, transparency, and risk.
• Build AI literacy and support safe adoption of emerging technologies.
• Evaluate and prioritise Data & AI initiatives based on value, readiness and cost.
• Partner with business leaders to move AI initiatives beyond pilots into sustainable value.

Job description

Lead the Data & AI capability shaping our digital future

We are looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Digital Data & AI Manager to lead our enterprise Data, Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence capability across Yili Oceania.

Based in Hornby, Christchurch and reporting to the GM Digital, this is an exciting leadership opportunity to shape how data and AI are used across a complex, multi-business organisation.

You will lead the strategy, governance and adoption of AI while building trusted enterprise data, analytics and Business Intelligence capability that enables better decisions, improves performance and creates measurable business value.

Leading a multidisciplinary team across Business Intelligence, Data Engineering and Information & Data Management, you will work closely with senior business leaders and Digital teams to turn opportunities into practical, scalable solutions.

What you'll be responsible for

You will:

• Lead the development and delivery of our enterprise Data, BI and AI strategy and roadmap.


• Own the enterprise AI strategy, governance and adoption roadmap, identifying opportunities where AI can create genuine business value.


• Lead and develop our Data & AI team across Business Intelligence, data engineering and information management.


• Shape how technologies such as Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure Data & AI services and other enterprise platforms are used across the organisation.


• Lead the delivery of trusted dashboards, reporting, analytics, data products and scalable data pipelines.


• Improve data governance, quality, lineage, metadata and information management.


• Establish responsible AI practices covering privacy, security, transparency, human oversight and risk.


• Build AI literacy across the organisation and support the safe adoption of emerging technologies.


• Evaluate and prioritise Data & AI initiatives based on value, readiness, risk, cost and scalability.


• Partner with business leaders and Digital teams to move successful AI initiatives beyond pilots and into sustainable business use.


• Manage external technology and delivery partners while ensuring strong performance, capability transfer and value.


• Track adoption, benefits and ROI to ensure Data & AI investment delivers measurable outcomes.

What you'll bring

We are looking for a leader who can combine Data & AI expertise with commercial thinking, people leadership and the ability to influence across the enterprise.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Significant experience leading Data, Analytics, BI, AI or Digital capability within a complex organisation.


• Strong experience developing and delivering enterprise data and analytics strategies and roadmaps.


• Demonstrated experience delivering BI, data engineering and enterprise data solutions.


• Experience developing or implementing AI strategy, governance and use‑case portfolios.


• Strong understanding of responsible AI, data governance, privacy, information management and data quality.


• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure Data & AI services, or comparable enterprise platforms.


• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to identify where technology can deliver genuine business value.


• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, suppliers and cross‑functional delivery.


• Excellent stakeholder skills and the ability to translate complex Data and AI concepts into clear business language.


• A relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent professional experience.

Experience within dairy, food manufacturing or another regulated operational environment would be advantageous.

Why this role?

Few Data & AI leadership roles offer the opportunity to influence both the foundations of enterprise data and the future adoption of Artificial Intelligence.

You will have the opportunity to shape Yili Oceania's AI direction, improve how data is governed and used, build enterprise capability and turn emerging technology into practical business outcomes.

You will be joining Yili Oceania, encompassing Westland Milk Products, Oceania Dairy, EasiYo, Canary Foods and Pure Nutrition, with a diverse operational environment spanning manufacturing, supply chain, commercial and corporate functions.

If you are passionate about turning data into insight, AI into practical value and emerging technology into sustainable business capability, we would love to hear from you.