Head of Data – Financial Services at Ascentech Services Limited

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Head of Data – Financial Services to lead data strategy, analytics, machine learning, credit risk modelling, fraud detection, and data governance for a growing financial services business.

The successful candidate will lead a multidisciplinary team of Data Engineers, Data Analysts, and Data Scientists, ensuring data products and models are effectively deployed and aligned with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead data strategy, governance, architecture, and data quality initiatives.
• Develop and deploy credit risk, behavioural scoring, and collections models.
• Oversee fraud, anomaly detection, and Early Warning Systems (EWS).
• Drive customer segmentation, propensity, churn, cross-sell, and growth analytics.
• Ensure AI/ML models are deployed, monitored, and optimized in production.
• Partner with Risk, Product, Commercial, Engineering, Finance, and Compliance teams.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the data team while establishing strong technical and MLOps standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor\'s degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Economics, or related field.
• 10+ years\' experience in Data Science, Analytics, or Data Engineering.
• 4+ years\' experience leading multidisciplinary data teams, preferably in banking, lending, or fintech.
• Proven experience in credit risk modelling, fraud analytics, and financial transaction data.
• Strong knowledge of SQL, Python, Snowflake, Power BI, PySpark, Machine Learning, MLOps, and Cloud platforms.
• Experience with data governance, model risk management, and financial services regulations.
• Experience in SME, retail, or informal-sector lending is an advantage.