Data Technology Director - North Bucks - £70-80k + Excellent Benefits

The effective use of data is key to the successful delivery of the company strategic goals. Reporting to the Chief Data Officer as part of the CIO Portfolio this is a key senior management appointment to build and run the Data Technology Capability for the business. The successful candidate will be a thought leader in the data technology space with relevant experience in defining data technology strategies, technology operations, architectures, roadmaps and how to implement these successfully.

This is a time of great change and opportunity in the organisation to embed innovative ways of working and new technology adoption. The role will take ownership of a newly implemented Azure Data Hub and lead its transition of this from successful change programme to a business as usual state that will enable continued growth and innovation with data.

As part of the Chief Data Office this role will work in partnership with the Data Management and Data and Student Analytics Functions to deliver an end to end data service to the University.

Key responsibilities

The Director of Data Technology will take ownership for and lead:

• A Data Technology Team, that works on behalf of the Chief Data Officer to have a strategic advisory role on all current and future data technology adoption
• The definition and operation of the Data Technology service catalogue, strategy, roadmap, priorities and required people and processes to successfully deliver it
• The definition of data technology architectures and working in conjunction with Enterprise Architecture to define cross university architecture strategy’s and principles, and governance processes.
• The implementation and ongoing operationalisation of an Azure data environment, through strong partnerships with IT, that ingests, stores, organises and provides data to internal customers across the business.
• The coordination of data engineering teams working on data centric initiatives as well as others deemed relevant by the Data Office
• The engagement, at various levels of seniority, of key stakeholders across the organisation in order to drive the data technology strategy and roadmap
• The Implementation of Data Management and Data Analytics technology solutions in partnership with the wider CDO functions.
• The building of an effective Data Technology team that develops and motivates people to do the right thing with data across the business and brings the core Data Technology disciplines together
• The support of technology innovation initiatives, through proof of concepts and other means, across the business.
• The management of existing and new partnerships with technology vendors, service providers and the marketplace, including relationship and contract management.

The primary focus for the initial phase of the role will be to:

• Shape and refine the existing Data Technology function and recruit skilled resources accordingly
• Work with the Director of Data and Student Analytics on current and future solutions for reporting and analytics
• Support key strategic programmes in the engineering of data solutions
• Engage the business governance forums in order to implement an effective use of Data Technology, and establish the Data Architecture practices that the business needs that work in tandem with existing governance practices.

Skills and experience

The successful candidate will have a proven track record in:

• Leading change and communicating complexity in a simple manner.
• Building and maintaining highly motivated teams that bring together a number of specialist disciplines.

• Explaining in simple terms how Data Technology can create value by showing a strong grasp of the practical fundamentals of Data Technology.

• Have a holistic understanding about the complementarity of different technologies and how these are evolving in the marketplace
• Implementing data solutions on time and on budget
• Implementing onpremise as well as cloud based data solutions (Platform as a Service and Software as a Service) using Amazon, Microsoft and Google services
• Running data technology services in business as usual as a service to internal stakeholders
• Translating data and security related regulatory mandates into actionable technology solutions
• Defining methods and approach to large scale and complex change solutions
• Articulating different data technology domains and how these relate to each other to bring business outcomes/benefits
• Leading large programmes or work streams with a practiced delivery mentality
• Working in a large and complex organisation where stakeholder engagement and collaboration are key to success.
• Working with confidence and credibility at all levels, including senior executives.
• Understanding, interpreting and dealing with operational risks in a way that drives action

Key Relationships:

• The wider CDO functions – Data Management, and Data Analytics
• The wider CIO portfolio – IT (architecture, technology implementation, operationalisation), Learning Experience (data solutions for student experience initiatives), CISO, and Strategic Programmes
• Data Stakeholders across the business, with specific focus on KMI (Knowledge Media Institute) and IET (Institute of Educational Technology).
• 3^rd party service and software providers.