Head of Data & AI

Trade Nation is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Head of Data & AI to lead our data and artificial intelligence strategy across the organisation. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role combines two interconnected mandates: enabling self-service access to data across the business and embedding AI into everyday operations.

As a multi-jurisdictional CFD and spread betting broker with regulated entities across the UK, Australia, the EU, the Bahamas, and Seychelles, we are looking for a leader who can build on our existing data foundations, scale successful initiatives, simplify organically grown processes, and drive measurable business impact through AI.

The role is weighted approximately 60% towards AI and 40% towards Data, leading a team of Data Analysts while partnering closely with Data Engineering, Compliance, and senior business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and drive Trade Nation's AI strategy from opportunity identification through to deployment, adoption, and value realisation.
• Redesign business workflows around AI, focusing on practical outcomes rather than tool adoption.
• Build AI capability through training, prompt libraries, templates, and a network of AI champions.
• Measure and report AI adoption, success metrics, and lessons learned.
• Own the business-facing gold layer of the data warehouse, including metrics, definitions, and quality standards.
• Develop and extend the semantic data model to ensure consistent, trusted access to business data.
• Champion data self-service, empowering teams to answer their own questions efficiently.
• Establish and maintain best practices for analytics engineering, including testing, version control, documentation, and code reviews.
• Simplify and improve the quality of the data estate.
• Deliver proactive insights and recommendations to senior leadership.

Requirements

Essential Experience

• Proven leadership experience within Data, Analytics, or AI functions.
• Demonstrable success implementing AI solutions that have transformed business workflows and delivered measurable impact.
• Strong track record of delivering projects from concept through to production and adoption.
• Hands-on expertise in SQL, data modelling, and analytics engineering.
• Experience with dbt or similar version-controlled transformation frameworks.
• Strong understanding of data warehouse architecture and semantic modelling.
• Experience working with Redshift, Snowflake, BigQuery, or similar cloud data platforms.
• Background in financial services, trading, brokerage, or capital markets.
• Experience leading, coaching, and developing analytics teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with CFD, spread betting, or brokerage platforms.
• Knowledge of trading systems and back-office financial services data structures.
• Experience in multi-entity, multi-regulator environments.
• Exposure to regulatory reporting frameworks such as MiFID II, MiFIR, or ASIC requirements.
• Experience implementing AI solutions within regulated financial services environments.

Personal Attributes

• Curious about how businesses operate and eager to understand commercial processes before recommending solutions.
• Strategic thinker with a practical, delivery-focused mindset.
• Self-starter who proactively identifies opportunities and drives change.
• Comfortable challenging the status quo and being challenged in return.
• Passionate about enabling others through data and technology.