Head of Data in Newport

We're at a pivotal point in our growth. As an established and industry-leading packaging data company, we're investing heavily in building products that help organisations make smarter decisions about their packaging — improving sustainability while reducing costs. At the centre of this is a platform that brings together fragmented packaging data, applies complex regulatory logic, and enables customers to model packaging decisions across multiple markets. As this platform evolves, there's a clear opportunity to go further - moving beyond reporting and compliance into predictive modelling, optimisation, and AI-driven decision support. This role will play a key part in enabling that shift, ensuring our data platform is structured in a way that supports more advanced analytics and machine learning use cases over time. Data is a critical, funded investment area for our business, with backing already in place and a clear mandate from leadership. What we're looking for now is the person who can define how it all comes together.

About Ecosurety: We're on a mission to rid the world of unnecessary packaging. More than 500 brands and retailers, including some of the UK's biggest household names, rely on us to navigate complex packaging decisions. We're evolving from a compliance-focused organisation into a data-first product company, building the digital infrastructure that will shape the future of packaging at scale. At the centre of this is a next-generation data platform, powering intelligent tools that help businesses make smarter, faster, and more profitable decisions. We're a commercially strong, mission-driven, certified B Corp, using technology to solve complex problems with a direct impact on sustainability.

The Role: This is a true player-coach role, combining strategic ownership with hands-on delivery. You'll define and own our data strategy, setting direction for how data is structured, used, and scaled across the business. You'll be responsible for:

• Defining the data architecture
• Shaping how data supports Product and Engineering
• Building the data platform from the ground up

A key challenge will be helping us define what belongs in the data layer versus the application layer - an area that's still evolving as the platform develops. You'll take ownership of how data is ingested, structured, validated and made usable across the platform, ensuring it's scalable, traceable and aligned to both regulatory and product needs. As the platform matures, you'll also help enable more advanced capabilities, including predictive modelling, scenario optimisation and machine learning use cases, ensuring the data foundations are built to support them properly.

What You'll Be Doing: In the early stages, you'll work closely with external delivery partners while building out an internal capability over time. You'll also be:

• Designing and implementing the core data architecture
• Turning fragmented, manual processes into robust, scalable data pipelines
• Working with messy, multi-source data and shaping it into something usable
• Partnering closely with Engineering and Product to ensure data enables real outcomes
• Introducing the right level of structure, governance and data quality standards
• Structuring data in a way that supports predictive modelling, optimisation and future machine learning use cases
• Working with Product and Engineering to identify where data can unlock more intelligent, automated decision-making
• Delivering through a mix of hands-on work, new hires and external partners

Building the Function: This is a foundational leadership role. You'll:

• Build and scale the data team from the ground up
• Define the structure, capabilities and hiring roadmap
• Work with external partners and consultancies alongside internal hires
• Establish how data operates as a core capability across the business

Over time, this may evolve to include capability across analytics, data science and machine learning, depending on how the platform and product develop.

What Success Looks Like: In 12 months' time, you will have:

• Defined and embedded a clear, scalable data strategy
• Built a data platform that reliably supports product use cases
• Established a high-performing data team and delivery model
• Created confidence in data quality, structure and traceability
• Brought clarity to how Data, Product and Engineering work together

In short, you'll have turned fragmented, manual data processes into a structured, product-ready platform and built the team and foundations behind it, with the groundwork in place for more advanced data and AI capabilities.

Why This Role Is Different: This is a rare opportunity to join Ecosurety at the exact point we're building a new data and product capability. You're not inheriting a mature platform or scaling something that's already defined. You'll help define the strategy, build the platform and create the function from the ground up, with genuine backing from the business. You'll also play a key role in helping us move beyond traditional reporting and compliance into intelligent, data-driven decision-making powered by modelling, optimisation and machine learning.

Growth & Progression: This is one of the first senior technology hires in this new phase of the business. Which means:

• You'll define and own the data strategy from day one
• You'll shape how the data function is structured and built
• You'll play a key role in establishing a data-led product organisation

As we scale, the scope and impact of the role will naturally grow with it.

What We're Looking For: You've likely:

• Built and scaled data platforms in SaaS or data-led environments
• Worked across data architecture, pipelines and modelling — not just one area
• Been hands-on with tools like Snowflake, dbt and Azure (or similar cloud environments)
• Designed and maintained ETL/ELT pipelines, ideally using tools like Azure Data Factory
• Strong SQL skills, including complex querying and performance optimisation
• Experience working with CI/CD pipelines and Git-based workflows
• A solid understanding of data modelling concepts such as star/snowflake schema and slowly changing dimensions

Nice to have, but not essential:

• Experience working in environments where data supports modelling, forecasting or machine learning
• Exposure to building or enabling data products that go beyond reporting into decision support or automation

Alongside this, you:

• Are comfortable operating as a player-coach, staying close to the detail while setting direction
• Can move between hands-on problem solving, architecture and senior stakeholder conversations
• Have experience building teams and capabilities from scratch
• Are comfortable working with both internal teams and external partners
• Know how to balance pragmatism with long-term thinking

Most importantly, you're someone who can bring clarity to complexity and structure to ambiguity.

What's On Offer: From £90,000 salary, Hybrid working (Bristol, 50% office), High ownership and autonomy, Significant investment in data as a core business priority, Opportunity to build a data platform and team from the ground up, Long-term progression as we scale.

If you're looking for the opportunity to define strategy, build a team and create the foundations of a genuinely data-first product business, we'd love to hear from you.