Head of Data

ApprovalMax is award-winning B2B software used by businesses around the world to approve bills and expenses. It streamlines the approval process for decision makers by replacing paper and email approvals with automated workflows. ApprovalMax integrates with platforms such as Xero, QuickBooks Online and Oracle NetSuite to unlock powerful efficiencies for approvers and finance teams. The company is globally recognised and has won’ Xero App Partner of the Year’ four times since 2020 in different countries.

The role

We are looking for a Head of Data to lead our data team and drive data-driven decision-making across the company, including our product data strategy, governance, and insights at ApprovalMax. This role is hands-on today, but also requires leadership ability as the team grows. You will work with a lean team (Data Analysts, Data Engineers, Data Pipeline Engineer and Product Analysts) while directly shaping how we capture, structure, and use data across the company. This role requires a mix of technical expertise, leadership, and stakeholder management to optimize processes, improve data quality, and support strategic initiatives. You will also own the data lake (Azure Data Lake Gen2 + Databricks), ensuring it is the trusted source for both product and business analytics.

 

Key Responsibilities:

 

Product Data & Governance

• Define and enforce data governance standards (accuracy, consistency, compliance).

• Own event tracking and product instrumentation strategy.

• Build and maintain a unified product data model in the data lake.

• Ensure proper documentation and scalable data quality processes.

Data Processes & Infrastructure

• Oversee and optimize ETL/ELT pipelines to ensure data accuracy and efficiency.

• Maintain and improve data warehousing (Azure Data Lake Gen2, Databricks).

• Support data governance and documentation standards.

Analytics & Business Insights

• Deliver self-service dashboards (Power BI, Amplitude) and automated reporting for stakeholders.

• Provide research support for ad-hoc business questions and strategic projects.

• Enable data-driven decision-making across different teams.

Product Analytics

• Deliver insights on product usage, adoption, retention, and engagement.

• Partner with Product Managers and Engineers to guide roadmap priorities with data.

• Conduct deep-dive analyses to uncover growth and UX opportunities.

Data Lake Ownership & Collaboration

• Oversee and optimise ingestion/ETL in collaboration with the Data Pipeline Engineer.

• Ensure the data lake supports both product and business analytics teams.

• Partner with Business Analysts to provide governed, reliable data for company-wide reporting.

Stakeholder & Project Management

• Partner with executives, product managers, and engineers to align analytics with business goals.

• Facilitate planning sessions, Jira task management, and agile workflows (Kanban/Scrum).

• Communicate complex insights in a clear, actionable way to non-technical stakeholders.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and support the current data and product analytics team.

• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance feedback, and career development planning.

• Foster a collaborative, high-performance culture.

• Shape the function’s structure and processes as the team expands.

Technical Expertise

• Advanced SQL (complex queries, optimisation).

• Proficiency in Python (Pandas, APIs, data processing).

• Proven track record with product analytics tools (Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar).

• Experience owning or managing a cloud data lake (Azure Data Lake + Databricks preferred).

• Power BI (expert-level) – building dashboards, DAX, data modeling.

• Familiarity with Scala, Amplitude is a plus.

• Background in data governance and product instrumentation.

• Experience mentoring or managing other analysts/engineers.

Soft Skills & Mindset

• Hands-on builder with strong leadership with the ability to mentor and inspire a team.

• Greedy for data — driven to dig deep, find signals, and quantify impact.

• Detail-oriented with a focus on data accuracy and business impact.

• Process-minded: able to design workflows that scale.

• Result-driven – prioritizes actionable insights over perfect analysis.

• Collaborative: bridges product, engineering, and business analytics.

• Team player – collaborates effectively across departments.

• Strong communicator: translates complex data into actionable insights.

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with predictive modeling, A/B testing, or machine learning.

• Predictive modelling or ML exposure.

• Background in product analytics, marketing analytics, or financial analytics.

• Familiarity with GDPR/CCPA compliance.

What we offer:

• Growing international business with 10,000+ subscribers
• Regular performance-based compensation reviews
• 26 days paid time off
• 1 additional day off for your Birthday
• Remote office assistance
• Service years recognition financial reward