Data Manager

SUMMARY:
We are looking for an experienced Data Manager to lead the development and management of a large-scale, group-wide Rewards and Loyalty Programme aimed at our customers, members, and coalition partners. This role will integrate advanced data management practices, focusing on data governance, cloud-based architecture, big data, and machine learning, to drive our business growth. As a critical leader in this role, you will align data strategies with organisational goals, building a scalable, robust data infrastructure.

POSITION INFO:
Key Responsibilities:
Leadership & Strategy Development:

• Design, develop, and implement a group-wide Rewards and Loyalty Programme.
• Define a cohesive data strategy that aligns with business objectives and coalition partner requirements.

• Build and manage a cloud-based data infrastructure using modern platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure).
• Implement data lakes, data warehouses, and big data platforms for real-time insights.

• Implement frameworks ensuring data quality, integrity, and compliance with GDPR and POPI.
• Manage data security and privacy for customer and partner data.

• Lead a cross-functional team of Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and ML Engineers.
• Guide team growth, deliver high-quality data products, and foster a data-driven culture.

• Deploy machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) for predictive models, enabling hyper-personalisation for engagement and fraud prevention within the loyalty programme.

• Work closely with C-suite executives, coalition partners, and business leaders to drive data-driven decisions.
• Present insights and strategies to senior management and board members.

• Optimise data architecture and software costs; administer reporting platforms (Tableau) and develop dashboards for tracking performance and ROI.

• Stay up-to-date with big data, ML, and cloud technology trends; drive best practices for continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, or related field.
• Postgraduate qualifications or certifications in Cloud Solutions, Data Warehousing, or AI/ML preferred.

• 10+ years in data management, business intelligence, and cloud-based architecture, focusing on big data, AI/ML, and data governance.
• Proven success managing cross-functional data teams in Financial Services, FinTech, or Telecom.
• Experience with AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure for large-scale projects.

• Expertise in data architecture, warehousing, and data lakes (Redshift, Snowflake, Databricks).
• Proficiency in big data tech (Spark, Kafka, Hadoop) and ETL tools (AWS Glue, Fivetran, Airflow).
• Strong SQL, Python, and other data analytics and ML programming skills.

• Strong leadership and team management, with a focus on talent development.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills for engaging senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Problem-solving focus on operational efficiency and business outcomes.