Head of Business Intelligence

Head of Business Intelligence We are seeking a visionary, delivery-focused Head of Business Intelligence to define and lead the transformation of reporting, dashboards, and self-service analytics across the JD Group. Reporting to the Group Director of Data & AI, this role is central to creating a scalable, secure, and modern BI estate that accelerates data-driven decision making and supports JD’s ongoing digital and AI-enabled transformation. This role is based out of our Bury office with the expectation that the successful candidate will be in the office 4 days a week, leading a BI function of 15+ within the wider Data & AI organisation, shaping the strategic direction, capability, standards, and operational excellence of BI across the group. You will ensure JD delivers consistent, high-quality dashboards and reporting, while empowering teams across the business with intuitive, governed self-service analytics. Working closely with Data Engineering, Architecture, and Data Science, you will be responsible for ensuring data within our Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environment is surfaced in accessible, performant, and trusted ways. You will play a key role in developing and evolving a modern data ecosystem that enhances decision-making and supports JD’s global growth. 

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership:

Define and deliver JD’s BI strategy, including a clear roadmap for modernisation, standardisation, and consolidation of existing BI solutionsLead the unification of JD’s BI estate (e.g., Power BI, Looker, ThoughtSpot, Oracle BI) into a single enterprise platform aligned to stakeholder needs and long-term strategyEstablish BI architecture principles, including semantic layers, shared datasets, reporting standards, and self-service frameworksAct as a senior leader in cross-functional forums, influencing strategy and decision-making using actionable insight and BI best practices

Leadership & Stakeholder Management:

Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of BI professionals, setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvementEstablish clear progression pathways, focused skill development, and a culture of innovation and accountabilityBuild trusted relationships with senior business leaders, acting as a strategic partner to help teams utilise data effectively and make informed decisionsOwn team capacity planning, workload management, and prioritisation to ensure efficient delivery against business demandChampion BI capability uplift across the organisation, enabling teams to adopt self-service analytics confidently and responsibly

Reporting & Analytics Delivery

Oversee the design, development, and optimisation of dashboards, reporting pipelines, and BI products, ensuring they are accurate, performant, and aligned to business needsEnsure BI solutions meet enterprise standards for reliability, scalability, and user experience while championing best practices in data visualisation and storytellingOwn the lifecycle of BI products, from discovery through delivery to continuous improvement, ensuring ongoing value and adoptionLead quality assurance processes to guarantee data accuracy, consistency, and trustworthiness across all BI outputs Data 

Governance & Best Practice

Partner with Data Engineering, Data Governance, and Data Science to ensure BI consumption layers are built on robust, governed, well-modelled data assetsDrive adoption of standardised semantic models, shared datasets, and governed self-service analytics frameworks across the organisationDefine and maintain BI standards, documentation, and policies to ensure consistency, compliance, and long-term maintainabilityEnsure data quality issues impacting BI products are proactively identified, monitored, and addressed through appropriate governance processes 

Role Objectives & KPIs

Deliver a unified, modern BI platform and reduce duplication across the BI estateIncrease adoption of governed self-service analytics across the organisationImprove the accuracy, trust, and performance of all dashboards and BI productsStrengthen BI capability through team development, standards, and best practice frameworksEnsure BI outputs are built on well-modelled, high-quality, governed data assetsImproved productivity and engagement across Business Intelligence teamsBuild strong senior-level relationships to ensure BI consistently informs strategic decision-making

 Skills and Experience: 

Significant senior-level experience in Business Intelligence leadership roles (Head, Director, or equivalent) within fast-paced, complex organisationsAt least five years’ experience managing and developing high-performing BI teamsDeep expertise in modern BI tools, particularly Power BI and Looker; experience with LookML is advantageousStrong working knowledge of SQL, Python, and Google AnalyticsSolid understanding of data modelling, semantic layers, metadata management, and analytics architectureDemonstrable experience migrating BI platforms or consolidating BI estates with minimal business disruption and strong stakeholder engagementProven ability to coach and mentor technical teams, raising capability and embedding high delivery standardsSkilled at simplifying complexity and embedding standards that balance technical rigour with business value and costFamiliarity with AI-enabled analytics and natural language query tooling to broaden self-service accessibility, enabling less technically trained Business teams to make data-driven decisions at speedEffective communicator who can influence and engage senior stakeholders across business and technology domains who can provide authoritative guidanceExperience in large scale, multi-brand, or global enterprises; retail experience is advantageousDemonstrated ability to learn and adopt new technologies, especially emerging AI capabilitiesStrong leadership and people development skills to develop a growing team of business intelligence professionals and foster the adoption of data-driven decision-making across the business 

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount on JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work. Thank you for your time #JD