Head Data and Analytics

Job description

Job Description

The Head Data and Analytics is responsible for leading the strategic direction, development, and implementation of data
analytics initiatives across the organisation.

This role ensures that data-driven insights align with business needs,
enhance operational efficiency, and support the organisation's strategic objectives.

This role's primary purpose is to
establish and drive a data-driven culture, transforming raw data into actionable insights that inform critical business
decisions, optimise operations, and identify new opportunities for growth and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Key Performance Areas:

Data Governance and Risk

• Define and execute the enterprise data strategy.
  
  
• Build and mature advanced analytics capabilities (including business intelligence, predictive modelling, and
  potentially AI/ML applications).
  
  
• Ensure robust data governance and quality.
  
  
• Lead data compliance with regulatory frameworks and internal governance.
  
  
• Implement data risk reporting and mitigation strategies.
  
  
• Maintain data security and business continuity plans.
  
  

Data Operations and Service Delivery

• Partner closely with business units and technology teams to translate complex data findings into clear, impactful
  strategies and measurable outcomes.
  
  
• Alongside the IT team, lead data-driven innovation for the enterprise, including investigation, adoption, and
  exploitation of artificial intelligence.
  
  
• Oversee the delivery of reliable, cost-effective, and innovative data services.
  
  
• Manage data infrastructure, software licensing, and refresh cycles.
  
  
• Ensure high-quality data systems and services across the organisation.
  
  

Strategic Focus

• Set and communicate the strategic direction for data analytics in collaboration with the other executives to all
  internal and external stakeholders.
  
  
• Develop the long terms and short-term strategy and plan, aligned to budgets.
  
  
• Develop and maintain enterprise-wide data architecture and operational plans.
  
  
• Ensure alignment of data initiatives with the organisation's strategic goals, priorities, and deliverables.
  
  
• Offer direction on implementing the strategy to effectively show commitment to it.
  
  
• Lead and advances digital transformation initiatives by harnessing data-driven technologies to boost operational
  efficiency, enhance service delivery, and create new avenues of value within the DBSA.
  
  
• Expand the organisation's research and analytics capabilities, prioritising emerging analytical methods, skills,
  and technologies to accelerate digital business innovation and transformation.
  
  
• Discover opportunities to enhance and refine data capabilities, proactively monitoring industry trends and
  integrating new technologies as applicable.
  
  
• Identify novel types, forms, and sources of trustworthy data to foster business value innovation across the
  organisation.
  
  
• Cultivate a culture of innovation, continually seeking emerging technologies and best practices to modernise
  operations and deliver impactful data-driven solutions.
  
  
• Advocate for customer-focused and future-oriented data solutions.
  
  
• Champion the advancement of data literacy throughout the organisation.
  
  

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintains strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders such as EXCO, and the Board
  as well as government entities, commercial banks, development partners, and community representatives, to
  drive shared objectives.
  
  
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with national, provincial, and local government stakeholders.
  
  
• Manage external vendors and negotiate data acquisition contracts.
  
  
• Represent the organisation in data-related engagements with external partners.
  
  
• Navigate complex stakeholder landscapes, influencing outcomes and fostering consensus to achieve strategic
  goals.
  
  

People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and
  continuous learning to maximise individual and collective potential.
  
  
• Lead the data analytics business unit and ensure effective execution of strategy.
  
  
• Implement human capital strategies and workforce planning.
  
  
• Foster a culture of performance, learning, and collaboration.
  
  
• Drive talent development initiatives, including coaching, performance management, and career pathing, to build
  and retain a skilled and motivated team.
  
  
• Contribute to building synergies & cooperation across functions in the DBSA.
  
  
• Living the DBSA values.
  
  

Reporting and Governance

• Establish and enforces robust governance frameworks and reporting mechanisms to ensure transparency,
  compliance, and effective decision-making across all operations.
  
  
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting of key performance indicators, risks, and progress against strategic
  objectives to relevant internal and external bodies.
  
  

Key measurements of outputs:

• Successful roll-out and adoption of data strategy across the organisation

• Number and quality of analytics solutions developed and implemented, business impact of D&A by linking use cases
  to business outcomes.
  
  

• Time from insight to action by monitoring how long it takes before D&A insights are acted upon (e.g., projects
  delivered, platforms implemented and supported, number of D&A users, usage metrics).
  
  

• Reduction of number of reports generated across the bank.
  
  

• Increase in business decisions made using data insights.
  
  

• Improvement in data accuracy and completeness

• Reduction in costs related to data management and analytics operations

• Increase in return on investment from data initiatives

• Increase in user adoption of data tools and platforms

• Improvement in data literacy among employees

• Management of team performance, talent development, and succession planning using the performance
  management system.
  
  

Expertise & Technical Competencies

Qualifications and Experience:

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Systems,
  Actuarial Science or Data Science.
  
  

• Postgraduate qualification in Data Analytics or Business Administration, and certifications in data governance, project
  management, or enterprise architecture.
  
  

Experience:

• Minimum 12 years of experience with 5+ years in a management role.
  
