Head of Data Strategy

Role Summary

We are looking for a seasoned data strategist to lead and build the Data Strategy Group (DSG) within DSG — a 3-person team responsible for sourcing, negotiating, integrating, and maintaining external data streams that power Index Pricing Calculations. This is a hands-on leadership role combining commercial data partnership expertise with technical understanding, owning the full data lifecycle from source identification through ongoing operations and compliance.

The ideal candidate has a background in data sourcing strategy within a trading firm, exchange, or financial data business — someone who understands how to identify unique and valuable data streams, negotiate commercial terms, and operationalize them at scale.

Key Responsibilities

Data Source Strategy & Discovery

• Define and execute the data sourcing strategy aligned with DSG's Index Pricing roadmap

• Identify and evaluate candidate data streams — market data vendors, exchanges, alternative data providers, OTC desks, and novel/non-traditional sources

• Build and maintain a scoring framework assessing coverage, latency, reliability, cost, uniqueness, and licensing terms

• Conduct proof-of-concept evaluations with shortlisted vendors

• Maintain a continuous pipeline of potential future data sources to stay ahead of market developments

Commercial Negotiation & Vendor Partnerships

• Lead end-to-end pricing and contract negotiations with data vendors and partners

• Structure licensing agreements covering redistribution rights, usage scope, derived data permissions, and audit clauses

• Negotiate SLAs for uptime, latency, data correction policies, and support

• Manage renewals, amendments, and terminations; benchmark pricing against market rates

• Build and maintain long-term strategic relationships with key data partners

• Own the full commercial relationship with all data vendors post-signature

Technical Connectivity & Integration

• Oversee the design and implementation of data ingestion pipelines (APIs, feeds, FTP, WebSocket, FIX, streaming protocols)

• Coordinate with vendors on connectivity requirements (VPNs, cross-connects, credentialing)

• Ensure normalization and validation layers meet Index Pricing quality standards

• Work closely with the Big Data Team to ensure data is archived per retention policies and available for downstream analytics

• Maintain integration documentation and operational runbooks

Data Monitoring & Quality Assurance

• Establish and oversee automated monitoring for data reliability (staleness, gaps, anomalies)

• Ensure regular soundness checks (statistical validation, cross-source reconciliation)

• Define alerting thresholds and escalation procedures

• Produce periodic health reports for stakeholders; track vendor SLA adherence

License & Compliance Management

• Maintain a complete registry of data license agreements, terms, and obligations

• Ensure all reporting requirements are met (usage reports, redistribution disclosures, audit responses)

• Guarantee internal usage remains within contractual scope

• Manage vendor audits and information requests

• Flag renewals and renegotiation windows with minimum 90 days advance notice

Team Leadership

• Hire, mentor, and develop the two other DSG team members

• Set team priorities and delivery cadence

• Foster a documentation-first, cross-trained culture to mitigate single-point-of-failure risk

Cross-Functional Collaboration

This role works closely with:

• Financial Logic — Pricing methodology alignment, calculation logic inputs, model validation

• Product Innovation — New product requirements driving data needs, feature collaboration

• Risk — Risk model data inputs, quality requirements for risk calculations, stress testing data

• Big Data Team — Data archival, storage infrastructure, historical backfills

• Legal / Compliance — Contract review, regulatory guidance, license interpretation

• Finance — Budget management, cost tracking, vendor payments

• Technology / Infra — Network connectivity, security review, environment provisioning

Requirements

Must Have

• 8+ years in data strategy, data sourcing, or data partnerships within trading, exchanges, or financial services

• Demonstrated experience identifying and acquiring unique or alternative data sources that provide competitive advantage

• Proven track record negotiating commercial data agreements — pricing, licensing terms, redistribution rights, SLAs

• Deep understanding of market data ecosystems (exchanges, vendors, alternative data providers, aggregators)

• Strong understanding of index pricing or benchmark methodologies and the data inputs that drive them

• Technical literacy — comfortable discussing APIs, data pipelines, connectivity architecture, and data quality frameworks

• Experience building or managing small, high-performing teams

• Excellent stakeholder management across commercial, technical, and senior leadership functions

Nice to Have

• Experience at a proprietary trading firm, quantitative fund, or exchange in a data sourcing/strategy capacity

• Direct experience with cryptocurrency or derivatives market data (order books, trade feeds, reference data, on-chain data)

• Background in alternative data identification, evaluation, and commercialization

• Hands-on experience with data engineering tools (Python, SQL, streaming platforms)

• Familiarity with data licensing models specific to financial markets (exchange fees, redistribution tiers, non-display usage, derived data policies)

• Network of relationships across the market data vendor landscape