Director of Data

About HALA

HALA is a prominent fintech company in the MENAP region focused on revolutionizing financial services by creating the future bank tailored to SMEs. The company empowers SMEs to launch, operate, and grow their ventures through advanced financial and tech solutions. Operating across UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, HALA includes entities such as HALA Payments and HALA Logistics that facilitate merchants in digitizing payments and managing sales and operations. Established in 2017, HALA is licensed by the Saudi Arabian Central Bank.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and implement a comprehensive enterprise data strategy in sync with HALA's commercial goals and digital transformation plans.
• Build and maintain a modern, scalable, and secure data environment that supports analytics, artificial intelligence, reporting, and operational decision-making.
• Lead and cultivate teams across Data Engineering, Business Intelligence, Analytics, and Data Governance.
• Supervise the architecture, deployment, and continual improvement of enterprise data infrastructure including data warehouses and data lakes.
• Assure the reliability of data pipelines linking payments systems, merchant platforms, financial applications, CRM, and operational tools.
• Promote automation, scalability, uptime, and performance enhancements of data infrastructure.
• Partner with Engineering teams to define and uphold enterprise data architecture standards.
• Create executive dashboards and KPI reports for senior leaders and Board Committees.
• Set enterprise-wide data governance frameworks, policies, standards, and accountability models.
• Develop and enforce data quality mechanisms, metadata control, master data management, and lifecycle procedures.
• Guarantee accuracy, completeness, consistency, and integrity of data across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with regulations such as SAMA, NCA Cybersecurity standards, Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), and internal governance and security policies.

Required Qualifications and Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related disciplines. Equivalent professional experience may be accepted.
• 8 to 10 years of progressive experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, Business Intelligence, or Data Management.
• At least 5 years in senior leadership roles overseeing enterprise data teams.
• Experience in fintech, banking, or financial services sectors is advantageous.
• Fluent proficiency in English and Arabic languages.
• Strong analytical and data reconciliation abilities.

Core Competencies

• Advanced skills in process optimization and innovation.
• Advanced stakeholder collaboration and engagement capabilities.
• Moderate aptitude for strategic thinking and implementation.
• Moderate business acumen and commitment to operational efficiency.

What HALA Offers

• An inclusive, diverse, and innovative culture supporting remote, in-office, and hybrid work arrangements.
• Competitive compensation including potential equity participation.
• Commitment to growth through personal development, ongoing training, and an annual learning allowance.
• Opportunity to collaborate with a multicultural workforce of over 30 nationalities across seven countries in a dynamic industry.
• Autonomy, mentoring, and challenging objectives encouraging personal and organizational success.
• High degree of responsibility and trust, empowering leaders to take ownership and make impactful decisions.