  

• Extensive experience in data management, analytics, and business intelligence, with a proven track record of leading
  successful data-driven projects.
  
  

• Experience with modern data tools and platforms, such as big data technologies, machine learning frameworks, and
  data visualisation tools.
  
  

• Strong track record in aligning data initiatives with business strategy.
  
  

• Strategic data planning and enterprise data architecture and integration.
  
  

• Data strategy development aligned with corporate vision.
  
  

• Data governance, compliance, and risk management.
  
  

• Project and programme management (including multi-million-rand data projects).
  
  

• Systems integration, infrastructure, and data centre operations.
  
  

• Knowledge of data security, virtualisation, and green technologies.
  
  

• Budgeting and cost-benefit analysis for data investments.
  
  

• Strong understanding of software, hardware, and telecommunications systems.
  
  

• Regulatory frameworks (e.g., King III, data governance).
  
  

• Data procurement and vendor management.
  
  

• Disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
  
  

• Technical Competencies:

Digital Literacy:

• Conduct research and has awareness of the latest trends in the digital space that affects the Organisation and the business
  unit.
  
  
• Seek out innovative approaches and interventions to improve digital agility.
  
  
• To identify technical problems when operating devices and using digital environments, and to solve them (from
  troubleshooting to solving more complex problems).
  
  Stay abreast of latest trends and incorporate it in driving change in the
  business.
  
  

Data Collection and Analysis:

• Through a mastery of advanced/complex analytical techniques, establishes highlevel trends from processed data which may not be immediately apparent.
  
  
• Moves beyond concrete analysis of factual information to develop abstract, conceptual understanding of the meaning
  of an array of information.
  
  
• Integrates diverse themes and lines of reasoning to create new insights or levels of understanding.
  
  

Data Management:

• Defines a backup strategy in line with the disaster management strategy.
  
  
• Monitors file storage policy compliance by users, identify concern areas and address the same.
  
  
• Defines parameters for backup testing and monitors the same.
  
  Conducts detailed backup tests to assure data integrity.
  
  

Strategic Planning:

• Establishes challenging, attainable goals and objectives based on a customer focus perspective.
  
  
• Looks to the future with a broad perspective.
  
  
• Ensures performances measures are in place to monitor progress and assess accomplishments and achievement of strategic goals and objectives.
  
  
• Develops initiatives to achieve goals and objectives.
  
  
• Articulates the vision and plans to others.
  
  

Knowledge Management:

• Identifies, develops, and articulates knowledge management strategies that will add value to the organisation.
  
  
• Engages with thought leaders within and outside the organisation to identify the value of knowledge and information to the organisation and develop a knowledgebased vision.
  
  
• Ensures that knowledge management strategies are embedded within corporate strategies and key business processes.
  
  
• Fosters a knowledge and information rich culture and ensures that knowledge management competencies are recognised as core competencies of the organisation in order to develop individual and organisational capability.
  
  
• Fosters the development of appropriate knowledge and information assets and the adoption of effective knowledge management processes, tools, and standards.
  
  

Reporting:

• Designs, reviews, and improves reporting processes and provides guidance.
  
  
• Leads production of complex environment reports, takes an editorial role, determines content and level of detail, and ensures consistent messaging and branding.
  
  

Data Collection and Analysis:

• Through a mastery of advanced/complex analytical techniques, establishes highlevel trends from processed data which may not be immediately apparent.
  
  
• Moves beyond concrete analysis of factual information to develop abstract, conceptual understanding of the meaning of an array of information.
  
  
• Integrates diverse themes and lines of reasoning to create new insights or levels of understanding.
  
  

Required Personal Attributes

Leadership/Behavioural Competencies:

Analytical Thinking:

• Identifies multiple elements of a problem and breaks down each of those elements in detail, showing causal relationships between them.
  
  
• Uses several analytical techniques to identify several solutions and weighs the value of each.
  
  

Information Seeking and Analysis:

• Analyses relationships among several parts of a problem or situation.
  
  
• Anticipates obstacles and thinks ahead about next steps in detail.
  
  

Leading and Empowering Others:

• Identifies long-term goals for the team and communicates them to team members, ensuring their buy in.
  
  
• Sets a good example by personally exercising desired behaviour, acts on
  values and beliefs.
  
  
• Communicates a vision for the team and future success that inspires team members.
  
  
• After assessing others' competence, one delegates full authority and responsibility to others to do a task in their own way.
  
  
• Ensures that competent employees are given opportunities to further their careers.
  
  

Leading and Managing Change:

• Anticipates the need for change when not obvious and influences others to gain support.
  
  
• Builds sustainable business and organisational capacity to embrace and thrive on change.
  
  
• Re-engineers and aligns structures, processes, and practices to support and sustain the desired change.
  
  

Strategic and Innovative Thinking:

• Understands connections and trade-offs of strategic choices to evaluate which ideas are practical and possible by considering business and/or scientific implications.
  
  
• Develops innovative business and/or customer solutions that shape industry practices.
  
  

Required Skill Profession

Other General