Data Science & AI Enablement Executive

SUMMARY:
Lead the Group's data science, advanced analytics and master data functions

POSITION INFO:
Datonomy Solutions is recruiting a Data Science & AI Enablement Executive on behalf of a major South African retail and distribution group. Reporting to the CIO, you'll lead the Group's data science, advanced analytics and master data functions across retail, supply chain and shared services. You'll set the Group's Data & AI strategy and turn priorities such as demand forecasting, pricing, personalisation and inventory optimisation into solutions that teams use in their day-to-day decisions. Success will be measured through revenue growth, margin improvement, lower operating costs and better use of working capital. What you'll do Define and execute the Group's Data & AI strategy, prioritising investments against measurable business outcomes. Lead analytics, machine learning and AI initiatives from problem definition and business case through to production deployment, adoption and impact measurement. Provide executive leaders with forecasting, scenario modelling and decision-support tools for commercial and operational planning. Build and develop multidisciplinary teams across data science, advanced analytics and master data management. Partner with Enterprise Architecture, IT and business leaders to scale data and AI solutions and oversee model deployment, monitoring and lifecycle management. Set enterprise standards for data governance, master data and data quality. Embed responsible AI practices and ensure compliance with POPIA and relevant regulatory requirements. Minimum requirements A postgraduate degree in Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering or a related discipline. At least 12 years' experience in data science, AI, analytics or master data management. A track record of leading enterprise data science and master data teams and executing a Data & AI strategy across multiple business functions. Proven experience deploying predictive and prescriptive models into production, with examples of adoption and measurable business impact. Strong technical grounding in statistical modelling, machine learning, Python, R, SQL and cloud data and AI platforms. Experience influencing executive stakeholders and translating complex analysis into clear business decisions. Advantageous experience Retail, omnichannel, FMCG, healthcare or pharmacy analytics. MLOps, AI platform scaling, cloud data platform modernisation or integration with ERP, POS, supply chain and customer platforms. Personalisation, recommendation engines or loyalty analytics.