Principal Data & Analytics Consultant

First Technology Pty Ltd; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

First Technology Pty Ltd in South Africa is seeking a Principal Data & Analytics Leader to drive customer-focused data solutions, lead delivery teams, and shape enterprise data strategy.

You will collaborate with customers and executives, mentor engineers, review architectures, and guide data platform and reporting initiatives to ensure successful outcomes across multiple stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data engineering, analytics, BI, or related leadership roles.
• Experience delivering enterprise-scale data and analytics solutions.
• Direct customer engagement to gather requirements and manage delivery.
• Experience designing modern data platforms and reporting environments.
• Mentoring data engineers, analysts, and delivery teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery teams through complex data projects.
• Review architecture decisions and manage risks.
• Work with stakeholders to translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Mentor and develop technical staff.
• Ensure on-time delivery from design to production.

Skills

Data engineering

Analytics leadership

Customer engagement

Project delivery

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Information Technology

Tools

Power BI

Azure Data Services

SQL Server

Data Warehousing

ETL/ELT

Microsoft Fabric

Job description

Role Purpose

The Principal Data & Analytics Leader is a senior technical professional who combines deep data expertise, customer engagement, leadership capability, and a strong delivery mindset.

They work directly with customers to understand complex business challenges, design practical data solutions, lead delivery teams, and ensure successful outcomes. They are equally comfortable discussing executive reporting requirements, reviewing data architecture, mentoring engineers, or helping a project team overcome technical obstacles.

This individual is known for taking ownership, building strong customer relationships, solving difficult problems, and consistently delivering quality results.

Experience

Essential Experience

• 10+ years of experience in data engineering, analytics, business intelligence, data platform delivery, or related technical leadership roles.
• Proven experience leading teams delivering enterprise-scale data and analytics solutions.
• Strong experience working directly with customers to gather requirements, shape solutions, and manage delivery expectations.
• Experience designing and implementing modern data platforms and reporting environments.
• Experience leading technical workshops, architecture discussions, and solution design sessions.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring data engineers, analysts, architects, and delivery teams.
• Experience managing complex projects across multiple stakeholders and business units.
• Proven track record of successfully delivering data, reporting, and analytics initiatives.

Highly Desirable Experience

• Consulting or professional services experience.
• Experience leading multiple concurrent customer engagements.
• Experience with enterprise data governance and information management initiatives.
• Experience supporting presales, proposals, estimations, and customer presentations.
• Exposure to cloud-based analytics and modern data platform implementations.
• Experience across multiple industries and customer environments.

Qualification Expectations

Essential

• Bachelor's Degree, National Diploma, or equivalent qualification in:
  • Computer Science
  • Information Technology
  • Data Science
  • Information Systems
  • Engineering
  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Related technical discipline

OR

• Equivalent industry experience demonstrating exceptional technical and delivery capability.

Preferred

• Microsoft Fabric Certifications.
• Microsoft Azure Data Certifications.
• Power BI Certifications.
• Data Engineering Certifications.
• Cloud platform certifications (Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud).

Technical Background Expectations

The ideal Principal Data & Analytics Leader should have a strong technical foundation gained through years of hands‑on implementation, customer engagement, solution design, and delivery leadership.

They should have progressed through technical roles such as Data Engineer, BI Consultant, Analytics Lead, Data Architect, Technical Lead, or Practice Lead before moving into broader leadership responsibilities.

Core Technical Background

Candidates will typically possess significant experience across several of the following areas:

• Data engineering and data integration.
• Data warehousing and information management.
• Analytics and business intelligence.
• Reporting platform implementation.
• Data architecture and solution design.
• Cloud-based data platforms.
• Data governance, quality, and security.
• Enterprise data migration and modernisation initiatives.

Technical Skills & Knowledge

Strong practical knowledge across many of the following technologies and disciplines:

• Microsoft Fabric.
• Power BI.
• Azure Data Services.
• SQL Server.
• Data modelling and data warehousing.
• ETL and ELT development.
• Data integration platforms.
• Reporting and dashboard design.
• Data governance and quality frameworks.
• API integrations and data exchange.
• Cloud architecture principles.
• Security and compliance considerations relating to data platforms.

Delivery Leadership Experience

Candidates should demonstrate the ability to:

• Lead technical teams through complex delivery challenges.
• Review and guide solution architecture decisions.
• Manage technical risks and dependencies.
• Work directly with business and technical stakeholders.
• Translate business requirements into practical technical solutions.
• Mentor and develop technical teams.
• Take ownership of successful delivery from design through implementation and support.

What Makes This Person Exceptional

• Deep technical credibility.
• Strong customer engagement skills.
• Leads from the front.
• Builds trust quickly.
• Takes accountability for outcomes.
• Comfortable making decisions in challenging situations.
• Helps teams succeed rather than simply directing them.
• Has a reputation for delivering solutions that work.
• Brings positive energy, ownership, and a genuine "get it done" attitude.