Key Skills

Job Description

Head of Data – Mileway – Amsterdam Are you an experienced data leader who can turn a modern data platform into a trusted, scalable business capability? We are looking for a Head of Data to lead the next stage of Mileway’s data transformation. Mileway’s data strategy is defined, our Databricks platform, is moving into its next stage, and the roadmap is underway. This is not a greenfield build. The challenge is to complete the transformation, strengthen governance, enable other teams to build safely on the platform, and make certified data the default across the business. Working at Mileway Mileway is Europe’s leading owner and manager of last-mile logistics real estate. Launched in 2019, we have grown into a team of more than 550 people, representing over 50 nationalities, with more than 20 offices across 11 countries. Our purpose is to be Europe’s leading provider of last-mile logistics real estate, enabling businesses to thrive, driving sustainability forward and shaping the cities of tomorrow. Our international team combines local market knowledge with the scale and expertise of a pan-European business. We are collaborative, pragmatic and ambitious, and we encourage our people to take ownership, share ideas and continue developing. Our values; Drive, Trust, Grow and Together, guide how we work with one another, our customers and our partners. Your home base will be our Amsterdam office, where we currently work together at least three days per week. We will provide you with the technology and support you need to work effectively and lead this transformation. The opportunity Reporting to the CTO, you will own Mileway’s data platform, data engineering, data governance, reporting & analytics and AI enablement agenda. You will lead the central Data organization while enabling business and technology teams to take greater ownership of their own data products and outcomes. The central team will continue to own the trusted enterprise layer: master data, shared dimensions, Group Finance data, certified enterprise KPIs, the semantic layer and platform governance. Domain teams will increasingly build and publish their own data products on the platform within clear standards, guardrails and data contracts. This is a platform-as-a-product leadership role. Success will be measured not only by what the Data team delivers, but by how effectively other teams can build and ship on the platform without compromising enterprise standards or trust. What you’ll do Own the strategic direction, operation and adoption of Mileway’s Databricks data platform. Including c-suite and leadership level alignment and strategy adoption. Complete the migration from the legacy data warehouse environment to Databricks and support disciplined decommissioning. Ensure the platform is scalable, secure, reliable and cost-efficient, with clear ownership of architecture and delivery quality. Drive the transition from a centralised delivery model to a federated, self-service model. Enable business and technology teams to develop and publish their own data products using agreed platform patterns, standards and governance. Define the boundary between the centrally owned enterprise layer and domain-owned products. Implement practical data contracts covering definitions, schema, quality thresholds, service levels and ownership. Lead the Data Council and enterprise data governance agenda, including certification, stewardship and data-quality ownership. Establish trusted, consistent and certified enterprise metrics across Mileway. Own the master data strategy, platform and roadmap for critical entities such as legal entities, assets, units, customers and leases. Develop the enterprise semantic layer and business glossary, creating the trusted business meaning behind reporting, analytics and AI. Ensure AI agents, business applications and automation initiatives consume governed data rather than shadow feeds. Lead the Data organization across Platform and Engineering, and Analytics and AI, developing strong internal leaders and a high-performing team. Manage external partners and offshore delivery while retaining architecture ownership and quality controls internally. Build credibility with senior stakeholders and represent the voice of certified enterprise data in executive decision-making. What you’ll bring Significant experience leading an enterprise data platform in a complex organisation, with a platform-as-a-product and internal-customer mindset. A concrete track record of moving an organisation from central build to federated or self-service delivery, including lessons from what did not work. Practical experience implementing domain data ownership, data contracts or an equivalent product-interface standard. Experience building or operating a Databricks lakehouse in production, including Unity Catalog, dbt and medallion architecture. Strong dimensional and warehouse-modelling knowledge, including star schemas, conformed dimensions and slowly changing dimensions. A record of making data governance operational through clear ownership, stewardship, certification and measurable adoption. Experience delivering master data management for core entities, including golden-record and survivorship logic. Experience establishing a semantic layer, certified metrics and a business glossary; ontology or knowledge-graph exposure would be beneficial. Experience leading offshore or nearshore engineering delivery while retaining internal architecture ownership. Ownership of a significant data-platform budget and experience managing systems integrators or consultancy partners. Confidence operating with C-level stakeholders; experience in a private-equity or institutional-investor environment would be advantageous. The ability to translate complex data concepts into clear commercial and operational outcomes. Your leadership style You treat other teams as customers and measure success by what they can ship safely on the platform. You are comfortable giving work away that a central Data team may previously have owned, while helping the team adapt to its new role. You lead through strong internal leaders rather than around them, creating clarity, stability and accountability. You use governance to enable good decisions, knowing what needs formal certification and what should move quickly. You build adoption through credibility, coaching and practical support rather than mandate alone. You can prioritise decisively and say “not yet” when concurrent transformation demands compete for attention. Nice to have Real estate or asset-management experience, including leases, NOI and asset hierarchies. Process-mining exposure, particularly Celonis. Experience with event-driven integration patterns, carve-outs or M&A data separation. An internal-platform or developer-experience background, with familiarity with Team Topologies. Experience presenting into a private-equity ownership structure. Why join Mileway? This is an opportunity to shape the future of data at Mileway. The foundations are in place; the next challenge is completion, adoption and measurable business impact. You will help build a trusted, modern data ecosystem that supports decision-making, operational excellence and AI-enabled innovation across the organisation.

Core Responsibilities

Lead Mileway’s data platform, engineering, governance, reporting, analytics, and AI enablement, including completing the migration to Databricks and establishing a secure, scalable, cost-efficient platform. Build a federated data-product model with clear governance, certified enterprise data, master data, semantic definitions, and strong team and stakeholder leadership.

Requirements

Requires significant experience leading enterprise data platforms and moving organizations toward federated or self-service delivery, with production Databricks experience including Unity Catalog, dbt, and medallion architecture. Candidates should bring expertise in data governance, contracts, modeling, master data management, semantic layers, offshore delivery, platform budgets, and C-level stakeholder engagement.