Head of Data & AI

Employment: Full-time Experience: Director Trade Nation is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Head of Data & AI to lead our data and artificial intelligence strategy across the organisation. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role combines two interconnected mandates: enabling self-service access to data across the business and embedding AI into everyday operations. As a multi-jurisdictional CFD and spread betting broker with regulated entities across the UK, Australia, the EU, the Bahamas and Seychelles, we are looking for a leader who can build on our existing data foundations, scale successful initiatives, simplify organically grown processes and drive measurable business impact through AI. The role is weighted approximately 60% towards AI and 40% towards Data , leading a team of Data Analysts while partnering closely with Data Engineering, Compliance and senior business stakeholders. Key Responsibilities Own and drive Trade Nation's AI strategy from opportunity identification through to deployment, adoption and value realisation Redesign business workflows around AI, focusing on practical outcomes rather than tool adoption. Build AI capability through training, prompt libraries, templates and a network of AI champions. Measure and report AI adoption, success metrics and lessons learned. Own the business-facing gold layer of the data warehouse, including metrics, definitions and quality standards. Develop and extend the semantic data model to ensure consistent, trusted access to business data. Champion data self-service, empowering teams to answer their own questions efficiently. Establish and maintain best practices for analytics engineering, including testing, version control, documentation and code reviews. Simplify and improve the quality of the data estate. Deliver proactive insights and recommendations to senior leadership. Requirements Essential Experience Proven leadership experience within Data, Analytics or AI functions. Demonstrable success implementing AI solutions that have transformed business workflows and delivered measurable impact. Strong track record of delivering projects from concept through to production and adoption. Hands-on expertise in SQL, data modelling and analytics engineering. Experience with dbt or similar version-controlled transformation frameworks. Strong understanding of data warehouse architecture and semantic modelling. Experience working with Redshift, Snowflake, BigQuery or similar cloud data platforms. Background in financial services, trading, brokerage or capital markets. Experience leading, coaching and developing analytics teams. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences. Desirable Experience Experience with CFD, spread betting or brokerage platforms. Knowledge of trading systems and back-office financial services data structures. Experience in multi-entity, multi-regulator environments. Exposure to regulatory reporting frameworks such as MiFID II, MiFIR or ASIC requirements. Experience implementing AI solutions within regulated financial services environments. Personal Attributes Curious about how businesses operate and eager to understand commercial processes before recommending solutions. Strategic thinker with a practical, delivery-focused mindset. Self-starter who proactively identifies opportunities and drives change. Comfortable challenging the status quo and being challenged in return. Passionate about enabling others through data and technology. Benefits Competitive salary, and discretionary annual bonus. Private healthcare. Active Lifestyle allowance. Annual leave above minimum entitlement. Up to 3 weeks allowance to work in any location.