Director, Data

Ensemble Travel Group is a leading travel agency consortium of top-tier agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada that was established in 1968. Part of Kensington Tours since June 2022, Ensemble provides members with access to exclusive offers, unique hosted tours, partnerships and superior marketing opportunities with best-in-class suppliers, and proprietary travel platforms such as ADX that offers agents instant commission visibility, one‑click insurance and more to improve efficiencies and earnings. Ensemble maintains offices in Toronto and New York. The Role As the Director of Data & Platform Operations, you will lead and modernize Ensemble’s operational data, internal applications, and platform ecosystem. This role combines leadership with hands‑on technical depth across data engineering & operations, CRM and finance systems, cloud platforms, and enterprise automation. You will define operational standards, own system stability, and drive the adoption of AI‑enabled workflows and automation across the business. You will oversee the reliability of critical business processes including production reporting, profit‑sharing data flows, data ingestion, internal tooling, and identity systems while also shaping the long‑term architecture that supports scalability and automation. This leader must be as comfortable setting strategic direction as they are rolling up their sleeves to solve system, data, or integration issues. What You’ll Do Develop and direct Ensemble’s data and platform operations strategy with a focus on reliability, automation, and AI‑driven process improvement. Build and mentor a high‑performance team across data ingestion, platform engineering, data quality, and internal system administration. Champion an automation‑first mindset, using AI and workflow tools to reduce manual effort and increase operational stability. Data, Systems & Platform Operations Provide hands‑on leadership in the implementation, maintenance, and control of enterprise data systems, including CRM (HubSpot) and finance‑related platforms. Own operational stability for business‑critical internal systems and ensure clear administration, access control, monitoring, and documentation practices. Lead the design and enforcement of governance frameworks for data quality, ingestion architecture, workflow reliability, and integration controls. Oversee day‑1 reporting availability and production data flows across ADX, GRASP, HubSpot, Power BI, and partner systems. Manage cloud operations with both leadership direction and hands‑on involvement (Azure, AWS), ensuring resilient infrastructure, identity/SSO integration, and secure connectivity across systems. Direct platform modernization efforts, including environment configuration, networking, cost optimization, scalability planning, and disaster recovery. AI, Automation & Process Improvement Identify and deploy AI‑enabled solutions that streamline operational tasks, improve data quality, and enhance system performance. Expand the use of automation tools (Power Automate, scripting, AI‑assisted workflow orchestration) to simplify integrations and reduce error rates. Establish monitoring, alerting, and automated remediation processes for data pipelines and internal systems. Cross‑Functional Collaboration & Governance Collaborate with Finance, Marketing, Member Services, Supplier Relations, and Technology teams to translate business requirements into stable and scalable operational systems. Work closely with Engineering teams to ensure seamless connectivity between applications and consistent data flows. Ensure the creation and maintenance of detailed process documentation, standards, and operational runbooks. Define and enforce controls, audit practices, and compliance standards across data and system workflows. What You’ll Need Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field. 7+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, systems administration, platform operations, or enterprise applications, including at least 2 years leading technical teams. Hands‑on experience implementing, maintaining, and governing CRM systems (preferably HubSpot) and finance or revenue‑related systems. Deep experience with ETL/ELT frameworks, data architecture, integration patterns, and operational data workflows preferably with the Microsystem ecosystem including Fabric, Data Factory & Synapse. Strong hands‑on experience with Python, PySpark, SQL, data transformation frameworks and technical proficiency with APIs & integration patterns. Strong technical experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS), including hands‑on configuration, identity management, networking, monitoring, and automation. Experience deploying or managing AI‑driven automations, workflow orchestration, or platform‑wide efficiency improvements. Proven ability to improve operational reliability, reduce manual effort, and implement standardization across systems. Excellent communication, prioritization, and cross‑functional leadership skills. Experience in travel or e‑commerce environments is an asset. Who You Are Thrives working in a technology and KPI driven organization. Able to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment. Highly functional in a fast paced, constantly changing workplace – building plans through iterations from learning on what’s working and not working. Ability to build trust and work through conflict both upwards and downward. We are committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation due to a disability at any stage of our hiring process, please advise us when completing your application. We thank all candidates for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. #J-18808-Ljbffr