Data and Analytics Manager

Seaboard Overseas and Trading Group•Merriam, KS

About The Position

The Data & Analytics Manager is the operational and people leader of a centralized, globally scoped data function. This role sits between senior leadership and a small but high-impact technical team and is responsible for translating business strategy into data priorities, delivering reliable analytics and reporting services across all departments, and building a global network of embedded Data Champions who extend the team's reach into regional offices worldwide. This is not a purely technical role, nor is it purely managerial. The right person is a credible data practitioner who has grown into leadership. Someone who can review a data model in the morning, present to management in the afternoon, and coach a junior analyst at the end of the day. At this team size, the manager must be both a strategic operator and a hands-on contributor.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Business/IT/Data Analytics Required
5+ years of experience in data analytics, business intelligence, or a related field
2+ years in a leadership role within a data function
Proven ability to translate business requirements into analytical deliverables
Strong working knowledge of BI platforms (AWS, Power BI, Fabric, Tableau, Looker, Alteryx, or equivalent)
Proficiency in SQL; comfort reviewing and guiding work in Python or R
Demonstrated experience managing stakeholder relationships across multiple departments or regions

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in Data Analytics/Science or Statistics preferred.
Experience in a globally distributed organization with operations across multiple time zones
Familiarity with modern data stack tooling (dbt, Airflow, Snowflake, BigQuery, or equivalent)
Exposure to machine learning, AI platforms, or predictive analytics workflows
Experience building enablement programs — training, certification, or data literacy initiatives
Background in organizational change management or data culture transformation
Fluency in a second language is an advantage given the global scope of the role

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop a close-knit data team
Conduct regular 1:1s focused on performance, growth, and wellbeing
Set clear goals and success metrics for each team member, aligned to organizational priorities
Identify skills gaps and create development plans to address them
Foster a team culture of curiosity, rigor, and psychological safety
Advocate for team capacity, tooling, and headcount as the function scales
Own the team's intake and prioritization process — ensuring the right work gets done in the right order
Run a lightweight agile or sprint-based delivery model suited to a small, globally-facing team
Balance reactive business requests with proactive investment in platform quality and AI readiness
Maintain a visible roadmap that communicates priorities and timelines to stakeholders
Escalate resourcing conflicts and tradeoff decisions to the VP / Director with clear recommendations
Serve as the primary point of contact for data and analytics needs across all business units
Build trusted relationships with department heads, regional leaders, and senior executives
Translate business questions into analytical briefs and data requirements for the technical team
Communicate findings, limitations, and recommendations in clear, non-technical language
Proactively surface data insights to stakeholders who may not know to ask for them
Own the design, launch, and ongoing operation of the global Data Champion program
Define the champion selection criteria and work with regional leaders to identify candidates
Develop and deliver the champion onboarding and certification curriculum
Run the biweekly champion sync and quarterly capability workshops
Conduct monthly quality audits of champion-produced content
Advocate for champion recognition within their home business units
Maintain the champion network documentation, training library, and internal data catalog
Scale the network thoughtfully as the organization grows — including regional lead appointments
Define and enforce enterprise data standards — metric definitions, naming conventions, certification criteria
Maintain a tiered content model (certified vs. community) in the BI platform
Work with the Data Engineer to establish and monitor data quality frameworks
Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations across all regions of operation
Own the data dictionary and ensure it stays current and accessible to champions and stakeholders
Partner with the VP / Director to develop and execute the data roadmap in support of AI initiatives
Ensure the team's data infrastructure work is aligned to AI readiness requirements
Evaluate new tools, platforms, and methodologies and make recommendations for adoption
Represent the data function in cross-functional AI and technology planning discussions
Collaborate with VP / Director on building the internal case for future headcount (e.g., AI/ML Engineer) with data-backed justifications
Publish a monthly global data health report covering team output, champion activity, and data quality metrics
Track and communicate the business impact of the data function to senior leadership
Monitor platform usage across the organization and use it to guide enablement priorities
Contribute to the annual planning process with capacity analysis and investment recommendations