Head Data Exploitation

Job content

This role is responsible and fully accountable for working across Defence and wider with Government and allies to develop a coherent overall view on data demand and its exploitation. It will own the direction and coordination of the data exploitation portfolio across the operational environment, and all business functions that will enable and support Defence outputs such that it is fully optimised and enabled with data capability.

Job Description

This role will ensure that opportunities to optimise delivery, reduce replication, expose and exploit data exemplars are seized and achieved. The imperative for the role is to ensure demands are optimally enabled, continuously hunt for opportunities to exploit defence data, in all its forms, further and more effectively. The role must create and nurture the operational, business, and external partnerships necessary to deliver continuous operational advantage and business value from Defence data assets whilst ensuring appropriate expertise and capability is available to deliver on this demand.

The Head of Data Exploitation must provide strategic leadership that drives data support and compliance through directed engagement with operational user communities, delivering a range of in progress and emerging data exploitation programmes, projects and activities. The role outcomes are operationally critical, time dependant and a fundamental part of the Data strategy for defence. The Head of Data Exploitation will provide the drive and leadership that will ensure data is exploited at scale and speed.

Responsibilities

Effective exploitation of data of all types and for all purposes (decision support, intelligence, data science, analysis etc) is critical to the running of Defence and to its success on military operations. Effective data exploitation has been recognised as mission critical by the Defence Information Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Second Permanent Secretary for Defence. The Head of Data Exploitation role is pivotal to the delivery of the data strategy and to ensuring Defence fully leverages data as a strategic asset.

This is a key strategic and operational leadership role, responsible for the development, continuous improvement, and delivery of Data Office Services to the Defence customer. It is the command facing front door that enables the Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Data Office data professionals to respond to and act on customer demand signals. This role is responsible for understanding, leading and managing Data Exploitation demand across all projects, programmes, and command initiatives. This responsibility extends pan defence and wider, in support of the UK government, its partners, suppliers and allies.

Build Internal Partnerships

Work with Defence and the wider UK intelligence community through engagement and collaboration to build strong partnerships with the front-line commands, Enabling Organisations, and other government departments. Communicate, cohere, and build commitment to a shared data vision, strategy, and exploitation model with relevant senior stakeholders.

Build External Partnerships

Collaborate with the most sensitive and discrete Defence capability areas, their corresponding Partners Across Government (PAGs) and coalition allies (such as NATO and our Five Eyes community) on the data agenda. Build and maintain strong partnerships, communications and commitment to a shared data vision, strategy and exploitation model across the full data capability lifecycle.

Influence Programmes/Projects/Front-Line Commands

The Head of Data Exploitation will lead engagement, establish relationships, and influence programmes, ensuring data alignment in support of the Defence Digital Strategy. They will promote the essential role of data in a singular, secure, modern, and digital environment, as a critical component of the Digital Backbone and as a key enabler of the Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) programme and the Integrated Operating Concept (IOC).

They will identify and understand all operational and business data exploitation opportunities. Lead and manage engagements to ensure that these are directed, governed, and assured in line with the Data Strategy and the CDOs mandate. In summary to identify, manage and own the demand signal for Defence data, (including information and intelligence).

Lead and direct the portfolio of data capability projects needed to support customers and programmes, asserting the authority and influence of the function. This includes developing strategic initiatives and working actively to drive data exploitation and to embed data-enabled change.

Deliver Value Pan Defence

Identify areas where transformational value can be added from; unlocking data, the application of new data approaches, leading and influencing to ensure Defence realises the value, including through machine ready, analytics and artificial intelligence enablement.

Drive operational advantage and deliver business efficiencies by leading the adoption and value realisation of the data strategy. Drive awareness of new central data capabilities that add value and support programmes.

Monitor the value from delivered data capabilities and products and ensure the portfolio of demand realises their expected value

Lead and direct the portfolio, actively champion standardisation, coherence, use of information and spearhead for a digital culture, through education, training, across a set of senior stakeholders and their programmes.