Lead Data Architect

Mars Petcare consists of five Divisions: Pet Nutrition, Royal Canin, Mars Veterinary Health & Diagnostics and Kinship. The Pet Nutrition division is currently embarking on a 3-year Digital Transformational program that aims to digitise Mars irreversibly.

As part of our Pet Nutrition digital first strategy, our purpose is to establish strong Digital & Data Foundations (DDF) for PN products through transversal foundational technology & data capabilities that enable the creation of scalable fit-for-purpose solutions, deliver superior propositions and fuel integrated supply chain, with Increased agility and reduced cost. Some of the key deliverables we will look to unlock are:

• From siloed, small-scale product performance evaluation to a fully Integrated, data driven performance assessment through real-time predictive solutions; maximising capability and reducing evaluation time & cost by building confidence to drive superior propositions across the portfolio.
• From traditional Innovation and scale-up protocols to innovative digital modelling which enables rapid scenario evaluation, accelerated development and scale-up, with increased agility and reduced costs/resources.
• From dispersed physical quality records to digitalised quality standards, capturing of data and trend predictions, which can be leveraged in order to proactively mitigate emerging risks and avoid non-quality Impacts.
• From fragmented legacy IT systems holding unreliable data to an integrated R&D and SUPPLY digital & data ecosystem with respective sub-domains to enact step-change operational efficiency and maximize business value by confidently utilising trustworthy data.

• Previous experience as a Senior Data Architect essential
• Proven experience as a senior data architect, or similar leadership role in data strategy.
• Strong background in data modelling, architecture frameworks, and modern data integration methods.
• Deep understanding of cloud-based data platforms, analytics solutions, and enterprise data governance.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and align across business and technology functions.
• Experience building and evolving data architectures that scale and adapt to changing business needs.
• Passion for coaching and enabling others with a collaborative leadership approach.
• Knowledge of data security, regulatory compliance, and GDPR best practices
• Previous experience in CPG industry would be ideal

As a Data Architecture Lead in the DDF team, your key responsibilities are as follows:

1. Technical Proficiency:

• Act as a thought leader and trusted advisor, supporting teams in understanding business objectives, data requirements, processes, and enabling technologies.
• Lead the definition and execution of data architecture strategies across multiple business domains and data platforms.
• Drive the development of scalable, integrated data models and architectures across raw, trusted, and harmonized zones.
• Define and execute the data product strategy for assigned business areas in collaboration with analytics and business teams.
• Proactively identify opportunities where data can drive business change and communicate them persuasively to stakeholders.
• Ensure all data architecture efforts are aligned with the broader business vision and strategic priorities and provide architectural oversight across delivery initiatives.
• Collaborate with other data architects to ensure consistent and integrated use of data assets across the organization.
• Identify cross-portfolio data dependencies or issues and lead resolution efforts.
• Provide strategic guidance on data domains, process analysis, data analysis, and modeling techniques.
• Develop and maintain current and future state data architectures, models, and roadmaps.
• Continuously monitor data models to ensure they remain relevant and actionable, adapting as business needs evolve.
• Promote awareness and understanding of data architectures across the organization.
• Mentor and coach solution / data product architects and modelers to build internal data architecture capability.
• Advocate for best practices, tools, and methods related to data architecture.
• Ensure compliance with data protection, security policies, and GDPR.

Key Deliverables Involvement:

• Canonical Models: Define and validate domain-wide data structures and models
• Reference Architectures: Own and maintain reusable architectural patterns
• High-Level Designs (HLDs): Review and approve HLDs from Solution Architects
• Key Design Decisions (KDDs): Own and govern major architectural decisions for alignment and bring it up to the Architecture Review Board and beyond (which I would like to setup going forward)
• Architecture Option Assessments: Lead decisioning on tooling, modelling, and patterns

Tool Responsibilities:

• Define modelling standards and templates within Erwin
• Review and validate high-level models and reference architecture libraries
• Approve changes to shared or enterprise-wide canonical models

2. Learning and Growth; Contribution to Solutions:

• Collaborate with the team to learn and apply the best practices in data architecture.
• Actively participate in projects, gaining experience in developing high-quality, scalable, and sustainable data solutions.
• Stay updated with emerging technologies and trends in data architecture, contributing to the team's knowledge base by sharing insights and ideas.
• Assist in the development of data solutions within the Pet Nutrition data platform, working on challenging aspects under the guidance of senior team members.
• Contribute to the management of data from various divisions to generate valuable data assets related to pets and pet owners.
• Support the maintenance of a semantic and intelligent data layer to contribute to the comprehensive leadership of the data solution within the environment.

3. Collaboration and Communication:

• Collaborate closely with analysts, data scientists, and other team members to understand their requirements and assist in translating them into actionable data solutions.
• Maintain effective communication with the Director of Data Architecture, actively participating in team discussions and sharing ideas to improve platform excellence.

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

#TBDDT

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.