Dunelm
Lead Data Steward
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Overview
Home. There’s no place like it.
And there’s no feeling like helping people create the joy of feeling truly at home. At Dunelm, that’s what we do. We’re the UK's number one choice for homewares because we make home life lovelier for our customers. And we’ve crafted a workplace that feels just as welcoming – where you can bring your ideas, be yourself, and feel right at home.
Data Management at Dunelm
Data Management at Dunelm plays a key part in unlocking the value of data and information for our colleagues in a safe and secure way. Our vision, alongside our broader data & analytics function is to “empower our business to drive the right outcomes from their data in an efficient and confident way”.
Our Data Management team work closely with our wider teams, analytics, data engineering, technology teams and colleagues across Dunelm, enabling them to better manage and own their data to deliver data products that drive value and support our broader business growth plans. We are responsible for equipping our colleagues to steward and understand their data through data policy definition and implementation, process optimisation, data quality measurement, data cataloguing and effective management of master data.
We contribute to shaping our future governance and approach to AI ensuring that good quality, well governed data is at it’s heart. We also support doing right by our customers – ensuring that data is managed safely and securely in line with GDPR regulations.
What you'll be doing
The Lead Data Steward serves as the strategic custodian and operational anchor for core enterprise data domains. In this role, you will lead a dedicated team of professionals to elevate data integrity, champion governance standards, and unlock operational efficiencies across the business.
This role demands a leadership-first mindset, a passion for root-cause problem solving, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams. You will bridge the gap between technical data structures and business operations, ensuring our data assets are accurate, compliant, and positioned to drive growth.
Core Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Line Management: Directly manage, mentor, and coach a team, cultivating an inclusive, high-performing culture.
- Goal Alignment: Define clear performance objectives, map out career development pathways, and balance resource allocation across daily operations and transformation initiatives.
- Extended Resource Guidance: Provide operational direction and guidance to extended project resources assigned to domain activities.
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Data Governance & Quality Architecture
- Framework Design: Establish and maintain robust data quality rules, validation logic, and standardised business glossaries across core domains.
- Root-Cause Remediation: Move beyond identifying surface-level errors; actively investigate systemic data anomalies and engineer long-term, sustainable fixes.
- Validation & Release Sign-Off: Define testing protocols and quality sign-off criteria for data changes, system updates, and new attribute rollouts to safeguard domain stability.
Stakeholder Collaboration & Advocacy
- Cross-functional Partnership: Act as the primary point of contact for internal teams, software vendors, and external data partners to align data standards and support business initiatives.
- Change Management: Champion data-driven mindsets across the organisation, advising business units on how data quality directly impacts their performance and customer experience.
- Prioritisation & Enhancements: Help shape and manage the backlog of domain improvements, balancing short-term operational fixes with long-term capability goals.
Compliance & Performance Tracking
- Risk & Regulatory Oversight: Ensure data practices strictly align with internal data protection policies, information security classifications, and UK GDPR legislation.
- Service Levels & Domain Reporting: Design and distribute comprehensive data scorecards, tracking performance against operational SLAs and translating complex technical metrics into actionable business insights.
What we'll look for in you
Skills & Experience
Essential Skills
- Leadership Experience: Proven track record of leading, mentoring, or supervising individuals within an analytical, operational, or data-focused environment.
- Data Literacy: Deep understanding of master data principles, structural data validations, and data governance frameworks.
- Analytical Capability: Advanced problem-solving skills with experience querying relational databases to identify issues and the root cause.
- Information Compliance: Solid foundational knowledge of data privacy legislation, information security standards, and handling sensitive data classifications
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Desirable Skills
- Change Delivery: Experience supporting teams through operational transformations, systems implementations, or complex data migration projects.
- Data Visualisation: Familiarity with business intelligence or reporting software to present data quality metrics visually.
- Domain Backlog & Delivery: Experience prioritising requests, tracking improvement milestones, or managing a backlog of functional enhancements.
Key Behaviours
Communicating
- Commercial Translation: Translates highly technical or abstract data concepts into clear, concise, and impact-driven messages for non-technical business leaders.
- Credibility: Presents reliable, data-backed insights that build trust and drive confident organisational decision making.
Connecting
- Silo Busting: Actively collaborates across departmental boundaries to understand upstream and downstream data impacts, building a cohesive network of trust.
- Empathy in Leadership: Recognises team achievements, provides regular constructive feedback, and supports colleagues during periods of high operational demand.
Taking Responsibility
- Accountability: Embraces complex data challenges with self-driven determination, prioritising long-term structural improvements over short-term workarounds.
- Continuous Improvement: Proactively identifies operation bottlenecks and drives the automation of manual maintenance tasks.
Challenging
- Constructive Voice: Possesses the confidence to challenge inefficient legacy processes, data workarounds, or decisions that compromise data integrity.
- Ambition: Drives high standards of performance within the immediate team and holds cross-functional partners accountable to agreed data SLAs.
Making It Happen
- Right First Time: Instils a culture of accuracy and diligence, ensuring deliverables are executed efficiently without sacrificing data quality.
- Agility: Adapts positively to shifting priorities, reassessing team workflows to maintain momentum under changing conditions.
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