Director of Data Intelligence

The Company

Egon Zehnder (www.egonzehnder.com) is the world’s preeminent leadership advisory firm, inspiring leaders to navigate complex questions with human answers. We have more than 560+ consultants who bring together vast industry experience and diverse insight, operating globally through 66 offices in 36 countries spanning across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. We believe that together we can transform people, organizations, and the world through leadership. Our clients range from the largest corporations to emerging growth companies, government and regulatory bodies, and major educational and cultural institutions. We collaborate as One Firm across industries and geographies, leveraging strengths of every colleague and operate as a private partnership independent of any outside interests.

Knowledge Centre India (KCI)

Knowledge Center India (KCI) is the central engine that drives the operational value for the firm. Established in 2004, KCI has evolved over the years from purely operational efficiencies into more value-added service offerings, becoming a true business partner. There are various teams based at KCI that work with Global Offices, Practice Groups, and the Management across all aspects of the firm's business life cycle. With a headcount of more than 500, the center has 5 core teams working including Experts, Research Operations, Visual Solutions, Projects/CV Capture and Digital IT, working round the clock on many mission critical elements.

Your Journey at Egon Zehnder Starts Here

At EZ, you have the opportunity to deliver digital transformation initiatives across the globe for the organization. Our focus on emerging technology solutions along with our commitment to internal career growth and exceptional client value.

Who we are!

We are part of Digital-IT team established 16 years ago in Gurgaon, India to provide technology support and rollout digital initiatives to 60 plus global offices. Digital IT has six key pillars – Collaboration Technology; Functional Technology; Digital Technology; Security & Architecture; Infrastructure & Services, Digital Success to support business and to take lead on digital transformation initiatives with the total strength of 150+ team members across the globe.

The Position

The Director of Data Intelligence plays a key role within Egon Zenhder’s Digital IT function to build, maintain and innovate the Firm‘s data and AI capabilities.  This role will help enable the products and services supporting our Search business and Advisory service offerings by helping to build secure, ethical, innovative proprietary data products.  The Director will also oversee the quality of the end to end data flow from operations from ingestion, integration, transformation to consumption. 

Reports To: Tom Hallissey, VP of Digital 

Requirements

AI & Team Leadership: 

o    Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of data analysts and AI and data specialists. 

o    Foster a culture of innovation and experimentation with AI technologies. 

o    Guide the development and deployment of AI-powered applications and solutions. 

o    Develop and implement a data intelligence strategy that prominently features Azure AI Services (e.g., Cognitive Services,

Machine Learning, Azure OpenAI) and OpenAI APIs. 

o    Provide thought leadership on AI trends and best practices, specifically within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem. 

 Building Proprietary Data Assets  

o    Identify and evaluate opportunities to apply AI and machine learning to solve complex business problems like Candidate Identification, business development.  

o    Lead the adoption of generative AI and other advanced AI techniques for data quality, data analysis and insights generation. 

o    Oversee the implementation and management of Azure AI Services and OpenAI APIs to leverage the Firm’s data insights to create Proprietary Data Products for the firm  

o    Utilize AI and machine learning techniques to analyze large and complex datasets. 

o    Develop AI-powered dashboards and visualizations to communicate insights effectively. 

o    Automate data analysis and reporting processes using AI. 

o    Design and develop AI models and algorithms for predictive analytics, natural language processing, and other applications. 

o    Integrate AI capabilities into existing data intelligence platforms and workflows. 

o    Ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI. 

Digital Operations

o    Leverage AI to create “janitor” scripts to identify and correct data quality issues across the people, project and company domains. 

o    Leverage AI to create business coding logic to support the Search and Advisory service offerings for people and company domains   

o    Coordinate data standards and processes with the Data Lake team 

 Data Standards, Governance & AI Ethics: 

o    Ensure data quality, security, and compliance in AI-driven initiatives. 

o    Implement ethical guidelines and best practices for AI development and deployment. 

o    Monitor and mitigate potential biases in AI models. 

