Lead Data Solutions Strategist

Lead Data Solutions Strategist

Reports To:

Head of Data Strategy & Planning Direct Reports: 2 Data Solutions Strategists Comparable Titles:
Data Strategy Manager | Analytics Solutions Manager | Manager of Data Strategy & Planning

About Independence Pet Holdings (IPH) Established in 2021, Independence Pet Holdings (IPH) is a corporate holding company that manages a diverse and broad portfolio of modern pet health brands and services, including insurance, pet education, lost recovery services, and more throughout North America.

We believe pet insurance is more than a financial product and build solutions to simplify the pet parenting journey and help improve the well-being of pets. As a leading authority in the pet category, we operate with a full stack of resources, capital, and services to support pet parents. Our multi-brand and omni-channel approach includes our own insurance carrier, insurance brands, and partner brands.

Job Summary

The Lead Data Solutions Strategist connects business priorities with data and analytics capabilities, ensuring every initiative entering the data roadmap is clearly framed, strategically justified, and tied to measurable outcomes. This role owns the front door — from initiative intake and discovery through solution framing and prioritization — before handing off to the Data Product Manager for backlog ownership and delivery execution.

Managing a team of two Data Solutions Strategists, this role works across departments — from Claims and Finance to Marketing and Operations — to identify high-value data opportunities, shape solution briefs, and ensure alignment between business sponsors, data architecture, and enterprise governance standards.

Main Responsibilities

• Initiative Intake & Strategic Framing
• Solution Design & Handoff
• People Leadership & Team Development
• Value Measurement & Communication

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data strategy, analytics, solution delivery, or business analysis roles.
• Demonstrated ability to bridge business and technical perspectives — translating ambiguous business needs into structured, actionable data requirements.
• Strong understanding of data management concepts including data modeling, integration, governance, and quality.
• Experience working with modern data platforms such as Azure, Azure Dev Ops, Databricks, and Power BI; familiarity with policy administration systems a plus.
• 2+ years of people management or team leadership experience, including mentoring and managing delivery quality.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills — comfortable presenting to executive audiences and cross-functional teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Analytics, Information Systems, or related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in insurance, financial services, or another regulated industry with complex data environments.
• Familiarity with data governance frameworks and tools (e.g., Collibra, Purview) given close partnership with the Governance function.
• Exposure to Agile/scrum delivery models and product management practices.
• Experience evaluating data products or vendor solutions as part of build vs. buy assessments.
• Pet health, insurtech, or multi-brand portfolio experience is a plus.

Success Indicators

• Business value and ROI:
  Data initiatives delivered through this function are clearly tied to measurable outcomes — claims efficiency, customer retention, pricing accuracy — and that value is visible to executive stakeholders.
• Pipeline quality:
  The initiative pipeline is well-prioritized, clearly framed, and free of ambiguous or low-value requests. Business sponsors understand why their requests ranked where they did.
• Stakeholder trust:
  Business leaders across Claims, Finance, Marketing, and Operations view the strategy team as a trusted partner, not a gatekeeper.
• Team performance:
  Both Data Solutions Strategists are producing high-quality solution briefs with increasing independence and growing in their stakeholder engagement capabilities.
• Handoff quality:
  The Data Product Manager consistently receives well-framed initiatives with clear business context, reducing downstream rework and scope ambiguity.

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