Lead Data Architect

Lead Data Architect

Mars is a family-owned business with more than $35 billion in global sales. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, BEN’S ORIGINAL®, and COCOAVIA®. Alongside our consumer brands, we proudly take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA™ and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our 130,000 Diverse Associates to act daily towards creating the world we want tomorrow.

Role Overview

Mars Petcare consists of five Divisions: Pet Nutrition, Royal Canin, Mars Veterinary Health & Diagnostics and Kinship. The Pet Nutrition division is currently embarking on a 3-year Digital Transformational program that aims to digitise Mars irreversibly.

As part of our Pet Nutrition digital first strategy, our purpose is to establish strong Digital & Data Foundations (DDF) for PN products through transversal foundational technology & data capabilities that enable the creation of scalable fit-for-purpose solutions, deliver superior propositions and fuel integrated supply chain, with Increased agility and reduced cost. Some of the key deliverables we will look to unlock are:

• From siloed, small-scale product performance evaluation to a fully Integrated, data driven performance assessment through real-time predictive solutions; maximising capability and reducing evaluation time & cost by building confidence to drive superior propositions across the portfolio.
• From traditional Innovation and scale-up protocols to innovative digital modelling which enables rapid scenario evaluation, accelerated development and scale-up, with increased agility and reduced costs/resources.
• From dispersed physical quality records to digitalised quality standards, capturing of data and trend predictions, which can be leveraged in order to proactively mitigate emerging risks and avoid non-quality Impacts.
• From fragmented legacy IT systems holding unreliable data to an integrated R&D and SUPPLY digital & data ecosystem with respective sub-domains to enact step-change operational efficiency and maximize business value by confidently utilising trustworthy data.
• As a Data Architecture Lead in the DDF team, your key responsibilities are as follows:
• Act as a thought leader and trusted advisor, supporting teams in understanding business objectives, data requirements, processes, and enabling technologies.
• Lead the definition and execution of data architecture strategies across multiple business domains and data platforms.
• Drive the development of scalable, integrated data models and architectures across raw, trusted, and harmonized zones.
• Define and execute the data product strategy for assigned business areas in collaboration with analytics and business teams.
• Proactively identify opportunities where data can drive business change and communicate them persuasively to stakeholders.
• Ensure all data architecture efforts are aligned with the broader business vision and strategic priorities and provide architectural oversight across delivery initiatives.
• Collaborate with other data architects to ensure consistent and integrated use of data assets across the organization.
• Identify cross-portfolio data dependencies or issues and lead resolution efforts.
• Provide strategic guidance on data domains, process analysis, data analysis, and modelling techniques.
• Develop and maintain current and future state data architectures, models, and roadmaps.
• Continuously monitor data models to ensure they remain relevant and actionable, adapting as business needs evolve.
• Promote awareness and understanding of data architectures across the organization.
• Mentor and coach solution / data product architects and modelers to build internal data architecture capability.
• Advocate for best practices, tools, and methods related to data architecture.
• Ensure compliance with data protection, security policies, and GDPR.

Knowledge and Experience:

• Previous experience as a Senior Data Architect essential
• Proven experience as a senior data architect, or similar leadership role in data strategy.
• Strong background in data modelling, architecture frameworks, and modern data integration methods.
• Deep understanding of cloud-based data platforms, analytics solutions, and enterprise data governance.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and align across business and technology functions.
• Experience building and evolving data architectures that scale and adapt to changing business needs.
• Passion for coaching and enabling others with a collaborative leadership approach.
• Knowledge of data security, regulatory compliance, and GDPR best practices
• Previous experience in CPG industry would be ideal.

Mars is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.