Bank ABC seeks to recruit a Head of Data Management in the Group Information Technology Department based in our Head Office, in Bahrain.
The Head of Data Management will be responsible for managing the strategic, governance, and technical aspects of data management within the Bank. This role involves overseeing data integration, data quality, and data management to ensure data integrity, security, and availability.
The job holder is responsible for defining, managing, and controlling master data and metadata management policies, controls, and standards. The Head of Data Management will work closely with the GCITO and other stakeholders to support the wider technology strategy and support the respective data needs (e.g., analytics, data science, and data monetization) of the business and support functions.
The job holder will assist in setting up and developing the data management team to enable the Bank to implement a collaborative data management program involving data owners and IT staff.

Responsibilities of the role:
Reporting to the Group Chief Information Technology Officer, the job holder will be required to:

• Data Strategy and Governance

• Develop and implement a comprehensive data management strategy aligned with business objectives and the wider technology strategy.
• Work with other technology partners and key stakeholders to establish and enforce data governance policies and standards to ensure data quality, privacy, security, compliance and and ethical management of data.
• Develop and maintain a framework to assess and improve the group's data capabilities and maturity levels.
• Lead data stewardship efforts and work with the various data owners and stewards within the group to maintain data integrity, protection, security, and democratization.

• Data Management

• Oversee the management of data, ensuring the efficient and secure storage, processing, and retrieval of data.
• Implement and maintain data management platforms and tools (e.g., enterprise metadata repository, data quality platform, data stewardship workflows, data modelling, ETL tools, data mesh, etc.), ensuring they meet the bank’s needs and security standards.
• Ensure data is consistently and accurately integrated across various systems, platforms, and environments.
• Manage the lifecycle of data from acquisition to disposal, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
• Conduct data management risk and control self-assessments, addressing operational weaknesses and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Promote innovative data management practices for efficiency, data utilization and value extraction.
• Lead the development of analytics strategies and tools, and promote the use of data visualizations for insights and decision-making, collaborate with different business units to tailor their analytics and reporting solutions.

• Collaboration and stakeholder management

• Work closely with Data Protection Officers to ensure data privacy and compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR, Bahrain Data Protection law, etc.).
• Work closely with Cyber & Information Security officers and SMEs to enforce data security policies to protect the bank against data breaches.
• Work with IT Architecture to establish standard data architecture best practices, and apply such standards to operating teams and other IT functions.
• Partner with Data Analytics and other data consumption teams to support data-driven initiatives and leverage data for business intelligence (e.g., ML/AI).
• Collaborate with data owners, business technology teams, and overseas IT teams to ensure data consistency, availability, and integrity.

• Leadership and People Management

• Foster customer-centricity in Data Management, manage a responsive IT team, focusing on data operations and end-user satisfaction.
• Provide strategic leadership and direction to the Data Management team; which may include data integration and ETL experts, data engineers, reporting specialist, analysts, visualization developers, and other IT professionals; setting clear objectives, priorities, and performance expectations to drive accountability and excellence.
• Coach, mentor, and develop team members, fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment where individuals can grow and succeed.
• Develop meaningful dashboards/presentation to present what’s happening in Data Management.
• Measure, monitor, and maintain team’s ability to meet agreed SLAs and OLAs
• Promote a culture of diversity, equality, and inclusion within the Data Management team, championship diversity initiatives and fostering a sense of belonging and respect for all team members.
• Collaborate with GIT Management and HR to recruit and onboard top talent, ensuring the Data Management team has the skills, capabilities, and resources needed to achieve its goals and objectives

Areas of Knowledge, Qualification and Experience

• 14+ years of technology, digital or data experience
• 5+ years in data management roles
• At least 5 years in a managerial and leadership role
• Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in Data Analytics, Data Science, Information Management, or related field.
• Professional certifications in data management, data governance (e.g., Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP), Certified Data Governance Professional (DGSP)) will be highly desirable
• Proven track record of developing and implementing data management strategies.
• Extensive experience in data management, data governance, data architecture, and data integration.
• Strong experience with data governance frameworks (e.g., DAMA-DMBOK), DCAM) and the ability to establish data governance policies and procedures.
• Mastery in data modeling techniques, including conceptual, logical and physical data models
• Proficiency in data quality frameworks (e.g., Six Sigma, Total Data Quality Management (TDQM)) and the ability to develop and enforce data quality standards and procedures.
• Strong experience in data integration, ETL processes, and data management platforms and tools.
• Strong knowledge of cloud computing technologies and implementing cloud-based solutions and services for data management.
• Knowledge of Data Ware Housing, Data Lake, Data Lake House , and Data Mesh architectures and techniques
• Strong knowledge of data lake architectures and experience in managing and integrating data lakes using platforms like AWS and Azure.
• Knowledge of API management and integration, facilitating data exchange between internal systems and external data sources.
• Knowledge of data visualization and reporting tools (e.g., Power BI).
• Understanding of machine learning and AI frameworks and platforms.
• Experience in leading data stewardship efforts and promoting a data-driven culture.
• Knowledge of data privacy regulations and compliance requirements.
• Experience in enforcing data security policies and regulatory requirements.