Fractional head of data
Senior data leadership, without the full-time hire
A fractional head of data gives your existing data people senior leadership without a full-time hire: the roadmap, the priorities, the architecture decisions. It is for teams that have analysts or engineers but no direction. I set the direction, install the operating rhythm, then hand leadership back.
What is included
- A data roadmap tied to business goals, not to tools.
- Architecture decisions and reviews: what to build, what to buy, what to delete.
- Governed metric definitions, so the numbers stop disagreeing in meetings.
- Prioritization: a working intake for requests, instead of whoever shouts loudest.
- Mentoring for your analysts and engineers, and hiring support when you grow.
- A seat at the leadership table: data represented where decisions are made.
How it works
An engagement is scoped around deliverables, not days bought. The first weeks are an audit: what exists, what is trusted, what is quietly broken. Then we agree on a roadmap and an operating rhythm: planning, reviews, and a definition of done for data work. From there I lead the team through it, in your tools and your meetings, not from a distance. The last stage is the exit: I grow someone on your team into the role, or help you hire a full-time head of data, and hand over a function that no longer needs me.
When you need it
The symptoms are consistent:
- Dashboards exist, but nobody trusts them and every meeting relitigates the numbers.
- Your data people are busy, but the business cannot say what they are busy on.
- There is no data roadmap, or the roadmap is a backlog of tickets.
- You tried to hire a head of data and the search has stalled for months.
If that sounds familiar, you need direction, not more headcount. If instead you have no data function at all, start from the data team as a service engagement, or read when to hire a data team to figure out which side of the line you are on.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional head of data actually do?
Everything a full-time head of data does, on a part-time cadence: own the data roadmap, make the architecture calls, set metric definitions, prioritize requests, mentor the team, and represent data in leadership conversations. What you are buying is judgment and direction, not extra hands on the keyboard.
How is a fractional head of data different from a data team as a service?
A fractional head of data assumes you already have data people who need direction. A data team as a service is for when you have no data function at all: I build and run the whole thing, then hand it over. If you have analysts or engineers but no roadmap, fractional leadership is the right entry point; if you have neither, start from the full build.
How much of your time does it take, and for how long?
The engagement is scoped on outcomes, not days: a roadmap your leadership has signed off, an operating rhythm your team runs without me, and a successor grown internally or hired. That is what sets the timeline — long enough to install the direction, no longer. A fractional leader who makes himself permanent is doing it wrong.
When is fractional data leadership the wrong choice?
When there is nobody to lead. If you have no data people and no data platform, a part-time leader can only produce slides. In that case you need the function built first, which is exactly what the data team as a service engagement covers. Fractional leadership works when the hands exist and the direction is what is missing.
Want to know if your team needs direction or a rebuild? See how the engagements fit together or book a data audit and I will tell you honestly which one you need, if any.
