About Company
Innscor Africa Limited is a leading diversified conglomerate operating across Zimbabwe and the wider Southern African region. With a rich history spanning decades, Innscor has established itself as a household name through its extensive portfolio in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), light manufacturing, retail, and quick-service restaurants. Our brands are deeply ingrained in the daily lives of millions, ranging from popular bakery products and convenient retail outlets to beloved fast-food chains. We are committed to fostering economic growth, creating employment opportunities, and delivering exceptional value to our customers, shareholders, and the communities we serve. Innovation, operational excellence, and a deep understanding of market dynamics drive our continuous expansion and success. We believe in empowering our people and leveraging technology to stay ahead in a dynamic marketplace, making data a cornerstone of our future growth.
Job Description
We are seeking a visionary and highly experienced Chief Data Officer (CDO) to lead our data strategy, governance, and advanced analytics initiatives across the entire Innscor Africa Limited group. This critical executive role will be instrumental in defining and executing a comprehensive data roadmap that aligns with our strategic business objectives, drives innovation, and unlocks significant value from our vast data assets. The CDO will champion data-driven decision-making, ensuring data integrity, security, and accessibility for various departments, including operations, marketing, finance, human resources, and supply chain management. You will be tasked with building and leading a high-performing data team, fostering a robust data-centric culture across the organization, and implementing cutting-edge data technologies and practices. This role demands a strategic thinker with a strong technical background, exceptional leadership skills, and a proven track record of transforming organizations through the intelligent use of data. The successful candidate will be a key member of our executive leadership team, influencing strategic direction and driving our digital transformation journey from a data perspective. You will work closely with other C-suite executives, business unit leaders, and IT teams to identify new opportunities for data utilization, develop innovative data products and services, and ensure our data infrastructure supports future growth, scalability, and competitive advantage. This is an unparalleled opportunity to make a profound impact on one of Africa’s most dynamic and diverse companies, shaping its future through intelligent data leverage and predictive insights.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a comprehensive enterprise-wide data strategy that directly supports Innscor Africa’s business goals and digital transformation initiatives.
- Establish and enforce robust data governance policies, standards, and best practices to ensure data quality, integrity, security, compliance with local and international regulations, and ethical data usage.
- Oversee the architecture, design, and implementation of scalable and secure data platforms, including data warehouses, data lakes, and cutting-edge business intelligence solutions.
- Lead, mentor, and expand a high-performing team of data scientists, data engineers, data analysts, and BI specialists, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous professional development.
- Drive the adoption and implementation of advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence capabilities to extract actionable insights, build predictive models, and automate decision-making processes.
- Collaborate strategically with executive leadership, department heads, and IT to identify critical data needs, define key performance indicators (KPIs), and deliver impactful, data-driven products and services.
- Manage the entire data lifecycle, from data acquisition and ingestion to storage, processing, analysis, and intuitive visualization.
- Continuously evaluate and integrate new data technologies, tools, and methodologies to enhance our data capabilities and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
- Champion data literacy and promote data-driven decision-making across all levels of the organization through comprehensive training programs, clear communication, and accessible reporting.
- Ensure strict adherence to data privacy regulations and ethical data use, proactively staying abreast of evolving legal frameworks and industry best practices.
Required Skills
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Business Administration, or a related quantitative field.
- Minimum of 10-15 years of progressive experience in data management, business intelligence, or advanced analytics, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership or Chief Data Officer role within a large, complex organization.
- Demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing enterprise-wide data strategies and comprehensive data governance frameworks.
- Profound proficiency in modern data architectures (e.g., cloud-based data platforms like Azure, AWS, GCP), data warehousing, ETL/ELT tools, and big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark).
- Strong understanding of data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, POPIA) and robust information security principles.
- Exceptional leadership, strategic communication, and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
- Proven ability to build, lead, and mentor high-performing, cross-functional data teams.
- Strategic thinking with a results-oriented approach and a keen business acumen, capable of translating complex data into business value.
Preferred Qualifications
- Ph.D. in a quantitative field or a related discipline.
- Extensive experience in the Retail, FMCG, or Food & Beverage industries, understanding their unique data challenges and opportunities.
- Professional certifications in data governance (e.g., CDMP), cloud data platforms (e.g., AWS Certified Data Analytics), or project management (e.g., PMP).
- Hands-on experience with advanced analytics and machine learning platforms/languages (e.g., Python, R, SAS, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
- Familiarity with leading data visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Qlik Sense.
Perks & Benefits
- Highly competitive executive salary and performance-based bonus structure.
- Comprehensive health and wellness benefits package for you and your family.
- Company vehicle and generous fuel allowance.
- Executive-level professional development and continuous learning opportunities.
- Relocation assistance provided if applicable.
- Generous paid time off, including annual leave and public holidays.
- Significant opportunity to shape the data-driven future of a leading African conglomerate and contribute to national economic growth.
How to Apply
Interested candidates are invited to submit their comprehensive Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a compelling cover letter outlining their qualifications, experience, and strategic vision for the Chief Data Officer role at Innscor Africa Limited. Please ensure your application highlights your strategic leadership experience in data and analytics. Click on the link below to apply for the job.