Interim Head of Data

Interim Director of Data | Global Retail Brand | London, Onsite | Immediate Start 6 month Inside IR35 We're supporting a leading global retail brand with the appointment of an Interim Director of Data to take ownership of a significant enterprise data transformation. This is a senior leadership mandate for somebody who has previously stepped into a complex, fragmented data environment, brought structure and accountability to the function, and led the transformation of platforms, engineering, governance and operating model. The organisation has a substantial physical retail footprint, so we are particularly interested in leaders who genuinely understand the complexity of brick-and-mortar retail including customer, product, merchandising, inventory, supply chain, digital and store operations. The core data platform is Databricks, alongside a wider BI and legacy technology estate. The successful person will need enough technical depth to confidently challenge architects and engineering teams, while remaining focused on the broader transformation of the function. Key areas of responsibility will include:

• Taking ownership of the enterprise Data Strategy and transformation roadmap
• Stabilising and modernising the current data landscape
• Leading Data Engineering, Platforms, Governance, Quality, Data Products, BI and Data Operations
• Driving the evolution of the Databricks environment and wider engineering standards
• Rationalising legacy platforms, reporting and tooling
• Establishing stronger Data Governance, ownership, stewardship, quality and lineage
• Building a clearer and more accountable operating model across the data organisation
• Developing internal technical capability and reducing excessive reliance on external delivery partners
• Creating the foundations for a federated data model across areas such as Customer, Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain
• Partnering closely with senior technology and business leadership to turn data investment into measurable retail outcomes We are looking for someone who combines deep enterprise data expertise with strong leadership presence. You will need to be comfortable walking into an environment that requires greater structure, pace and accountability, while still being able to win hearts and minds and take teams and stakeholders through a complex transformation journey. Retail experience is essential, ideally within a large physical / omni channel retailer. Luxury or premium consumer experience would be advantageous, but is not required. Location: London on-site presence required Start: Immediate Initial term: 6 months Please apply only if you are immediately available and have led enterprise-scale data transformation within a complex retail organisation.