Advanced Analytics Lead

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

SUMMARY

We are a dynamic team, seeking to drive digital engagement with customers by being at the forefront of digital development and innovation. Old Mutual’s longstanding history and unquestionable success in the financial industry, provide a solid foundation for our vision.

The Advanced Analytics Lead is tasked with developing the advanced analytics tools/products and integrating into our Digital platforms. This role is key to align the analytics tools, methodologies and data to business objectives and lead a team of data scientists, analysts and engineers to deliver impactful products that drive customer engagement and facilitate a seamless journey across digital platforms, while building out personalisation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and execute the advanced analytics products, focusing on machine learning and LLM capabilities.
• Data Centralization & Knowledge Management: Gather data from various sources and enable a centralized knowledge management system, integrating diverse data sources into a unified platform.
• Data Aggregation Process: Create processes to aggregate and centralize data from multiple sources for streamlined access and analysis.
• Data Mining & Analysis: Mine and analyze large datasets to generate actionable insights that directly impact business decisions and customer experiences.
• Foresight and Predictive Analytics: Design predictive analytics and foresight models that use machine learning to project insights on future business needs, supporting strategic decision-making to improve revenue and customer satisfaction.
• Data Solution Design: Develop, implement, and support the delivery of robust data solutions, ensuring optimal architecture and data governance standards.
• Data Source Evaluation: Assess and validate the accuracy and effectiveness of new data sources and data collection techniques.
• Advanced Reporting & Metrics Development: Create and refine analytics metrics and reports to support critical business decisions, providing continuous input on optimal data architecture.
• Model Development: Develop data models, including statistical and machine learning models, to drive deeper value from data, with a preference for experience in applying large language models (LLMs).
• Stakeholder Collaboration & Insights Gathering: Partner with stakeholders to identify and address business challenges that data solutions can solve, continuously seeking areas for process automation and improvement.
• Real-Time Analytics Capability: Progressively build and implement real-time data gathering, analytics, and reporting capabilities to enhance agility and decision-making.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• 8+ years in data analytics with 3+ years in a leadership capacity.
• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, or Business Analytics.
• Demonstrated experience in building machine learning models, with exposure to large language models (LLMs) preferred.
• Proven expertise in developing centralized data knowledge management systems and processes for data aggregation.
• Strong background in statistical techniques, predictive analytics, data engineering, and foresight model development.
• Proficiency in Python, R, SQL, and visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI).

Manage a team of business analysts, statisticians, data scientists, and data modelers in using data to provide insights into business performance and suggest areas for and methods of improving operations. Translate the work of the Analytics function into findings for application by the broader business, including for use in strategic decision making and planning. Implement analytical approaches and methodologies and assist in the interpretation of results. OML Roles mapped to this profile are: Senior Manager Analytics and Regional Head: Digital & Data.

Responsibilities

Data and Analytics Strategy

Lead the implementation of data and analytics strategy by developing a data insights integration approach and process aligned to key business processes and decisions. Conceptualise, design and implement strategic plans through the effective management of projects and or team/s through Data Analytics.

Enterprise Business Analysis

Proactively interpret the business need and identify solution recommendations to business problems at a business unit level. Lead the improvement efforts to be made that are within span of control at this level, in line with industry best practice.

Data Exploration and Manipulation

Lead the performance and integration of highly sophisticated analytics to promote understanding of different business areas or critical business challenges/opportunities.

Insights and Reporting

Set and lead execution of the data and analytics reporting plan, creating strategies and templates to report data in a meaningful way. Create, present, and communicate high-impact data and analytics insights and recommendations to critical internal and external stakeholders.

Leadership and Direction

Identify and communicate the actions needed to implement the function's strategy and business plan within the business area or department; explain the relationship to the broader organization's mission, vision, and values; motivate people to commit to these tenets and do extraordinary things to achieve local business goals.

Performance Management

Manage managers and report on performance within the department or area of responsibility; set appropriate performance objectives for direct reports and hold them accountable for achieving these; take appropriate corrective action where necessary to ensure the achievement of annual business objectives.

Business Requirements Identification

Elicit the most complex business requirements using a variety of methods such as interviews, document analysis, workshops, and workflow analysis to express the requirements in terms of target user roles and goals, in order to garner the "why" of the requirements and the benefits of such requirements.

Performance Improvement through Business Intelligence

Make authoritative recommendations about technical or professional solutions that would significantly improve business performance and seek incremental improvement in an agile manner.

Budgeting

Deliver budget plans with guidance from senior colleagues.

Organizational Capability Building

Evaluate the capabilities of staff within the department to identify gaps and prioritize development activities. Implement the organization's formal development frameworks within the area of responsibility. Coach and mentor others to support the development of the organization's talent pool.

Information and Business Advice

Provide authoritative specialist and thought leadership advice to senior managers at the business unit or regional level to enable the implementation of policy, projects, and change initiatives.

Internal Client Relationship Management

Manage relationships with strategic internal clients and act as a business partner to them, building high levels of professional credibility and mutual trust, and mobilizing appropriate internal and/or external resources to support in delivering business strategy and plans.

Data Management

Take responsibility for developing and delivering a key element of the organization's data management system.

Data Commercialisation

Take responsibility for ensuring data and informatin provided to business is of commercial value.

Skills

Action Planning, Adaptive Thinking, Agile Project Management, Business Requirements Analysis, Commercial Acumen, Computer Literacy, Data Compilation, Data Controls, Executing Plans, IT Network Security, Management Reporting, Negotiation, Policies & Procedures, Project Risk Management, Readiness Assessments, Report Review, Workflow Management

Competencies

Builds Effective Teams

Business Insight

Communicates Effectively

Cultivates Innovation

Decision Quality

Develops Talent

Drives Engagement

Drives Results

Education

NQF Level 9 – Masters (Required)

Closing Date

30 January 2025 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

Old Mutual Limited is pro-vaccination and encourages its workforce to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

All prospective employees are required to disclose their vaccination status as part of the recruitment process.

Please refer to the Old Mutual’s Covid-19 vaccination policy for further detail. Kindly note that Old Mutual reserves the right to reinstate the requirement to vaccinate at any point if it is of the view that it is imperative to do so.

The Old Mutual Story!