ROLE SUMMARY

ZAYA Middle East is a newly established, data‑driven real estate, mortgage, and financing company serving the GCC. As CDSO, you are the founding executive responsible for designing the base of our data strategy and operating model and then building the team and capabilities to scale it. You will define our gold‑standard metrics, architect the data platform with engineering, and ship public‑facing dashboards and tools (powered by government and partner APIs) that create trust and drive revenue. This is a zero‑to‑one leadership role: you will set the blueprint, recruit the core team, establish governance, and convert analytics into commercial outcomes.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE UNIQUE

• Greenfield mandate: Establish the data architecture, metric definitions, and delivery pipelines from scratch.
• Multi‑vertical scope: Real Estate, Mortgages, and Financing—three specialist sites, one governed metrics layer.
• Public data products: Launch external dashboards/tools with clear methodology, “last updated” stamps, and source attribution to build credibility from day one.
• Team builder: Hire, coach, and scale a cross‑functional data organization in the first 12 months.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

FOUNDATION AND OPERATING MODEL

• Design the data operating model: ingestion → warehouse → semantic/metrics layer → delivery to web.
• Chair the Data Standards Council (Compliance, Platform, Data Products) to approve KPI definitions and public disclosures.
• Publish and maintain the Metric Definition Catalog (price per sqm, DOM, yields, rate/APR, affordability, DSCR, PD/LGD/EAD).

DATA PRODUCTS AND EXTERNAL DASHBOARDS

• Own the portfolio of public dashboards/tools for each site (community price indices, supply pipeline, rate trackers, affordability/DSCR calculators, portfolio signals).
• Co‑author visualization specs with the Lead Analytics Designer (chart types, axes, states, accessibility, interactions).
• Enforce trust signals: methodology footers, sample sizes, currency/units, and freshness SLAs.
  

PLATFORM, QUALITY, AND GOVERNENCE

• With the Head of Platform & Data Engineering, select stack components and implement resilient API ingestion from government and partner sources.
• Define data quality SLAs (freshness, completeness, anomaly thresholds) and establish observability and incident response.
• Partner with DPO/Compliance to ensure privacy, AML/KYC, licensing, and jurisdictional data rules.
  

ADVISORY, RISK, AND COMMERCIAL IMPACT

• Embed analytics into advisory and underwriting workflows across all verticals.
• Build attribution models linking insights engagement to qualified pipeline, conversion, and LTV.
• Collaborate with CFO/Risk on pricing and capital allocation informed by forecasts and risk models.
  

TEAM BUILDING AND LEADERSHIP

• Hire and develop a high‑performing team (initial targets below).
• Establish delivery rituals: definition reviews, pre‑launch QA, post‑launch readouts, methodology audits.
• Coach vertical leaders to adopt data‑driven decision templates and narratives.

MUST HAVE

• 3+ years in data/analytics leadership with zero‑to‑one or early‑stage build experience and clear commercial impact.
• Proven delivery of public or client‑facing data products that influence buying/financing decisions.
• Strong grasp of data architecture, modeling, and semantic/metric layers; capable of hands‑on reviews.
• Ability to recruit, structure, and scale a cross‑functional data team.
• GCC market literacy and comfort operating across multiple jurisdictions.

NICE TO HAVE

• GCC government/partner API integrations, valuation or underwriting frameworks, geospatial analysis, Arabic proficiency.