AVP Head of Data Management

Description

Position Summary

IT Executive responsible for Data Management, Analytics & Governance and is the enterprise leader accountable for the strategy, execution, and operational excellence of the company’s data assets. Reporting directly to the CIO, this role owns enterprise data platforms, analytics, data governance, data quality, and information management capabilities that enable business insight, regulatory compliance, and AI-driven decision-making.

This executive establishes a trusted, governed, and scalable data foundation, ensuring data is treated as a strategic asset across the enterprise while balancing innovation, risk management, and operational reliability.

This executive acts as the Business Relationship Manager responsible for overseeing IT alignment with the Actuarial staff of the company.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Data & Analytics Strategy

• Define and execute the enterprise data, analytics governance and data governance strategy aligned to business and technology priorities.
• Own the vision for data architecture, data platforms, analytics tooling, reporting, and advanced analytics, including enterprise data repositories to be leveraged with ML/AI.
• Partner with business executives to translate business strategy into measurable, data-driven outcomes.

Data Management & Architecture

• Provide executive accountability for enterprise data warehouses, data marts, data pipelines, extracts, and feeds.
• Oversee data architecture standards, metadata management, lineage, and lifecycle management.
• Ensure scalability, performance, reliability, and cost efficiency of enterprise data platforms.

Analytics & Business Intelligence

• Lead delivery of enterprise reporting, dashboards, self-service analytics, and advanced analytics capabilities.
• Ensure analytics solutions meet business needs for accuracy, timeliness, and usability.

Data Governance, Quality & Risk

• Establish and enforce enterprise data governance frameworks, policies, and standards.
• Ensure high levels of data quality, consistency, and integrity across systems.
• Partner with Compliance, Risk, Legal, and Security to meet regulatory, privacy, and audit requirements.

Leadership & Operating Model

• Lead a multi-layer organization of directors, managers, and technical leaders across data engineering, data support, analytics, and both data and report governance.
• Set clear objectives, performance standards, and talent development plans.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Financial & Vendor Management

• Lead vendor strategy, contract management, and supplier performance across data technologies.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Science, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 10+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, with deep expertise in:
  • Enterprise data management and architecture
  • Analytics and business intelligence platforms
  • Data governance and data quality
• 10+ years of people leadership, including managing leaders of leaders and large, complex teams.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale, multi-year enterprise initiatives.
• Strong executive communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in regulated industries (e.g., financial services, insurance).
• Demonstrated success enabling advanced analytics and AI/ML capabilities.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to bridge technology and enterprise outcomes.
• Familiarity with the Microsoft data stack including both legacy on prem and cloud solutions.

Success Measures

• Trusted, high-quality enterprise data foundation
• Increased business adoption of analytics and insight
• Strong governance with reduced data risk
• On-time, on-budget delivery of strategic initiatives
• High-performing, engaged data and analytics organization

Why Join Us.

MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We welcome all persons to apply.

At MassMutual Ascend we focus on ensuring fair, equitable pay by providing competitive salaries, along with incentive and bonus opportunities for all employees.  Your total compensation package includes either a bonus target or in a sales-focused role a Variable Incentive Compensation component.  For more information about our extensive benefits offerings please check out our Total Rewards at a Glance..