Principal Program Lead, Digital Transformation & Technology

Chick-fil-A, Inc.•Atlanta, GA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Chick-fil-A has heavily invested in Automation, Analytics and Data Literacy in all areas of the business. The Advanced Analytics & Automation team in DTT exists to enable Embedded Intelligence across the enterprise by equipping Operators and Staff to make informed decisions and achieve optimal outcomes. We enable and deliver data, analytics, and automation capabilities and outcomes through empowering foundational capabilities, maximizing the value of complex data products, and accelerating implementation and adoption of advanced analytics and automation products. As a Principal Program Lead for the Reporting and Analytics for Restaurants (RAR) program, you lead the work to successfully scope, develop, launch and integrate into the business a substantial portfolio of advanced analytics products stewarded by the Operator Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Enablement team within Advanced Analytics and Automation (AA&A). You will own the development of the vision and strategy for the products within this program, plan for and lead their successful execution, and act as the primary representative of this program to the business. This involves translating business roadmaps and strategic objectives into effective, scalable, and modern technical solutions. You will collaborate closely with Restaurant Analytics Product Owners in Field Insights & Technology (FIT) as well as technical leaders with the Operator Technology Solutions (OTS) team to define actionable technical roadmaps and initiatives, acting as a technical advisor in synthesizing diverse stakeholder input to address business needs and technical challenges. A primary focus will be on the development of an enterprise data foundation, ensuring high standards of reliability, accuracy, and performance across all data assets via an enterprise semantic layer and data asset certification advocacy. Another focus area will be the Analytics Hub platform, leveraging the data foundation to enhance the platform and its content as well as setting its content delivery & technical roadmap to align with the overall restaurant analytics strategy set by FIT. This requires a person who has an entrepreneurial spirit and agile mindset with the enthusiasm and ability to develop trusted relationships and influence leaders and colleagues across the enterprise. The role requires a self-starter who can work under broad direction, capable of developing a point of view and selling the "art of the possible." Strong consultative and communication skills are key to success in this role and the ability to translate, interpret, visualize, and share outcomes to people at all levels of data literacy. It also requires strong agile project management skills and a commitment to navigating complex data environments to deliver impactful solutions that directly contribute to the success of our Restaurants. Our Flexible Future model offers a healthy mix of working in person and virtually, strengthening key elements of the Chick-fil-A culture by fostering collaboration and community.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree, or equivalent experience, in Business (with concentration in Quantitative Methods, Finance, or Economics), Statistics, Math, Engineering, or other technical degree program
6+ years of relevant work experience
Consulting experience leading and influencing outcomes for broad-reaching, complex data and analytics programs that drive measurable business value working in an agile environment.
Has strong skills in understanding complex business problems and designing data & analytical solutions for business needs.
Has demonstrated experience in planning and coordinating data & analytics teams and project work.
Solid understanding of Restaurant or Service business and range of data, potential analytical measurement & models needed at the enterprise level
Broad knowledge of technical platforms and analytical methods
Specific knowledge of technologies used in current landscape (Tableau, ThoughtSpot, Databricks)
Strong background in enterprise data management and modeling, including data certification processes and the design, development, and utilization of enterprise semantic layers.
Very strong strategic and analytics consulting skills including Root Cause analysis for understanding complex enterprise-level business problemsExperience and skill in leading all phases of large-scale data and analytics programs and portfolios using agile methodologies
Outstanding enterprise-level thinker with good verbal and written communication skills including visualization and “story telling” to audiences varying in technical acumen and data literacy
Able to build strong trusted relationships with technical and non-technical people at all levels across the enterprise
Can coordinate programs with multiple collaborative teams and workstreams anticipating and removing program roadblocks
Able to generate value through measurable business outcomes
Adept at overseeing change management initiatives resulting from new program and capabilities

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in Business (with concentration in Quantitative Methods, Finance, or Economics), Statistics, Math, Engineering, or other technical degree program
10+ years of relevant work experience
Experience with organizational key performance measurement, leading change management initiatives; agile software development (e.g., JIRA), innovation, or design thinking
Has experience shaping and influencing data and/or analytics strategy and policy
Experience with visualization platforms (e.g. Tableau, Qlikview, PowerBI, D3.js)
Agile ways of working, SCRUM, and change management.

Responsibilities

Lead technical communication and engagement with diverse internal and external stakeholders, translating business needs into feasible technical solutions, facilitating informed decision-making, and ensuring continuous feedback throughout the delivery lifecycle.
Oversee the technical execution of data foundation & platform capabilities, working collaboratively with cross-functional engineering, data architecture, data & analytics program teams, and content development teams to ensure the delivery of performant, scalable, and resilient data & analytics solutions that meet quality standards and operator expectations.
Partner with the Restaurant Analytics Product Owner and Technical Product Owner of Pulse to ensure a cohesive data foundation & analytics strategy and implementation across platforms to build trust between Field Staff & Restaurants.
Work with Data & Analytics capability teams to identify and address technical gaps and limitations within existing solutions.
Support the creation, enforcement, and refinement of data governance & content development technical processes, standards, and best practices.
Contribute to the technical architecture for the integration and evolution of the Pulse and Analytics Hub platforms, including initiatives such as identifying specific reports for strategic migration or consolidation, establishing physical and logical links between platforms, and ensuring data and business logic consistency via semantic layer alignment for overlapping insights across both ecosystems.
Close collaboration with Scrum Masters and Project Managers to accurately estimate effort, sequence tasks, and establish realistic timelines.
Develop and implement clear metrics for measuring and communicating the technical success criteria of implemented solutions. Provide transparent, regular updates to stakeholders on platform health, performance, and value delivered as well as ensure that solutions fully meet business criteria.
Proactively communicate outages and issues with business and technical partners as well as collaborate with Corporate Communications as appropriate.
Lead and support the agencies or contractors, including content preparation of MSAs/Saas agreements with the business, legal, IT Security, and corporate procurement for complex data and analytics needs
Drive adoption and support training for the foundational data capabilities, semantic layer utilization, and advanced analytics products within their program.