Head of Data and Insight

Job Title : Head of Data and Insight
Department : Strategy, Transformation & Insights
Reports to : Executive Director of Strategy & Operations
Direct report(s) : Analytics & Business Intelligence Manager and Research & Insights Manager
Salary Banding : c. £80,000 – £85,000 per annum
Job Level : Translate
Location : HQ - This role is contractually based at Allianz Stadium, offering some flexibility to work from home)
Employment Type : Permanent
Working Hours : This is a full-time role, covering 35hrs per week

Application Information:

• Please submit an anonymised CV and cover letter (i.e. exclude personal details).
• The closing date for applications is 5pm on Thursday 17 October.
• The RFU reserves the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.
• Applications may be considered whilst this vacancy is advertised.

The Role:

We are looking for a Head of Data and Insight to join our Strategy, Data and Insights team to develop and lead the RFU's data and insights strategy, ensuring that data-driven decision-making is at the core of our organisation.

This role is responsible for defining how we collect, analyse, and interpret data across the RFU, providing insights that drive participation improvement, fan engagement, and commercial growth. You will work closely with key stakeholders, across the RFU and externally (including but not limited to volunteers, commercial and other partners and agencies), to translate data into actionable strategies that enhance the growth of the game.

Some key responsibilities include:

Data Strategy and Governance:

• Create and lead a data strategy that’s in-line with the RFU’s purpose, strategy and goals.
• Set up solid data governance frameworks to keep our data accurate, consistent, and secure.
• Be a champion for data literacy and foster a culture where data drives our decisions.

Data Roadmap:

• Be the responsible owner for the RFU’s overall Data Roadmap, co-ordinating the demand/pull requests from the business and ensure the supply/push can achieve the business objectives.
• Communicate the Data Roadmap and articulate the benefits realisation to senior internal and external stakeholders.

Data Collection and Management:

• Lead the charge in gathering data from various sources, including our internal systems, external databases, and the latest technology.
•  Partner with Technology and Data Architecture to ensure our data infrastructure is strong, scalable, and ready for storage, processing, and analysis.
• Ensure that data from different sources comes together smoothly and is easily accessible.

Analytics and Insights:

• Develop and maintain KPIs and dashboards to help us understand how we’re performing as an organisation.
• Make sure our teams are aligned and performing in line with our strategic goals.
• Turn complex data into clear, actionable insights, and share these findings with senior leadership and other key stakeholders.
• Provide strategic leadership for research projects that drive deeper understanding of our key customer groups.

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication:

• Work closely with stakeholders to understand their data needs and provide the insights that support their strategic ambitions.
• Present relevant data-driven recommendations to senior leadership and other stakeholders across the RFU.  
• Help stakeholders become more self-sufficient with data by educating and empowering them to use it effectively.
• Work closely with external rugby organisations to ensure that there is alignment and efficiency where appropriate in terms of data, research and reporting

Lead the Data and Insights Team:

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of data analysts and insights managers.
• Offer training and support to other departments to boost their data literacy and use of analytics tools.
• Encourage collaboration within the data and insights team and with the wider organisation.

Compliance:

• Make sure all our data activities are in line with legal and regulatory requirements, including data privacy laws like GDPR.
• Advocate for the ethical use of data, especially when it comes to player performance and health information.

Other:

• Actively collaborate with colleagues to contribute to the development and delivery of the current strategic, business and operational plans.
• Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.

