Vice President, Data & Insights

Data Strategy Leader

This role is accountable for the development and implementation of a comprehensive data strategy aligned with the organization's business objectives, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making, and leading cross-functional teams to execute on data initiatives. This position is responsible for overseeing the organization's data management and governance initiatives, and ensuring the integrity, accuracy, and security of the organization's data assets.

Total Rewards:

• Competitive Weekly Pay
• Bonus Program with 250% Upside Potential
• Performance for Pay Program Eligibility to Receive a Pay Increase Once a Year, Based on Performance
• Opportunities for Career Development and Growth
• Healthcare and Life Insurance Benefits
• Paid Time Off - 5 Weeks on Day 1
• Flex Weeks - Remote Work Arrangement
• Paid Corporate Holidays
• 401(k) Savings Plan with a Competitive Company Match
• Paid Parental Leave Subject to Eligibility Requirements
• Short-Term Disability
• Long-Term Disability
• Scholarship Program - You and Your Dependents are Eligible!
• Whataburger Family Foundation (Hardship Grant Assistance)
• Discounted Meals For You and a Guest
• Wireless Service Discounts
• Computer & Software Discounts
• Fitness / Gym Discounts
• Awards and Recognition For All You Do
• Retirement Celebration Program

Responsibilities:

• Act as a strategic partner to business groups, providing insights and recommendations based on data analysis.
• Collaborate with executive leaders across various areas of the business to understand their data needs and align data initiatives with business objectives.
• Partner with Finance team to enable sophisticated forecasting and scenario planning capabilities that build market confidence.
• Partner with Marketing team to leverage customer data for personalization initiatives that drive improvements in engagement metrics.
• Develop a comprehensive data strategy aligned with the company's overall business objectives while establishing and enforcing enterprise-wide data governance frameworks, policies and procedures to ensure data integrity, reliability, security, and compliance with relevant regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).
• Create data platforms supporting accurate, timely, and consistent financial and operational reporting across corporate and franchisee operations.
• Implement zero-trust security architecture and data classification protocols that protect sensitive information and meet public company standards.
• Design and implement a modern data architecture leveraging current investments in Workday, Qualtrics, Snowflake, Dataiku, and Informatica.
• Develop and maintain master data management strategies that create a "Single Pane of Glass" for real-time insights across all business units.
• Develop AI strategy and Center of Excellence that identifies and implements use cases throughout the organization. Establish frameworks for AI deployment, ensuring all initiatives maintain brand integrity and customer trust.
• Create proprietary data capabilities that strengthen competitive moats and enhance enterprise valuation.
• Provide strategic guidance on the development of a comprehensive data quality management framework. Evaluate and adopt technologies to enhance data processing, storage, and retrieval capabilities.
• Serve as committee lead/chairperson on the data governance committee/council, establishing data quality standards that achieve 99.5%+ accuracy for critical business metrics.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators to measure data quality metrics and communicate the business impact of data initiatives, with quarterly value realization reporting. Implement continuous improvement processes.
• Develop and manage a data marketplace strategy, ensuring compliance with privacy and security regulations.
• Develop and implement a data literacy program reaching leadership teams across the company's Support System and Restaurant Operations.
• Drive business performance through advanced analytics, forecasting, segmentation, and predictive modeling.
• Evaluate, select, and manage relationships with third-party vendors and technology partners to support data management and engineering initiatives.
• Assumes additional responsibilities as assigned.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related technical field preferred

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in data management, analytics, data science, business intelligence, or related fields, with at least 5+ years of experience in a senior leadership role
• Experience in consumer facing, transaction driven business required
• Experience with cloud technology implementations and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) migrations, and relevant experience in AI strategy development and deployment required

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Expert-level ability to communicate, influence, and negotiate decisions while motivating staff or team members, and translate complex technical concepts into business value for executive audiences and potential investors
• Proficiency with investor relations, including the ability to position data capabilities as value drivers in company valuation narratives
• Highly developed interpersonal and relationship building skills, with demonstrated ability to promote and work in a team environment, and work effectively with Family Members at all operational levels
• Ability to negotiate contracts
• Expertise with key technologies and platforms including Snowflake, Informatica, Dataiku, and cloud providers (such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, Google Cloud)
• Working knowledge of AI/Machine Learning technologies, particularly for demand forecasting, personalization, and operational optimization
• Proficiency with data visualization and self-service analytics tools (e.g., Tableau, MicroStrategy, Microsoft Power BI)
• Ability to balance strategic vision with execution excellence through articulating a compelling data roadmap, while delivering quick wins
• Programming languages (e.g., SQL, Python R)
• Data governance and management
• Metadata Management Frameworks and tools
• Data Quality Management and Master Data Management
• Demonstrated experience in data modeling, data governance, data quality, and related tools and technologies
• Demonstrated success implementing enterprise data strategies in multi-unit retail and/or quick service restaurant environments ($1B+ revenue), with verifiable outcomes of value creation
• Track record of centralizing fragmented data systems during periods of aggressive growth (100+ unit expansion per year)
• Strong understanding of data security and privacy principles and related regulations (GDPR, CCPA, SOX)
• Commercial acumen proficiency to quantify and articulate the return on investment of data investments
• Change management expertise to drive adoption of data-driven approaches across diverse stakeholder groups
• Proven experience in leading initiatives focused on implementing large-scale data processing systems and data integration systems
• Demonstrated success with building high-performing teams and with retaining elite data professionals in a competitive market

Professional Certification:

• Certified Analytics Professional, Certified Data Management Professional, Certified Data Governance Professional preferred

Working Conditions/Travel Requirements:

• Expected to work the necessary time to satisfactorily fulfill job responsibilities
• Must be able to report to work timely and as required by operational/business needs
• Must be able to work a full-time schedule and work outside of normal business hours when necessary
• Must be able to travel occasionally both locally and long distances (including air travel), to worksites, meeting sites, and other locations
• Must possess a valid driver's license, submit to releasing a Motor Vehicle Record that adheres to the Whataburger standards and maintain current automobile liability at minimum levels in their state of residence