Chief Data Officer
Aculocity
- Durbanville, Cape Town
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Develop and execute the company's AI/ML strategy aligned with business objectives.
- Lead the development of a long-term vision for AI/ML applications within the organization.
- Build and manage a high-performing team of AI/ML professionals.
- Provide mentorship, guidance, and support to team members.
- Foster a culture of innovation and continuous learning within the AI/ML team.
- Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of AI/ML projects.
- Ensure projects are aligned with business goals and are delivered on time and within budget.
- Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI/ML technologies and methodologies.
- Drive research initiatives to explore new opportunities for AI/ML applications in the company.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, product management, and business development, to integrate AI/ML solutions seamlessly.
- Work closely with stakeholders to understand their requirements and translate them into AI/ML solutions.
- Establish and enforce best practices for data quality, model validation, and deployment.
- Ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI/ML technologies within the organization.
- Data Strategy Development: Develop and implement a comprehensive data strategy aligned with the organization's business objectives. This includes defining data governance policies, data architecture, and ensuring data quality and integrity.
- Data Governance: Establish and enforce data governance practices to ensure the accuracy, security, and compliance of data across the organization. This involves creating policies, procedures, and standards for data management.
- Data Quality Management: Oversee initiatives to maintain and improve the quality of data within the organization. Implement data quality frameworks, tools, and processes to ensure reliable and consistent information.
- Data Analytics and Insights: Drive the use of data analytics and business intelligence to extract valuable insights. Collaborate with other departments to identify opportunities for data-driven decision-making and innovation.
- Data Privacy and Security: Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and implement robust security measures to protect sensitive information. Develop and maintain data protection strategies to safeguard against potential risks.
- Technology Integration: Collaborate with IT teams to evaluate and implement advanced technologies, tools, and platforms for efficient data management, storage, and analysis.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with other C-level executives, department heads, and stakeholders to align data initiatives with overall business strategies. Foster a data-driven culture across the organization.
- Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with data management, ensuring that the organization is well-prepared for potential data-related challenges.
- Innovation: Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in data management. Propose and implement innovative solutions to enhance the organization's competitive advantage.
- Communication and Advocacy: Act as a spokesperson for data-related matters, communicating the value of data-driven decision-making to both internal and external stakeholders. Advocate for data-centric practices throughout the organization.
- Effectively initiate, plan, schedule, control, and bring to closure multiple high priority projects.
- Partner with business leaders to create robust solution roadmaps that are integrated with architecture and operations.
- Partner with internal customers to develop training and deployment plans aimed at maximizing both user adoption and realization of business benefits.
- Recruit, develop and retain high caliber data talent, especially for key leadership positions, and develop a succession plan.
- Implement and champion a robust professional development program, and continuously upskill team members to keep them current.
- Evaluate team members performance, provide candid feedback and high impact coaching that enables (and motivates) them to achieve departmental as well as enterprise goals.
- Build a culture of innovation and engagement, focusing on strengthening the organization's employer brand.
- Strong knowledge of various AI/ML frameworks, tools, and programming languages.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
- Deep understanding of the ethical considerations and implications of AI/ML technologies.
- Has successfully led development and delivery of multiple complex business technology solutions into production that have achieved or surpassed business goals.
- Experience developing and supporting mission critical applications optimized to run in the cloud or virtualized environments.
- Ability to make sound and logical judgments.
- Demonstrated personnel/project management skills.
- Good understanding of the organization's goals and objectives.
- Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
- Ability to perform general mathematical calculations for the purpose of creating needs assessments, budgets, and so on.
- Able to conduct research into issues and products as required.
- Ability to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment and make sound decisions in emergency situations.
- Ability to present ideas in a user-friendly language.
- Highly self-motivated and directed.
- Keen attention to detail.
- Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Strong customer service orientation.
- Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.