Head of Data

About the role

CreateFuture is fast becoming the UK's most recognisable digital consultancy, with years of experience building digital products and services for major organisations whilst putting our people first. We have offices in the centre of Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, and London as well as remote employees located throughout the country. We are a team of creators - whether that's code, project plans, go to market strategies, culture initiatives, marketing campaigns, large language models or people policies. And together, with our clients, we create the future. This has seen us collaborate and partner across a multitude of industries and sectors, with the likes of PayPal, adidas, Natwest, FanDuel and Money Saving Expert, to name just a few. Our reputation as a partner determined to deliver high-quality, robust and thoughtful products has enabled us to scale to over 500 people in the last couple of years, and it is our amazing people - along with the safe, supportive and friendly culture we have built - that makes CreateFuture a great place to work. Don't just take our word for it though, we have been recognised by Best Workplaces UK multiple years in a row - across a number of categories - and our employee exit rate is astonishingly low. Join us on our journey... Let's create something awesome, together, today. About the role and team: As Head of Data at CreateFuture, you are accountable for the direction, evolution, and performance of our Data capability, reporting directly to the Director of Cloud & Data Engineering. This is a senior, high-impact leadership role with significant scope and autonomy, designed for an individual operating at the very top end of Capability Lead expectations. You will be responsible for owning the Data portfolio end‑to‑end, spanning Data Engineering, Analytics, Data Science, Machine Learning, MLOps, and AI‑enabled delivery, and for materially raising the bar on technical excellence, commercial impact, and market relevance. The role goes well beyond stewardship of an existing practice. You will play a visible consulting leadership role with clients, working directly with senior stakeholders to shape, design, and deliver high-impact Data & AI solutions. You will help clients translate data, analytics, and AI capabilities into tangible business outcomes, bringing both strategic insight and deep technical credibility to complex engagements. Alongside this client-facing leadership, you will evolve our strong Data Engineering-led capability into a differentiated, outcome-led Data & AI practice, aligned to CreateFuture's vertical strategy and AI-driven software delivery lifecycle. You will combine consulting leadership, technical authority, hands-on delivery involvement, and disciplined capability development. You will remain accountable to the Director of Cloud & Data Engineering for strategy alignment, delivery quality, and commercial performance, while acting as a senior Data & AI advisor across key accounts and strategic bids. Success in this role will be measured through client impact, revenue growth, margin performance, delivery excellence, and visible proof of Data & AI value in the market.

Responsibilities

• Data & AI Strategy Execution
• Own and execute CreateFuture's Data & AI strategy, in alignment with the wider Build strategy and the AI‑driven SDLC.
• Translate strategic themes into clear, actionable roadmaps across:
• Data Engineering & platforms
• Analytics & insight
• Data Science & applied ML
• MLOps, model lifecycle management, and AI enablement
• Evolve the capability from a predominantly generalist delivery model into a sharper, more opinionated Data & AI offer, with particular depth in Tier 1 verticals (Financial Services and iGaming).
• Define and maintain reference architectures, standards, and patterns that improve delivery speed, quality, and margin.
• Ensure Data is a visible, credible pillar of CreateFuture's AI‑led delivery model - internally and externally.
• Vertical Propositions & Client Value
• Work with vertical and commercial leadership to develop proof‑led, outcome‑focused Data & AI propositions aligned to real industry problems.
• Ensure propositions are framed explicitly in the language of Quicker, Better, Leaner.
• Sponsor the creation of Data & AI IP, accelerators, and reusable assets that support repeatability and premium pricing.
• Act as senior Data & AI SME on strategically important bids, shaping both technical approach and delivery model.
• Support senior client engagements as a trusted technical advisor, particularly where Data, ML, or AI adoption is central to value.
• Technical Authority & Delivery Assurance
• Act as the primary technical authority for Data & AI delivery across CreateFuture.
• Lead or directly contribute to high‑risk, high‑value, or strategically important engagements.
• Set clear expectations for engineering, analytics, and ML quality, ensuring consistency across teams and projects.
• Ensure advanced analytics and AI tec

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