Candidate Profile

Thought leadership, business leadership and people leadership are key skills

The successful candidate must demonstrate the following leadership competencies:​

 Strategic Orientation:  ​

The candidate will demonstrate proven success in developing the function as a strategic contributor to the business. They can quickly comprehend and define business strategy and requirements whilst proactively driving solutions to support the business. They will establish the  functional strategy (“where do we go?”) and derive relevant measures and actions. They will proactively anticipate future business requirements and develop or amend strategic plans to create an edge in the market.​

 Change Management: ​

The candidate will be a change agent with deep understanding and experience in driving culture change and elevating operational performance.  They are a change driver and able to marshal resources to successfully drive initiatives.  They possesses an ability to influence across the organization to get things done, including coaching senior leaders as needed.​

 Results Orientation:  ​

The candidate will have a passion for delivering results and a proven ability to set stretch goals, create and sustain energy, and balance drive for outcomes with a patience in bringing the organization along with change. Additionally, they will be able to lead broadly while willing and able to get into the details, when needed. The ideal candidate has a strong action orientation and is persistent and decisive, with a demonstrated record of accomplishing tasks in a complex environment. They will understand the importance of gaining traction through quick wins without losing sight of long-term needs.​

 Collaboration and Influencing:  ​

The candidate will successfully engage stakeholders across a complex and matrix organization in ideation, decision-making and conflict resolution to drive alignment on goals and objectives.  This leader knows how to develop trust and possesses a strong, yet tactful approach and a collaborative style to develop relationships across all levels, both internally and externally.  They are a confident and persuasive communicator who actively contributes to the broader team and invests in building and maintaining relationships throughout the organization.   They are culturally sensitive with a proven ability to work effectively with colleagues across a truly global organization.​

 People Leadership:  ​

The candidate will have excellent team leadership and people development skills, as evidenced by a track record of hiring, retaining, developing and motivating talent.  In addition to building and motivating a strong team, they will have a proven ability to develop strong people leadership skills throughout the firm’s leadership teams

 Qualifications 

o    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related quantitative field; Master's degree preferred. 

o    Minimum of 15-18 years of experience in data analysis, business intelligence, or AI/machine learning. 

o    Proven experience leading and managing a team of data and AI professionals. 

o    Proven experience building and operating a Data Lake  

o    Strong understanding of AI and machine learning concepts and techniques. 

o    Extensive experience with Azure AI Services (e.g., Cognitive Services, Machine Learning, Azure OpenAI). 

o    Hands-on experience with OpenAI APIs and generative AI models. 

o    Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and SQL. 

o    Experience with cloud-based data platforms and AI development tools. 

o    Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex AI concepts. 

o    Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills. 

o    Understanding of ethical AI principles. 

o    Azure AI certifications. 

o    Experience in professional services is preferred  

o    Experience with data warehousing and ETL processes. 

o    Experience with MLOps. 

Benefits

Benefits which make us unique

At EZ, we know that great people are what makes a great firm. We value our people and offer employees a comprehensive benefits package. Learn more about what working at Egon Zehnder can mean for you!

Benefits Highlights:

·       5 Days working in a Fast-paced work environment

·       Work directly with the senior management team

·       Reward and Recognition

·       Employee friendly policies

·       Personal development and training

·       Health Benefits, Accident Insurance

Potential Growth for you!

We will nurture your talent in an inclusive culture that values diversity. You will be doing regular catchups with your Manager who will act as your career coach and guide you in your career goals and aspirations.

Location

The position is based at Egon Zehnder’s KCI office in Gurgaon, Plot no. 29, Institutional Area Sector 32.

EZIRS Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

Egon Zehnder Information Research & Services (EZIRS) aims for a diverse workplace and strive to continuously lead with our firm values. We respect personal values of every individual irrespective of race, national or social origin, gender, religion, political or other opinion, disability, age and sexual orientation as warranted by basic rights enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. We believe diversity of our firm is central to the success and enables us to deliver better solutions for our clients. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment and supportive work environment, where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves and treated with dignity and respect and there is no unlawful discrimination related to employment, recruitment, training, promotion or remuneration.

Egon Zehnder is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Egon Zehnder provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship status, age, national origin, disability, or any other legally protected status and to affirmatively seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity.