Head of Data Science

We are searching for an experienced Head of Data Science at our Grayston Drive Sandton facility.

Responsible for building an analytical strategy and driving a capability and team that is responsible for delivering solutions to business with insight from understanding needs and analysing massive amounts of structured and unstructured data. This role is intended to help shape strategies; guide decision making and provide solutions that meet specific business needs and goals.

• Drives the strategy, adoption, and continuous improvement of advanced analytics, data science, and decisioning capabilities across the business.
• Leads the implementation of Big Data capabilities, analytics frameworks, machine learning solutions, and best practices across Data Engineering, Data Science, and Decisioning functions.
• Researches, designs, develops, and deploys scalable data analytics and machine learning solutions to address business challenges and enable improved outcomes.
• Develops and implements advanced algorithms and analytical models to extract value from complex data sources.
• Provides strategic input into BluNOVA’s Analytics and Decisioning strategy and identifies opportunities to leverage data capabilities for business growth.
• Drives innovation by adopting best-in-class technologies, statistical analysis techniques, modelling approaches, and decisioning solutions.
• Mentors and develops team members through coaching, knowledge sharing, and continuous capability building within the Data Science space.
• Promotes collaboration across business functions to support delivery-focused and production-driven solutions.
• Applies strong leadership, management, and commercial expertise to maximise value creation from data initiatives.

• Identifies and supports the sourcing of new data sources and features required to deliver business solutions.
• Collaborates with stakeholders to identify opportunities for leveraging organisational data to support analytics and solution delivery.
• Assesses data quality, accuracy, and effectiveness of new data sources and ensures seamless integration into data pipelines and structures.
• Ensures new data implementations do not negatively impact existing data products and manages changes appropriately.
• Enables data exploration, data-driven storytelling, and availability of relevant datasets for analytics and business applications.

• Builds and develops data modelling capabilities within the BluNOVA team through mentorship, coaching, and knowledge sharing.
• Designs and develops fit-for-purpose data models, algorithms, and analytical solutions to support business requirements.
• Collaborates with Data Engineers and Software Developers to maintain scalable analytics environments for modelling, exploration, and productionisation.
• Architects data structures and feature sets that enable advanced analysis, large-scale processing, and secure data management.
• Uses modelling techniques to optimise solution development, decision-making, and customer experience.
• Implements monitoring processes to track model performance, accuracy, and ongoing effectiveness.

• Develops analytical datasets, predictive models, and machine learning solutions to improve business outcomes.
• Validates models, measures accuracy, and continuously improves algorithms and analytical approaches.
• Communicates complex analytical insights clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ensures analytical processes are transparent, reproducible, and aligned with best practices.
• Operates within cloud-based analytics environments while ensuring efficiency and cost optimisation.
• Provides Data Science leadership and promotes a data-driven culture across the business.

• Ensures data usage aligns with regulatory, security, and information governance requirements.
• Collaborates with the Information Security Officer (ISO) to maintain compliance with access management, data protection, and control policies.
• Assesses appropriate data storage and usage requirements, including…