Independent, senior-level data leadership for South African organisations.
Based in Johannesburg. Available nationally.
Most companies don't need a full-time Head of Data. But they do need the judgment, experience, and oversight that comes with senior data leadership—especially when facing platform decisions, governance gaps, or analytics investments that will shape the business for years.
This advisory service is part of Zorinthia—the same consultancy that builds accounting automation solutions for finance teams. While our implementation work focuses on invoice processing, reconciliation, and month-end automation, this Head of Data advisory addresses broader data strategy, governance, and analytics leadership questions that executives face before implementation begins.
This service provides independent Head of Data advisory to CEOs, CFOs, and executive committees across South Africa. With over a decade of experience leading data strategy, governance, and analytics functions, this capability is available on a fractional or project basis—without the overhead of a permanent hire. Learn more about our consultancy approach.
This is not consulting theatre. It's senior judgment applied to your real decisions: Should you build or buy? Is your data architecture fit for purpose? Are you getting value from your analytics investment? Is your governance posture appropriate for your risk profile? For organisations that need implementation support after strategic decisions are made, our automation services handle the delivery side using the same data product lifecycle methodology.
This service is designed for senior leaders who need experienced, independent input on data decisions—without the complexity of a full-time hire or the bias of a vendor relationship.
You're considering a significant analytics platform investment, a data warehouse migration, or a governance programme. You need someone who has been through this before—not to sell you a solution, but to help you ask the right questions and avoid costly mistakes. For manufacturing companies facing PLC-to-ERP integration challenges, see common integration obstacles.
You have data analysts, engineers, or a BI function—but no senior data leader to set direction, challenge vendors, or represent data at the executive table. You need oversight and strategic guidance, not more hands on keyboards.
You're responsible for oversight of data risk, regulatory compliance, or digital investments—but the board lacks deep data expertise. You need an independent voice who can translate technical complexity into governance language.
You've outgrown ad-hoc spreadsheets and are investing in proper data infrastructure—but you're not large enough to justify a R2m+ annual salary for a Head of Data. You need senior capability on a fractional basis.
There are specific situations where an independent, fractional Head of Data Strategy delivers more value than a permanent hire or a consulting engagement.
No software sales. No delivery teams to feed. No benefit from recommending complex solutions over simple ones. The only interest is giving you clear, unbiased guidance. When a vendor, platform, or approach is recommended, it's because it's right for your situation—not because it generates downstream revenue.
Data and analytics investments fail more often than they succeed. The reasons are predictable: unclear strategy, poor governance, wrong technology choices, misaligned incentives, and lack of executive sponsorship. Having an experienced Head of Data involved early—before contracts are signed and teams are built—reduces your risk of expensive missteps. This aligns with the data product lifecycle methodology, which starts with data audit and strategy before any implementation.
Executives are often presented with competing proposals from vendors, internal teams, and consultants—each with their own agenda. The role is to cut through the noise: What are you actually trying to achieve? What are the real options? What are the trade-offs? What would a senior data leader do if this were their company?
Sometimes you need an independent second set of eyes—especially when making significant data architecture, platform, or governance decisions. This service provides independent oversight, design authority, and risk and governance support. Whether reviewing vendor proposals, challenging internal assumptions, or validating strategic direction, having a senior data leader as a second opinion helps catch issues before they become expensive problems.
Data governance isn't just about compliance—it's about ensuring that data assets are managed as strategic resources. An independent Head of Data Governance can establish frameworks, define ownership, and provide ongoing oversight without the political constraints that sometimes limit internal leaders.
This advisory operates at the intersection of data strategy, governance, and executive decision-making. The work spans several domains, depending on what your organisation needs.
Defining what "data" means for your business. Aligning your data initiatives with business objectives. Prioritising your investments. Setting realistic expectations. Ensuring your data strategy is coherent, achievable, and connected to how you actually make money. See the full data product lifecycle for how strategy translates into implementation.
Establishing data ownership, quality standards, and accountability. Building governance frameworks that work in practice—not just on paper. Ensuring compliance with POPIA, sector regulations, and internal policies. Making governance a business enabler, not a bureaucratic burden.
Guiding your Head of Data Analytics or analytics team on priorities, methods, and stakeholder engagement. Ensuring that analytics work delivers business value, not just dashboards. Representing analytics at the executive level. Challenging whether you're measuring what matters.
Providing Head of Data Architecture–level oversight on technology choices. Reviewing proposals for data warehouses, lakes, integration platforms, and BI tools. Challenging vendor claims. Ensuring architectural decisions align with business needs, not technology fashion. For finance teams, this often involves decisions about accounting automation platforms and integration architecture.
