Purpose
To provide a clear, sustainable leadership structure for the Data & Analytics function by separating accountability for:
- Data engineering and analytical foundations, and
- Reporting and analytics delivery
while maintaining shared ownership of standards and governance.
This model is intended to:
- reduce delivery risk
- improve clarity of ownership
- strengthen alignment with business priorities
- support growth of the function without dependency on a single role
Context
The Data & Analytics function currently spans:
- Data acquisition and integration
- Data modelling and analytical foundations
- Reporting and analytics delivery
- Stakeholder engagement and prioritisation
- Standards, governance, and quality
These responsibilities place competing demands on a single leadership role:
- long-term technical coherence
- short-term delivery outcomes
- stakeholder confidence
- operational rhythm
To reduce strain and increase effectiveness, leadership is best structured around two complementary Head-of roles.
Proposed Roles
1. Head of Data Engineering & Analytics
Primary accountability:
To ensure the organisation’s data and analytical foundations are technically sound, coherent, and sustainable.
Architecture & Data Foundations
- Define and maintain the overall data and analytical architecture.
- Own the Common Data Model and domain design.
- Set integration and transformation patterns across data sources.
- Ensure consistency of data structures across business areas.
Data Engineering Standards & Quality
- Establish and uphold standards for:
- data modelling
- transformation
- analytical structures
- Ensure strong data quality, lineage, and traceability.
- Protect the technical integrity of the data platform.
Platform & Capability Evolution
- Lead the strategic evolution of the data platform.
- Balance short-term delivery needs with long-term sustainability.
- Identify future capability requirements and shape technical direction accordingly.
Technical Enablement & Coaching
- Provide technical leadership to engineers and analysts.
- Promote reuse through patterns, exemplars, and guidance.
- Coach and mentor to build long-term capability within the team.
Shared Standards & Governance
- Work jointly with the Head of Reporting & Analytics Delivery to:
- apply data and analytics standards
- uphold consistent definitions
- ensure quality and assurance
- Embed governance as an enabling function rather than a barrier.
Primary question owned:
Is what we are building technically sound, analytically coherent, and sustainable?
2. Head of Reporting & Analytics Delivery
Primary accountability:
To ensure that business reporting and analytics requirements are understood, prioritised, and delivered through strong stakeholder relationships and a clear delivery operating model.
Key responsibilities:
Stakeholder Enablement
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with senior stakeholders outside the Data & Analytics function.
- Act as the primary interface between business functions and the reporting & analytics teams.
- Translate business objectives into reporting and analytical outcomes.
- Manage expectations around scope, timing, and delivery trade-offs.
- Promote shared ownership of analytical products with report sponsors and business owners.
Business Requirements Management
- Collect, structure, and maintain the organisation’s reporting and analytics requirements.
- Ensure requirements are:
- clearly defined
- prioritised
- traceable to business needs
- Own the reporting demand intake process and backlog.
- Balance short-term reporting needs with longer-term analytical development.
- Ensure requirements are expressed in a way that enables consistent and reusable delivery.
Delivery & Visibility
- Own the delivery cadence for reporting and analytics products.
- Coordinate sequencing and dependencies across teams.
- Ensure progress, risks, and priorities are visible to stakeholders.
- Drive adoption and effective use of reports and insight.
Shared Standards & Governance
- Work jointly with the Head of Data Engineering & Analytics to:
- apply data and reporting standards
- uphold consistent definitions
- ensure quality and assurance
- Embed governance into delivery without creating unnecessary friction.
Primary question owned:
Do we clearly understand what the business needs from reporting and analytics, and are we delivering it in a visible and controlled way?
Shared Responsibilities
The two roles jointly own:
- Standards for data and analytics
- Definitions and quality thresholds
- Governance and assurance
- Alignment with organisational policy
Governance is positioned as:
an enabling function that supports delivery and trust, not a barrier to progress.
Operating Model
| Area | Head of Data Engineering & Analytics | Head of Reporting & Analytics Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture & models | ✔ | |
| Data foundations | ✔ | |
| Standards & integrity | ✔ (shared) | ✔ (shared) |
| Reporting & insight delivery | ✔ | |
| Stakeholder relationships | ✔ | |
| Requirements management | ✔ | |
| Prioritisation & sequencing | ✔ | |
| Long-term platform direction | ✔ | |
| Delivery cadence & visibility | ✔ |
Decision rights are explicit:
- Architecture and data design sit with Engineering & Analytics
- Delivery sequencing and stakeholder commitments sit with Reporting & Delivery
- Overlapping decisions are aligned jointly before communication
Benefits
For the organisation
- Reduced dependency on one individual
- Clearer ownership of outcomes
- Stronger alignment between architecture and delivery
- Improved predictability and transparency
For stakeholders
- Single narrative on priorities and progress
- Stronger engagement and working relationships
- More consistent definitions and reporting
For the team
- Clear leadership lanes
- Reduced friction and rework
- Stronger technical foundations
- More visible direction
Risk Mitigation
This model avoids:
- role overlap
- design by committee
- bottlenecks caused by over-centralisation
- delivery driven without architectural control
It balances:
- pace (delivery)
- with shape (architecture and standards)