Operations Leader - Data & Analytics

Job Description Summary The D&A Operations Leader will orchestrate the daily operating rhythm of a global, approximately 1,000-member Data & Analytics organization while leading its most critical priority: transforming and simplifying the data and analytics technology landscape. This role will convert strategy into disciplined execution across portfolio governance, operating reviews, financial management, mergers and acquisitions, vendor management, project delivery, and communications. Success requires enterprise perspective, strong judgment, and the ability to influence senior leaders, technical teams, business partners, and suppliers. PRIMARY MISSION Drive measurable simplification of the data and analytics ecosystem by establishing a fact-based transformation roadmap, reducing platform and tool duplication, rationalizing legacy assets, standardizing operating practices, and accelerating adoption of strategic enterprise capabilities. The leader will balance transformation velocity with operational continuity, security, compliance, and business value. Job Description Key Responsibilities D&A Transformation and Simplification Advise senior leadership on and help shape the multi-year transformation and simplification roadmap for the Data & Analytics landscape, aligned with enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, data governance, cloud, and business priorities. Create a transparent baseline of platforms, applications, data products, integrations, infrastructure, costs, ownership, usage, technical debt, and lifecycle status. Lead portfolio rationalization to eliminate redundancy, retire legacy technologies, consolidate vendors and platforms, simplify interfaces, and standardize repeatable capabilities. Establish decision criteria, governance, sequencing, dependencies, investment cases, and measurable benefits for simplification initiatives. Coordinate execution across architecture, engineering, product, operations, security, finance, procurement, legal, and business teams. Identify cross-functional barriers and escalate with recommended resolutions.. Track adoption, decommissioning, cost reduction, productivity, reliability, and value realization; intervene when outcomes are off plan. Embed continuous improvement, automation, lean operating practices, and reusable standards into the organization’s ways of working. Operating Rhythm and Governance Facilitate and support monthly operating reviews and other leadership cadences, including agenda development, performance narratives, decision logs, action tracking, and executive follow-up. Develop integrated dashboards and concise executive reporting across strategy, delivery, operations, service performance, financials, risks, talent, and transformation benefits. Maintain clear governance, ownership, escalation paths, and accountability across the portfolio. Translate complex operational and technical information into actionable insights, decisions, and communications for varied audiences. Financial, Portfolio, and Project Management Support annual planning, forecasting, budgeting, accruals, investment prioritization, and variance management for the organization. Improve cost transparency by linking spend, capacity, service consumption, and investments to business outcomes and transformation priorities. Establish portfolio and project-management disciplines covering scope, schedule, budget, dependencies, risks, issues, resources, outcomes, and benefits. Provide provide evaluative analysis and recommendations for high-priority or at-risk initiatives to accountable leaders. Partner with finance and functional leaders to identify productivity opportunities and ensure savings are validated and sustained. Mergers and Acquisitions Coordinate Data & Analytics support for acquisitions, divestitures, and integrations, including discovery, due diligence, separation or integration planning, Day 1 readiness, transition services, and post-close execution. Assess target-state implications across data, analytics, applications, infrastructure, security, privacy, governance, licensing, vendors, and operating models. Build integrated plans, cost estimates, risks, decision points, and executive updates in partnership with corporate development, legal, finance, cybersecurity, architecture, and business teams. Use transaction events to accelerate landscape simplification and avoid introducing new duplication or technical debt. Vendor and Commercial Management Monitor and advise on strategic suppliers performance, statements of work, contract obligations, service levels, performance, capacity, risks, renewals, and commercial outcomes. Partner with sourcing, procurement, legal, finance, security, and technical owners on negotiations, demand consolidation, license optimization, and supplier rationalization. Establish scorecards and regular business reviews that connect supplier performance to reliability, delivery, innovation, simplification, and cost objectives. Identify and mitigate concentration, continuity, compliance, and third-party risks. Communications and Change Leadership Develop a clear transformation narrative and integrated communication plan for leaders, employees, business partners, and suppliers. Prepare executive presentations, organizational updates, decision papers, talking points, FAQs, and recognition communications. Build stakeholder alignment through structured engagement, active listening, transparent trade-offs, and timely escalation. Promote adoption of simplified platforms and processes through change-impact assessment, readiness planning, training coordination, and feedback loops. Measures of Success Reduction in applications, platforms, tools, integrations, vendors, legacy assets, and technical debt. Validated run-cost and license savings, avoided costs, productivity gains, and improved investment mix. Percentage of targeted assets retired and workloads migrated to strategic platforms on schedule. Improved reliability, security posture, data quality, compliance, cycle time, and user adoption. Accurate forecasts, disciplined portfolio execution, timely decisions, and closure of operating-review actions. M&A milestones achieved with controlled risk, minimal business disruption, and target-state alignment. Improved supplier performance, contractual value, and stakeholder confidence. Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, engineering, business, finance, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience. Significant experience in digital technology, data and analytics, technology operations, transformation, portfolio management, or a related field within a large, complex organization. Demonstrated success leading technology simplification, application or platform rationalization, modernization, cloud migration, cost optimization, or operating-model transformation. Strong command of financial planning, business cases, forecasting, portfolio governance, project and program management, and benefit realization. Experience managing strategic vendors, contracts, statements of work, service levels, and commercial performance. Working knowledge of modern data and analytics ecosystems, including cloud platforms, data engineering, business intelligence, AI/ML, governance, cybersecurity, privacy, and enterprise architecture. Excellent written, verbal, analytical, facilitation, and executive-presentation skills. Proven ability to influence across functions and levels, manage ambiguity, challenge constructively, and deliver outcomes without direct authority. Preferred Qualifications Advanced degree or relevant certifications in project or program management, agile delivery, lean, finance, cloud, data management, architecture, or IT service management. Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, integrations, or transition service agreements. Experience working across global teams, regulated environments, and matrixed operating models. Familiarity with product operating models, FinOps, technology business management, service management, and organizational change management. Additional Information Relocation Assistance Provided: Yes