Acting as an informed second opinion on vendor proposals, implementation roadmaps, and technology recommendations. Asking the questions your team might not ask—or might not know to ask. Protecting you from overcommitment and scope creep.
Providing Head of Advanced Analytics and Head of Data Science perspective on machine learning and predictive projects. Ensuring these initiatives are grounded in business value, not technology for its own sake. Setting realistic expectations about what's achievable with your data.
Clarity about scope is important. Here's what falls outside this advisory practice—and why.
Not a reseller or partner for any technology vendor. When a platform or tool is recommended, it's because it's right for your situation—not because of commissions or referral fees.
This advisory doesn't build data pipelines, write SQL, or configure dashboards. If you need implementation capacity, the service helps you define requirements and evaluate delivery partners—but stays in the advisory lane. This separation keeps recommendations unbiased. For organisations that need implementation support, Zorinthia's automation services handle the delivery side—building the same data products and automation solutions we deliver for finance teams.
Not a contractor filling a seat. This service works at the strategic and governance level—advising, challenging, and guiding. If you need someone to manage a team day-to-day, that's a different engagement (and the service can help you define what that role should look like).
Three primary ways to work together, depending on your needs and timeline.
A focused, time-boxed assessment of your data landscape, governance posture, or a specific decision you're facing. Typically 2–4 weeks. This aligns with Phase 1: Source of the data product lifecycle—data audit and strategy.
Outputs: Written assessment, findings, recommendations, and a clear view of what to do next.
Best for: Organisations needing a second opinion or a baseline before making significant investments.
Ongoing access to senior data leadership on a monthly basis. Participation in steering committees, vendor reviews, and strategic discussions.
Outputs: Regular engagement, documented guidance, and continuity of oversight.
Best for: Organisations running data programmes who need sustained senior input without a full-time hire.
Acting as your external Head of Data and Insight on a part-time basis. Setting strategy, chairing governance forums, and representing data at the executive level.
Outputs: Strategic leadership, governance frameworks, executive reporting, and team guidance.
Best for: Mid-sized organisations who need senior data leadership but can't justify a permanent C-level hire.
This service works primarily with organisations in regulated and operations-heavy industries where data decisions carry significant risk and complexity.
These industries share common characteristics: complex data landscapes, regulatory requirements, operational dependencies on data quality, and high stakes for getting data decisions wrong. If your organisation operates in a similar environment, we should talk. For finance teams in these industries, see how Zorinthia approaches invoice automation and statement reconciliation as examples of data product implementation—the same methodology applies whether you're automating accounting workflows or building broader data capabilities.
There are good reasons why an external, independent Head of Data delivers value that internal hires and consulting firms often can't.
Internal leaders are embedded in organisational politics. Consulting firms have billable hour targets and upsell incentives. This service has neither. The only objective is to give you clear, honest guidance that serves your interests.
You get direct access to someone who has led data functions, made these decisions before, and seen what works and what doesn't. No junior consultants doing the work while a senior partner attends the steering committee. The person in the room is the person doing the thinking.
Most consultants work from reports, dashboards, and stakeholder interviews in meeting rooms. That's not how we operate. When decisions carry material risk, we go onsite—observing real workflows, shadowing staff, and seeing how data is actually created and used in practice. We interview people where they work, not in boardrooms. We find pain points by watching what happens, not just by asking what happens.
This matters because strategies and automation initiatives that look sound on paper often fail in practice. The gap between what systems say and what people actually do is where most data projects go wrong. By grounding advisory work in operational reality—not charts and graphs—we catch issues before they become expensive mistakes.
When you ask a systems integrator whether you need a complex implementation, they'll usually say yes. When you ask a software vendor whether their product is right for you, they'll usually say yes. This advisory has no delivery capacity to sell, no products to push, and no incentive to recommend complexity. Sometimes the right answer is "don't do this" or "do less"—and this service is positioned to say that. If implementation is needed after strategic decisions are made, Zorinthia's implementation services can handle that separately, keeping advisory and delivery distinct. This is the same consultancy that builds invoice automation and reconciliation solutions—but advisory and implementation remain separate engagements.
If you're facing a data decision, considering a governance programme, or simply want an experienced perspective on your data landscape—an initial conversation is available with no obligation.
This isn't a sales call. It's a conversation between peers about whether there's a fit. If there is, we can discuss scope and approach. If there isn't, you'll be told honestly.
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