Data Team Leader

Our priority is to match the right person to the right role, and we never want salary to be a barrier to applying. Regardless of your current pay, we’ll ask about your salary expectations during the application process, and our Talent Team will have an open, honest conversation during the talent call to understand your skills and explore our salary options. If you have questions around salary, please feel free to ask us!

Location : Chiswick, London - Hybrid

Sponsorship: We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

The Role

The Data Team Lead role leads So Energy’s data function on a day-to-day basis, owning the people, delivery and quality of a team of Data Analysts and Data Engineers. Reporting to the Technology Director, this is a player-coach role: you will spend most of your time leading, developing and unblocking your team, through working with the product team to prioritise their work, while staying hands-on enough to lead by example, set the technical bar, review PRs, and personally deliver a piece of data analysis or data pipeline when it matters.

You will translate So Energy’s data ambition into a prioritised, executable roadmap, and turn data into insight that drives customer-centric, commercially sound decisions. Building out our modern analytics platform based on Google Cloud Platform / BigQuery data warehouse with Dataform, Data Studio and Looker, you will ensure data is a reliable, well-governed and trusted asset that powers growth, operational efficiency and a great customer experience. Driving the move to a federated self-service model is key.

As the most senior data role in the business, you will also be the champion for data: contributing to the wider technology strategy, raising data literacy across the company, and building a high-performing, customer-focused team.

⭐ Why So Energy?

So Energy was created in 2015 because we knew energy suppliers could be better . Since then, we’ve grown rapidly but sustainably, with 300,000 customers and over 450 Energists (what we call our people). But we’re not done! We’re on the road to a net-zero future, and thanks to our partnership with ESB, we’re well on the way. We’re customer-centric, tech-led, and passionate about sustainability.

We’re driven to do our best for our customers, for each other, and for our planet. That’s why we’ve built a workplace culture that’s supportive, empowering, inclusive, and full of opportunities to grow and make an impact.

At So Energy, we take pride in our values-driven culture. We live and breathe by our six core values that guide everything we do:

• Clear

• Honest

• Ambitious

• Inquisitive

• Caring

• Sustainable
  

What you’ll be getting up to in this role:

People leadership & development

• Line-manage a team of Data Analysts and Data Engineers - running regular 1:1s, setting clear objectives, and owning performance management (recognising top performers and addressing underperformance early).

• Coach and mentor your team, identify skills gaps, build development plans and create clear progression paths.

• Attract, hire, retain and engage data talent; shape the composition and future capability of the team.

• Build a diverse, high-performing, customer-focused team, role-modelling So Energy’s values and behaviours.

Delivery & execution

• Own the day-to-day running of the team and the end-to-end, on-time delivery of its outcomes.

• Own sprint planning, backlog prioritisation and capacity / resource planning across competing business demands.

• Set and track team KPIs and SLAs, and provide clear management reporting on delivery and throughput.

• Act as the single point of contact for the data team’s projects.

Technical leadership (hands-on)

• Set and uphold technical standards across data modelling, pipelines and BI; review your team’s work and provide thought leadership.

• Stay hands-on: jump into SQLX / Python, build a dashboard, or deliver a benchmark analysis to unblock the team and set the bar.

• Maintain and enhance the data pipelines feeding the BigQuery data warehouse, and the medallion architecture

• Own data modelling, data migration and data architecture for the team’s domains; guide tooling decisions and make the case for investment in tools, resources and headcount.

Stakeholder management & business partnering

• Be the translator between business, engineering and data, turning requirements into insight and clear recommendations for decision-makers.

• Partner across Finance, Operations, Customer Services, Marketing and Product to define KPIs, dashboards and reporting, and to understand customer behaviour across all touchpoints.

• Present findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders clearly and persuasively.

• Proactively identify where data can improve customer acquisition and retention, operational efficiency, or unlock new value.

