Head of Data📣 Job Ad

About Webook and the Role

Webook (******** is Saudi Arabia's leading event ticketing and experience booking platform, recognized for its technology, features, agility, and revenue. The platform serves major events across the Kingdom, with sales exceeding 2 billion. Webook is seeking a Head of Data to join its team in Riyadh, Riyadh Province. This full-time role requires a professional with over 10 years of experience to lead the company's data function end-to-end.

Strategic Vision and Accountability

As the Head of Data, this individual will be the single person accountable for all data-related aspects at Webook, encompassing strategy, team, platform, and delivery. The primary objective is to transform first-party data into reliable decisions today and establish it as a monetizable asset within two to three years. This must be achieved within a regulated environment, adhering to standards such as PDPL, GDPR, and NCA ECC, where data integrity and lawful use are paramount. The role involves building and leading the data team, ensuring platform reliability, and strategically positioning Webook to leverage data and insights beyond ticketing operations.

Data Platform and Engineering Leadership

• Produce Webook’s first documented data strategy and a phased, costed roadmap within 60 days, securing endorsement from the VP Architecture, Platform & AI and the CTO.
• Define the target operating model for the data function, encompassing engineering, analytics, and governance.
• Own the data platform direction, including leading the managed-vs-self-hosted decision and presenting a costed recommendation within 90 days, with a clear cost-control model.
• Ensure all data initiatives align with measurable business outcomes and re-prioritize the roadmap quarterly based on economic shifts.
• Be accountable for reliable, tested, and observable data pipelines, ensuring client-facing dashboards are accurate and current.
• Own the platform direction across the modern data stack (warehouse/lakehouse, transformation (dbt), orchestration, BI, and serving), making pragmatic build/buy and managed/self-host calls.
• Institute FinOps discipline, establishing a clear monthly platform budget with alerting and maintaining cost predictability.
• Establish infrastructure-as-code, data observability, and clear SLAs for data delivery.

Analytics, Data Products, and Monetization

• Establish a single source of truth and a governed metrics/semantic layer, eliminating conflicting metric definitions across the business.
• Elevate the standard of analytical quality for internal decisions and client-facing insights.
• Develop the capability to ship data products, including embedded client analytics, benchmarking, and insight services.
• Partner with product and commercial teams to define Webook’s first paid data/insight product within 12 months, supported by a credible commercial case.
• Own the progression from internal analytics to embedded client insight and productized data, ensuring trust is earned at each step.
• Collaborate with commercial leadership to size, package, and price data and insight products.
• Build the reliability and governance foundations necessary for external data monetization.

Data Governance, Team Leadership, and Culture

• Ensure data handling meets PDPL, GDPR, and NCA requirements, covering classification, access control, residency, and cross-border transfers.
• Stand up a data catalog and data-quality standards with named ownership across data domains.
• Define the lawful-basis and controls framework required before any data product ships.
• Coordinate closely with the Director of InfoSec & Cybersecurity and the GDPR Delivery Lead on data privacy and security.
• Assess, develop, and strengthen the existing data team, setting a clear performance bar and building capability.
• Set quarterly OKRs for direct reports, conduct fortnightly 1:1s, and run monthly team standups with a rolling 90-day delivery view.
• Develop talent and career paths, mentor, and build an engaged, high-performing team, with retention and engagement as explicit success measures.
• Serve as the trusted data partner to the executive team, translating technical work and data risk into commercial language.
• Drive data literacy and a "data as a business enabler" culture, removing silos and shifting data out of being treated as an IT by-product.
• Represent data credibly with clients where insight is part of Webook’s offering.

Qualifications and Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in data leadership, data engineering, analytics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and executing data strategies and roadmaps.
• Proven ability to build, lead, and mentor high-performing data teams.
• Extensive knowledge of modern data stack technologies and architectural patterns.
• Strong understanding of data governance, quality, and privacy regulations (PDPL, GDPR, NCA ECC).
• Experience in driving data monetization initiatives and commercial partnerships.
• Ability to communicate complex data concepts and risks to executive stakeholders.