Head of Data & Analytics

Skanska; Watford; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading project development and construction group in Watford is seeking a Head of Data & Analytics to lead their Technology & Sustainability team. This role involves defining and executing the data strategy, managing analytics capabilities, and ensuring data governance and compliance. The ideal candidate has a strong background in data strategy and leadership experience in analytics, with a proven record of delivering impactful data programs. This position offers a unique opportunity to drive innovation within the organization.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Inclusive workplace culture

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience in data and analytics.
• Deep understanding of data strategy and modern data platforms.
• Strong experience with data governance and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the data and analytics strategy.
• Lead the Data Analytics and Engineering functions.
• Build and manage scalable data platforms.

Skills

Leadership in data and analytics

Data strategy and architecture

Stakeholder management

Business intelligence tools

Data engineering

Machine learning

Education

Degree in Computer Science or related

Postgraduate qualification

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Azure

AWS

GCP

Job description

Skanska, one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups, is an inclusive and responsible business that is helping to build a better society.

We are looking for a Head of Data & Analytics to join our Technology & Sustainability team in Leavesden (Watford).

The Head of Data Analytics will be responsible for setting the strategic direction, governance, and delivery of data capabilities across the organisation.

What you’ll do:

• Be accountable for defining and executing the organisation’s data and analytics strategy, aligning it with business priorities and regulatory requirements.
• Lead the Data Analytics and Engineering function, ensuring seamless collaboration across Analysts, Engineers, Architects, and Governance specialists, and preparing for the future integration of Data Science.
• Responsible for building and managing scalable data platforms, architecture, and pipelines that ensure data quality, accessibility, and reliability.
• Support the organisation’s compliance with data governance, privacy, and regulatory obligations (e.g., GDPR, ISO standards), embedding a culture of trust and accountability in data use.
• Work with business leaders, capability areas and stakeholders to identify opportunities for data-driven value creation, providing insights that shape strategy and operations.
• Contribute to the professional development of your team, creating career pathways, fostering innovation, and ensuring a collaborative and high-performing culture.
• Drive the adoption of modern analytics tools, technologies, and practices that enhance the organisation’s data maturity.
• Prepare the function for future data science capability, building the foundations for advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI adoption.

What you’ll bring to the role:

• Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Information Management, or a related discipline (postgraduate qualification desirable).
• Significant leadership experience in data and analytics or similar roles, with a proven track record of managing multidisciplinary teams.
• Deep understanding of data strategy, architecture, and modern data platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Strong experience with data governance, regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, ISO 27001), and information security best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver large-scale data and analytics programmes that create measurable business value.
• Strong background in business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, Looker) and analytics methods.
• Experience with data engineering and pipeline development (e.g., ETL/ELT, APIs, cloud data warehouses).
• Knowledge of advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning, with experience in preparing an organisation for data science adoption.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills at executive level.
• Track record of building and developing high-performing teams and fostering a culture of innovation.

Equal opportunities

We thrive through embracing differences, whether they be social backgrounds, ethnicity, disability, gender identity or expression, age, religion, sexual orientation and any other protected characteristic – we know that diversity opens a rich potential for new ways of thinking, helping us to build successful and high-performing teams. We call it Naturally Skanska.

We welcome you to ask about flexibility at interview stage and we will explore what is possible for the role.

Reasonable adjustments

We would like you to perform at your best at every stage of our recruitment process. Please contact us using [e-mail] or call 0330 105 2000 – Option 5 & 1, if you require any adjustments that would support you throughout your application.

More information about the role

Please note this is an advert for our job vacancy, and therefore may not be inclusive of all assigned duties, responsibilities, or aspects of the role described, and may be amended at any time at the sole discretion of Skanska. For a full role profile, please contact us: [e-mail]

The closing date for this vacancy may be subject to change any time at the sole discretion of the business.

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