Head of Data & AI - Customer & Omnicommerce Unit (f/m/d)

Reporting directly to the Head of Unit Customer & Omnicommerce, you will drive the unit’s overarching Data & AI strategy. Your primary mission is to orchestrate our transformation into a fully AI-Powered enterprise, combining strategic vision, robust data governance, and operational execution.

Acting as a trusted business partner, you will unlock value across all customer touchpoints by accelerating the adoption of next-generation AI capabilities, modernizing our data stack, and scaling analytics across the organization.

Key Objectives

• Strategic Alignment & AI Acceleration: Fast-track next-generation AI capabilities, focusing on Agentic Commerce, Algorithmic Ranking, Retail Media, and predictive tools.

• Data Governance & Trust: Establish an enterprise-grade Federated Semantic Layer, transition to objective data governance, and own Consent Management, Privacy tracking, and behavioral analytics migrations.

• Operational Excellence: Simplify the data ecosystem by decommissioning over 50% of legacy BI dashboards and achieving 100% compliance with global Data Governance maturity standards.

• Analytics Democratization: Shift from static reporting to conversational AI analytics, enabling self-service discovery for tens of thousands of users.

Key Responsibilities

1. Data Strategy, Architecture & Tooling

• Architect and scale the overarching Semantic Layer across all business domains to create a single source of truth for critical KPIs.

• Manage end-to-end vendor lifecycles (RFPs, negotiations, migrations) for Behavioral Analytics and Consent Management platforms.

• Drive aggressive decommissioning of legacy analytics environments to fund automated data products.

2. Business Partnership & AI Delivery

• Serve as the strategic bridge between Business Units, the central Data Center of Excellence, and Product teams.

• Deploy top-funnel AI initiatives, including hyper-contextual search engines, advanced recommendation engines, Next Best Action algorithms, and personalization at scale.

• Act as the primary Data & AI representative for global business performance steering.

3. Team Leadership & Organizational Design

• Restructure and lead cross-functional data teams spanning 360 Analytics, Data Governance, and Privacy.

• Foster a high-performing culture through continuous mentoring and leadership development.

• Lead complex change management initiatives, including organizational streamlining, geographic hub strategies, and talent retention.

Candidate Profile

• Technical & Professional Expertise: Deep domain knowledge in Data Analytics, Machine Learning, and Generative AI frameworks. Hands-on understanding of modern data stacks (e.g., Databricks, dbt, Core Data Mart modeling).

• Strategic & Vendor Management: Proven track record leading large-scale, multi-million-dollar tech transformations, executing complex RFPs, and conducting technical/legal audits.

• Leadership & Impact: Ability to challenge the status quo, translate complex technical concepts for C-level executives, and deliver measurable ROI through organizational change.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Flexible Working: 2 days of remote work per week.

• Office Choice: Opportunity to work from any of Decathlon Digital’s hubs in Lille, Paris, or Amsterdam.

• Workplace Tech: Hardware suited to your role and aligned with our corporate social responsibility commitments (Mac, Windows, or Chromebook).

• Global Network: A local project team embedded within a global network (offering international career growth opportunities).

• Learning & Development: Comprehensive skill development and guidance (diverse projects, technical certifications within your first year, internal/external training programs, etc.).

• Compensation Package: Competitive package including employee stock ownership and monthly/quarterly performance bonuses.