Data Analyst Lead

iqbusiness South Africa; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Job summary

IQbusiness South Africa seeks an experienced Data Analyst Lead to drive complex analyses, set analytical standards and lead teams across engagements. You will translate business questions into data-driven problems, engage with business and technical stakeholders, and deliver actionable insights with clear recommendations.

You will mentor analysts, ensure quality, and shape the data analysis capability while supporting delivery across multiple client projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a data/analytics related field.
• 7+ years' data or analytics experience with senior/lead responsibilities.
• Experience working directly with business and technical stakeholders.
• Experience leading analysts or complex analytical workstreams.
• Strong SQL, data analysis, data profiling and interrogation across multiple sources.
• Proficiency with Python, R, Excel, Power BI, Tableau, Databricks, Snowflake, Azure data platforms and Microsoft Fabric.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex data analysis and analytical workstreams across client engagements.
• Translate ambiguous business questions into structured analytical problems.
• Identify datasets, approaches and measures; interrogate data sources.
• Turn findings into defensible, actionable business conclusions and recommendations.
• Mentor analysts and maintain quality standards across engagements.
• Build trusted stakeholder relationships and present clear narratives.

Skills

Advanced SQL

Data analysis

Data profiling

Root-cause analysis

Data modelling

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Data, Information Systems, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics or related analytical discipline

Tools

SQL

Python

R

Excel

Power BI

Tableau

Databricks

Snowflake

Azure data platforms

Microsoft Fabric

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Data Analyst Lead who combines strong analytical capability with consulting, client engagement and team leadership. This role is for someone who can personally lead complex analysis while setting the standard for how analysis is conducted across an engagement.

The successful candidate will work across business and technical teams to understand problems, interrogate data, define requirements, uncover patterns and root causes, and translate findings into clear recommendations and actionable outcomes.

The Data Analyst Lead combines hands-on analytical depth with client, delivery and team leadership. The role leads complex analysis, establishes standards for analytical quality and helps convert ambiguous business questions into clear evidence, recommendations and measurable action.

Responsibilities

Analytical Leadership

• Lead complex data analysis and analytical workstreams across client engagements.
• Translate ambiguous business questions into structured analytical problems.
• Identify appropriate datasets, analytical approaches and measures.
• Interrogate multiple data sources and combine them into coherent analytical views.
• Identify patterns, anomalies, trends and root causes.
• Turn findings into defensible business conclusions and recommendations.
• Ensure analysis drives insight and action rather than only producing reports.

Data Requirements & Solution Analysis

• Engage business and technology stakeholders to understand data and information requirements.
• Identify and document data sources, definitions, transformations and business rules.
• Produce source-to-target mappings, data dictionaries and analytical specifications where required.
• Support conceptual and logical data modelling.
• Conduct data profiling, reconciliation and quality analysis.
• Define test scenarios and support validation of data solutions.
• Assess downstream impacts of changes to data, systems and business rules.

Insight & Decision Support

• Analyse performance and operational data to identify improvement opportunities.
• Conduct exploratory and diagnostic analysis.
• Develop hypotheses that can be tested with data.
• Build evidence-based business cases and quantify the size of identified opportunities.
• Translate technical findings into clear narratives for business stakeholders.
• Present recommendations to senior stakeholders with a clear call to action.
• Track whether analytical recommendations produce their intended outcomes.

Data Quality & Governance

• Identify, investigate and communicate data-quality issues.
• Support the definition of meaningful data-quality measures and controls.
• Promote consistent data definitions and appropriate documentation.
• Work with Data Governance, Data Engineering and business teams on remediation.
• Ensure analysis is conducted responsibly when working with sensitive or confidential data.

Delivery & Team Leadership

• Lead Data Analysts within projects or analytical workstreams.
• Review analytical outputs and maintain quality standards.
• Mentor analysts in problem-solving, stakeholder engagement, analysis and documentation.
• Allocate and coordinate analytical work where required.
• Remain hands-on while providing technical and analytical direction.
• Create reusable approaches, templates and analytical practices.
• Contribute to the development of the broader Data Analysis capability.

Client & Stakeholder Leadership

• Build trusted relationships with client stakeholders.
• Facilitate analytical discovery and requirements sessions.
• Challenge assumptions constructively using evidence.
• Present complex findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Navigate ambiguity and take ownership of difficult analytical problems.
• Work across Data Engineering, Data Science, Architecture, AI and business teams.

Requirements

Education

• Relevant Bachelor's degree in Data, Information Systems, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics or a related analytical discipline.

Experience

• 7+ years' relevant data or analytics experience, including demonstrated senior or lead-level responsibilities.
• Strong experience working directly with business and technical stakeholders.
• Experience leading analysts or complex analytical workstreams.

Skills

• Advanced SQL, data analysis, data profiling and interrogation across multiple sources.
• Data modelling concepts, requirements analysis, source-to-target mapping and data-quality assessment.
• Root-cause analysis, analytical problem-solving, data visualisation and insight communication.
• Exposure to a combination of the following or equivalent tools:
  • SQL, Python, R and Excel.
  • Power BI and Tableau.
  • Databricks, Snowflake, Azure data platforms and Microsoft Fabric.
• Solid data-delivery experience and adaptable analytical capability are more important than depth in every listed platform.

Advantageous

• Consulting or multi-client experience.

Key Competencies

• Remains curious about why the data looks the way it does.
• Moves confidently from raw data to insight to recommendation.
• Knows the difference between producing a dashboard and solving a business problem.
• Challenges stakeholders constructively using evidence.
• Stays hands-on with data while leading and developing others.
• Turns technically complicated analysis into a simple story that senior stakeholders can act on.
• Takes accountability for the quality of both the analysis and the outcome.