Essential:

• Deep understanding of data analytics, statistics, and the ability to interpret complex data sets.
• Knowledge of data architecture, data governance, and best practices for data security, quality, and integration.
• Expert user of data tools (e.g., SQL, Python, R, Tableau) and familiarity with emerging technologies like machine learning, AI, and big data platforms.
• Strong storytelling and analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends and communicate this to colleagues at all levels.
• Demonstrable experience of compiling and presenting data analysis showing a good understanding of patterns and trends.
• Experience of developing close working relationships across multi-function teams.
• Confidence and experience in dealing with a wide range of people and building relationships across organizations with diverse priorities.
• Identifies, develops and maintains relationships and partnerships internally and externally with the ability to influence upwards and with peers. 
• Highly self-motivated and able to work under their own direction to achieve stated objectives within the necessary timescales and demonstrate a determination to follow through tasks or projects to completion.
• Strong problem solving, decision making and conflict management and resolution skills
• Ability to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders
• Strong organisational and detail skills with an ability to effectively manage a specific area of responsibility (e.g. budgets, training, processes, projects). 
• Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions.
• Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours.

Desirable: 

• Degree level education or higher desirable, but not essential.
• Ability to deliver administration and coordination, alongside strategic thinking and influence.
• An effective team member, with sufficient flexibility and willingness to take on roles outside their normal functional responsibility when required.
• Mentoring qualification and/or sport development qualification.
• Some understanding of the local sporting landscape and sport development, and an interest in sport is desirable but not essential.

Additional Information:

• We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitment@rfu.com. 
• During your application, we will ask questions about your identity. This information is considered highly confidential and will not be seen by hiring managers. You can find out more about why we ask these questions here.
• If you'd like to download the full job description, please click here.

About England Rugby
England Rugby or Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby in England. We deliver three core activities, and our purpose is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations.

Our core activities are:

Rugby – supporting rugby from grassroots to performance level

Commercial – building partnerships and hosting matches and events

Running the business - ensuring our organization and people can thrive

Our Culture

At England Rugby, one of our core objectives is to drive rugby union to better reflect the diversity of society. We are aware that rugby, and sports in general, has not always been as welcoming an environment for everyone as we would like, and we are working hard to make rugby a more inclusive space for all identities.

We believe hiring people from underrepresented groups into positions at all levels is vital to creating spaces and initiatives that better support those identities. We would love to see applications from disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, people from ethnically diverse communities, people of faith, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and women and non-binary people.

We know that representation is more than just getting people through the door, it’s about keeping people by responding to structural barriers relating to identities and valuing the insights that different lived experiences bring. We have network groups that provide peer-to-peer support and drive forward change internally. We support colleagues to develop, and each colleague has access to a personal coaching platform that can provide same-day one-to-one coaching. We are pushing ourselves to create a more inclusive culture every day through role modelling our BACK behaviours which stand for Brave, Accountable, Collaborative and Keep improving.

We know that flexible working is important to our colleagues, so our guiding principles are designed to support everyone to work in the way that suits them, their teams, and the organization in the best way.

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitment@rfu.com.

What we can offer you

We are proud of the range of benefits we can provide:

• A variety of corporate discounts.
• Priority access to purchase match tickets
• 25% discount in Rugby Store and EnglandRugby.com
• 25 days of annual leave and your birthday day off
• Free access to the stadium gym
• Life assurance of 4x your basic salary, income protection scheme and Employee Assistance Programme that offers anonymous and confidential, emotional and practical support 24/7
• After 3 months, you will be enrolled in our Aviva pension scheme and we will match and double your contribution up to 10%
• Ride-to-work scheme, eyecare vouchers and season ticket loans

About Our Team At England Rugby, we want to hear our employees’ thoughts, ideas and feedback on our strategies, new initiatives and our work environment. That’s why we have quarterly meetings called ‘the Voice’ where various topics are discussed, in addition to regular surveys, including our annual D&I survey. We are always striving to create the best environment for our colleagues, and we are proud to present some of our most recent feedback from Feb 2022:

• 85% feel motivated to perform their role to the best of their ability
• 83% feel supported by their Manager
• 90% agree or strongly agree that their Manager empowers and trusts them to deliver while working from home
• 83% feel informed and connected with the organisation

If you would like to find out more about our diversity and inclusion work or the culture at England Rugby, please visit our website here: https://www.englandrugby.com/about-rfu/rfu-policies/diversity-and-inclusion/our-approach