Head of Data Solution

Data is a key part of AXA's journey "from Payer to Partner", and the transformation of the organisation as a Data Driven company. To succeed in this journey, AXA Partners Data Strategy has been organised around 6 pillars: Enable Business initiatives, Protect Data, Organise and Govern initiatives, Manage Data, Empower People on Data, Deliver and operate Data Platforms.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Steer and develop a distributed team of data professionals across Spain, France and UK, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability
• Lead, mentor, and manage the day-to-day operations of the Data Solution team across three countries.
• Build technical capabilities across the team in Azure Databricks, PySpark, SQL, and modern data practices through structured guidance and knowledge-sharing.
• Foster a collaborative and engaging team environment that leverages individual areas of expertise.
• Prioritize work and delegate effectively, fostering ownership within the team while retaining ultimate accountability for all deliveries.

Strategic Technical Partnership & Solutioning

• Act as the primary technical partner to the Global Product Owner (GPO), translating business requirements and strategic goals into robust and feasible technical solutions.
• Advise on technical feasibility, development effort, and architectural best practices to help prioritize the analytics roadmap.
• Propose the best technical solution for each business need, ensuring alignment with long-term strategy and platform capabilities.

Technical & Architectural Ownership

• Provide expert technical guidance to the team, challenging and validating the design of data solutions before development begins.
• Define, implement, and enforce development best practices for version control (Git), documentation, and coding standards.
• Organise and conduct regular code reviews to ensure quality, performance, and maintainability.
• Act as the ultimate guarantor for the reliability and robustness of all data solutions delivered by the team.

Financial Management & FinOps

• Define the team's technical roadmap, enforce best practices, and own the team's cloud cost footprint (FinOps) to balance performance with efficiency.
• Own and optimise the team's cloud cost footprint across Azure and Databricks.
• Drive a cost-awareness culture within the team to balance performance with efficiency.
• Report on spend trends and optimisation efforts to leadership.

Accountable Innovation & Governance

• Foster a culture of responsible innovation, encouraging the team to explore and pilot emerging technologies, including the pragmatic use of Generative AI.
• Ensure that while experimenting, the team remains accountable for the quality and timeliness of their deliveries.
• Ensure all delivered solutions adhere to the data governance, security, and compliance standards defined by Data Domain Owners and the Central Data Office.
• Follow and influence these governance policies by providing technical feedback and embedding them into the development lifecycle.

What you'll bring:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
• About 8 years of experience in the data field.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams (e.g., as a Chapter Lead, Tech Lead, or Data Manager), managing distributed, multi-cultural teams.
• Cloud & Big Data Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in the Azure data stack, particularly Azure Databricks, with strong, hands‑on skills in PySpark and SQL.
• Business Intelligence: Strong working knowledge of Power BI architecture, performance optimisation, and design best practices. Able to review and guide BI solutions for quality and maintainability.
• Data Architecture: Solid understanding of data warehousing principles, dimensional modelling (Kimball, star schema), and modern data architecture patterns.
• Software Engineering Mindset: Strong command of software development best practices, including version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing.
• Strategic Partnership & Influence: Exceptional ability to build strong, collaborative partnerships with business and technical stakeholders (GPO, Data Domain Owners, Central Data Office). Capable of influencing without direct authority and negotiating priorities effectively.
• Business Acumen & Pragmatism: A strong understanding of how data solutions create business value. The ability to make pragmatic decisions that balance technical excellence, speed‑to‑market, and financial constraints.
• Financial Management (FinOps): A strategic mindset regarding cloud costs. Experience owning a budget or cost centre, driving a cost‑aware culture, and reporting on financial e