Data governance & quality

• Own the integrity, reliability and quality of the team’s data throughout the pipeline and analysis process.

• Ensure adherence to data governance, privacy and compliance policies, and champion the responsible, ethical use of data.

• Maintain strong documentation, data definitions, lineage and criticality

Strategy & continuous improvement

• Contribute to So Energy’s data and technology strategy, feeding delivery insight and prioritisation to the Technology Director.

• Champion data across the business, especially with the embedded data analysts, raising data literacy and driving a data-driven, self-service culture.

• Help move the team from ad-hoc reporting towards a robust, self-service Business Intelligence platform

You’re a great match if you have:

• Essential

  • Proven experience leading or mentoring a data team (analysts and/or engineers), including managing performance and developing others.

  • Strong hands-on technical background: SQL expert, with Python; Dataform SQLX; solid data modelling and ELT pipeline / medallion architecture experience.

  • Experience with a modern cloud data warehouse (ideally Google BigQuery) and a BI / visualisation platform (ideally Looker / Data Studio).

  • Track record of delivering data / analytics projects end-to-end, from requirements through to deployment and maintenance.

  • Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, able to translate between technical and non-technical audiences.

  • Experience of agile / Scrum ways of working, prioritisation and delivery management.

  Desirable

  • Exposure to AI / machine learning approaches (e.g. BigQuery ML), predictive analytics, anomaly detection or behaviour modelling.

  • Experience with Terraform, Cloud Run, Cloud SQL or similar GCP tooling.

  • Experience of data governance, privacy and compliance in a regulated environment.

  • Degree in a numerate / technical field (e.g. Computer Science, Maths, Statistics, Engineering, Economics).

  • Passion for, or experience in, the utility or renewable-energy industry.

Research shows that some underrepresented people are less likely to apply for a role unless they are 100% qualified. We believe your experience, skills, and passion will set you apart. We encourage you to apply and tell us about your journey, even if you don’t tick all the boxes.

What's in it for you

Smart Working Charters:

• Hybrid Working – Every team has its own SPARK Working Charter. Ask your Talent Partner for more details.

Growth & Development

• Dedicated Learning & Development Team – Supporting your development through workshops, coaching and learning opportunities.

• Learning Platform – Access thousands of learning resources to help you build new skills and support your career development.

• Educational Sponsorships – Supporting professional development through initiatives such as Code First Girls.

Pay & Reward

• Up to 10% Performance Bonus – Based on both company and personal performance.

• Annual Salary Reviews – Helping ensure we remain competitive in the market.

• Real Living Wage Employer – Proud to be an accredited Real Living Wage employer.

Time Off That Matters

• Your Birthday Off – Because birthdays should be celebrated.

• Three So Giving Days – Paid time to support a cause that's important to you.

• Enhanced Family Leave – Supporting you through every stage of family life.

Health & Wellbeing

• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – Confidential support available 24/7, 365 days a year, including access to professional guidance and structured counselling support.

• Wellbeing Resources via Perkbox – Access a range of wellbeing articles, tools and guidance, alongside employee perks and discounts, all in one place.

• Physical Wellbeing – Free eye tests and annual flu vaccinations.

• Menopause Policy – Providing support and guidance for colleagues experiencing menopause.

Belonging & Recognition

• Affinity Groups – Connect with colleagues through our employee-led communities.

• Monthly Social Events – Bringing teams together and creating opportunities to connect.

• Charitable Fundraising – Supporting the communities we're proud to be part of.
  

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

As a Disability Confident Committed employer, we encourage applications from everyone, and we will ensure fair and accessible recruitment for all. At So Energy, we’re committed to cultivating an environment that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We are a global community, and we believe our unique qualities should be celebrated as they are critical to our innovation. It’s essential to us that you bring your authentic self to work every single day, no matter your age, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, caring responsibilities, neurodiversity, or otherwise . Inclusion isn’t just an initiative at So Energy. We strive to embed it throughout our entire culture.