Head: Data Science and Analytics at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Description

Drive data projects and frame problems/opportunities:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with the project and business stakeholders to develop an understanding of business strategy and objective and identify implications to define the data modeling goals for the designated areas.
• Develop and maintain Compliance data strategy incorporating project and BAU needs, future trends and interlocks with technology partners
• Provide leadership to teams for approach to data acquisition, data mining and overall responsibilities to deliver to stakeholders 
• Design, develop and establish relevant frameworks, models and business practices to drive data centric approach to understanding current business problems/ opportunities with the provision of input into solutions
• Deliver the Data projects, through the Data Team
• Deliver on time and on budget
• Drive Data Capability and Data Infrastructure 
• Build and maintain strong relationships with the project and business stakeholders to develop an understanding of business strategy and objective and identify implications to define the data modeling goals for the designated areas
• Cascade business challenges & commercial understanding to the data team working on data solutions
• Further translate the business challenges into key questions that can be solved with data solutions & coach other data analysts to do the same
• Refine the data requirements and develop a technical roadmap to deliver raw data to Data teams for interpretation & analysis
• Design, develop and establish relevant frameworks, models and business practices to drive data centric approach to understanding current business problems/ opportunities with the provision of input into solutions
• Work with team on understanding requirements based and translate these into trackable analytical problems relaying results in common business language with decision making implications
• Analyse data across multiple systems and formats to provide analytics and information that provides integrated views necessary for project outcomes and deliver for the business and the customer
• Implement and maintain quality framework and processes for data processes and deliverables of the team
• Implement and maintain quality infrastructure strategies for data processes
• Proactively partner the data Analytics teams to assess the effectiveness and accuracy of new data sources & data gathering techniques
• Positively contribute to the data architecture and infrastructure direction by providing expertise on data tools, techniques and the broader business data requirements
• Promote data literacy across the enterprise by sharing best practices and showing tangible business impact & recommendations as a direct result of the the data solutions provided
• Proactively stay ahead of the curve on data science trends & leading practice data science tools and techniques & transition the organisation to advanced methods for the continuous optimization of data

Risk and Governance 

• Identify data risks and mitigate these (pre, during & post solution deployment / data delivery)
• Create business cases & solution specifications for various governance processes (if required)
• Create knowledge & document management processes and practices for data management aligned to Group Risk, Governance & Compliance & Broader Regulatory requirements
• Apply data quality assurance frameworks and tools to guarantee data quality & data integrity (always) across the business area
• Provide risk, governance, compliance & broader regulatory reporting as required
• Contribute to risk, governance, compliance & broader regulatory processes (if & when required)

Data Governance and Control

• Understand frameworks, sources of data and data flows
• Ensure accuracy of data collected and ensure data governance required is met and adhered to
• Participate in data governance forums and teams as required
• Drive data governance responsibilities across all pieces of work

Stakeholder Management

• Ensure data models and design are communicated to and understood by Business Stakeholders
• Provide business-oriented insights and articulate how solutions can support these
• Play key role in leadership of Change projects in driving data deliverables and their impact in achieving project outcomes
• Support all Data Management activities within its respective business divisions
• Monitor and supervises the rollout and compliance of the relevant rules, policies and procedures within its respective business division
• Defines and executes data governance strategy, in line with the BU Data Strategy
• Provide material to the Data Management Committee on the divisions’ performance
• Support and advise Data Quality Specialist and Business Analyst in implementing and monitoring the Data Management tools
• Ensure tracking, monitoring and publishing of data quality scorecards
• Coordinate completion of corrective actions to resolve data quality problems
• Provide guidance to Data Owners and Stewards around metrics requirements and raise awareness of Data Management requirements within its respective business division
• Facilitate discussion among Data Stewards and provide guidance through Working Groups
• Improve data solutions that deliver relevant, quality assured, accurate & commercially impactful data to the business

People

• Perform people management function for a team of driven data analysts
• Guide direction and priorities of the team
• Manage team deliverables and quality of these
• Conduct peer reviews, testing, problem solving within and across the broader team
• Perform deliverable reviews, coaching and feedback sessions to team, as required
• Participate as a subject matter expert in the development & development planning of the data team as required
• Oversee quality of outputs from the team

Skills and experience needed:

• Technical and Analytical Skills:
• R/Python/SAS Programming
• Data Analysis
• Decision making based on data and analysis
• Proactive Problem Solving
• Experienced Data Governance Lead, familiar with all areas of data management
• Knowledgeable of data management requirements across its industry
• Experience with metrics gathering, tracking, and reporting
• Strong understanding of Data Management tools and their possible application.
• Familiarity with and experienced in implementing the DAMA framework
• At least 10 years’ experience in the field of execution of Technology or Change projects with a large data component
• 5 – 8 years’ experience in a senior management role
• Team leadership experience

Minimum requirements:

• Relevant B-degree (Masters Preferable) in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Technology or Engineering (NQF Level 7 qualification) within an appropriate field of study