Director, Finance Data Strategy

The Experience:

As a member of the Controllership organisation, the Director of Finance Data Strategy & Stewardship will lead the end-to-end strategy, governance, and lifecycle management of Finance data across the enterprise. This role overs... (continued) ... This Director will also manage and develop a dedicated Data Governance and Reporting Controls team located in India, responsible for data stewardship, SOX-related data certification, and support for Finance reporting.

Description:

The Experience:

As a member of the Controllership organisation, the Director of Finance Data Strategy & Stewardship will lead the end-to-end strategy, governance, and lifecycle management of Finance data across the enterprise. This role overs... (continued) ... This Director will also manage and develop a dedicated Data Governance and Reporting Controls team located in India, responsible for data stewardship, SOX-related data certification, and support for Finance reporting.

What You'll Actually Be Doing:

• Data Strategy & Intake Management
• Define and drive the Finance data strategy, aligned with business priorities and downstream reporting needs.
• Oversee the onboarding of new data sources into the Finance data lake, ensuring scalability, traceability, and alignment with enterprise architecture.
• Partner with Finance, IT, and product teams to assess new data requirements and convert them into actionable data delivery roadmaps.
• Data Modeling & Architecture
• Lead the design of enterprise-grade Finance data models and semantic layers to support analytics, regulatory reporting, and operational Finance needs.
• Ensure metadata standards, master data alignment, and consistent data definitions across systems.
• Collaborate with data architects and engineering teams to ensure robust and efficient data pipelines.
• Data Governance & Controls
• Establish and enforce data governance standards, policies, and stewardship processes for Finance data.
• Oversee the definition and monitoring of data quality rules, issue management, and remediation workflows.
• Ensure compliance with SOX controls and certification requirements related to financial data and reporting.
• Leadership of the India Data Governance Team
• Lead and develop a team in India responsible for data governance, data quality operations, and stewardship activities.
• Oversee processes related to Finance reporting controls, SOX testing support, and data certification.
• Foster a culture of accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Cross-Functional & Executive Partnership
• Work closely with Finance, Accounting, FP&A, IT, Audit, and Data Engineering leaders to align on priorities and data needs.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior executives on Finance data risks, data quality, and opportunities to improve reporting and insights.
• Drive alignment between business requirements and technical implementation across the data value chain.
• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
• Establish KPIs, dashboards, and operating mechanisms to measure data quality, controls effectiveness, and team performance.
• Identify and implement process improvements, automation opportunities, and best practices in data governance and data delivery.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and regulatory trends shaping Finance data management.

You're Our Person If:

• 12–15+ years of experience in data management, data governance, Finance data strategy, or related fields.
• Strong understanding of Finance processes, accounting flows, and financial reporting requirements; experience in audit or accounting is a plus.
• Proven experience designing data models, managing data lakes, and overseeing data ingestion and transformation.
• Leadership experience managing global or offshore teams, ideally in shared-services or GCC environments.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence executives and cross-functional partners.