Data leadership
Define how your data function works, and who decides
Data & AI Function Design sets out what your data and AI function should do, who owns what and who decides. Typically in 4–8 weeks for an agreed organisational scope, you get a strategy tied to business priorities, an operating model and a prioritised portfolio of initiatives.
A senior lead replies within one business day. No obligation.
A data team without a mandate
The data team works hard, but takes requests from everyone and answers to no clear priority. Roles overlap, decisions stall, and the business doesn't see the value. Or the organisation is about to build a data function and doesn't know what shape it should take.
What it costs: Headcount without measurable outcomes, frustration on both sides, and investment without a plan.
What it sounds like:
“We have a data team, but the business doesn't feel the value.”
“Our data team works like a ticket desk.”
“Nobody knows who decides what about data.”
“We bought an expensive platform. Nobody uses it.”
Business first, then the function
We start from your business priorities and the decisions that depend on data. From there, we design the function: what it owns, how it is organised, who decides what, and which initiatives come first. The design is yours to implement, and it is independent of any platform or vendor.
What you get
- A data and AI strategy aligned to business priorities
- A target operating model, with roles, decision rights and one way to request and prioritise data work
- A prioritised portfolio of initiatives
- A capability model and roadmap
Typical first result
A shared view of business priorities, current data-function challenges, and the key decisions about roles, responsibilities and operating model that leadership needs to make.
A senior lead replies within one business day. No obligation.
How it works
- Understand the priorities.Interviews with leadership and the business on goals and the decisions that depend on data.
- Review today's function.The team, its work, its tools and the demand it faces.
- Design.Operating model, roles, decision rights and the initiative portfolio.
- Agree and plan.Leadership agrees the design; the roadmap sets the order.
Before: a queue of unconnected requests. After: every piece of work linked to a named business goal.
BEFORE
- Ad-hoc report
- Data extract
- Dashboard change
- New KPI
- Urgent query
- Data fix
- One-off analysis
A queue of unconnected requests
AFTER
Every piece of work linked to a named business goal
Who does the work
A senior DataOfis lead runs the engagement with your leadership team. Our leads' experience includes leading enterprise data functions, and organisational design and change.
Working together
- Indicative duration: 4–8 weeks, for an agreed organisational scope.
- What DataOfis is responsible for: the quality and independence of the advice and the design. You decide, and you own the implementation.
- Bought on its own: you can then ask a Fractional CDO to lead the function it defines, but that is a separate choice.
Questions we often hear
Your organisation does. If you want help, a Fractional CDO can lead the function, and other services can deliver specific parts.
It defines how the data function should work. Decisions about people and structure stay with you.
Yes. The design covers AI responsibilities, governance, decision rights and strategic priorities. Detailed evaluation of individual AI use cases is a separate service, AI Use-Case Discovery & Prioritisation.
A Readiness Assessment evaluates current data management capabilities, identifies gaps and recommends improvements. Function Design defines how your data and AI function should be organised, governed and operated to support business priorities. They can be combined.
Often combined with
Define what your data function does
Tell us how your data work is organised today and what isn't working. We'll discuss whether Function Design is the right next step.
A senior lead replies within one business day. No obligation.
Need someone to lead the function? Fractional CDO