SF Data Lead

Job Description:

• Own and drive the end-to-end data strategy, architecture, and delivery across a complex, global enterprise operating across multiple business clusters, legal entities, and joint ventures.
• The role will lead all aspects of data design, migration, governance, and quality across multiple SAP SuccessFactors instances, legacy systems, and fragmented HR tools, ensuring a clean, consistent, and trusted data foundation to enable intelligent HR operations, advanced analytics, and GenAI/agentic frameworks.

Key Responsibilities:

1. HR Data Strategy & Architecture

• Define and own the enterprise HR data strategy across multiple SuccessFactors instances, legacy systems, and manual processes.
• Design the target-state data architecture including data models, hierarchies, taxonomies, and master data standards.
• Establish a harmonized global data framework while accommodating regional, legal entity, and joint venture variations.
• Align data architecture to support analytics, reporting, and AI/GenAI readiness.

2. Data Migration & Conversion

• Lead end-to-end data migration planning and execution from legacy systems and manual tools into SAP SuccessFactors.
• Define migration strategy, sequencing, and tooling across multiple instances and clusters.
• Establish data mapping, transformation rules, and validation frameworks.
• Manage multiple migration cycles including mock runs, reconciliation, and cutover.

3. Data Quality & Cleansing

• Design and implement data quality frameworks including profiling, cleansing, deduplication, and enrichment.
• Define data quality KPIs and monitoring mechanisms to ensure ongoing data health.
• Drive data remediation activities with business stakeholders to resolve quality issues at source.
• Ensure data quality standards meet the threshold required for GenAI and agentic framework adoption.

4. Data Governance & Standards

• Establish data governance policies, roles, and responsibilities across global HR and IT teams.
• Define and enforce data ownership, stewardship, and accountability models.
• Create and maintain data dictionaries, business glossaries, and metadata standards.
• Lead data governance forums and ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements.

5. Multi-Instance Data Harmonization

• Drive data harmonization across multiple SAP SF instances, ensuring consistency in:
• Foundation objects (business structure, job framework, pay structure).
• Picklists, custom fields, and configuration data.
• Cross-instance reporting and analytics data models.
• Identify and resolve data conflicts, redundancies, and gaps across clusters.

6. Integration & Data Flows

• Define data integration requirements between SuccessFactors and:
• Non-SAP HR tools and platforms.
• Payroll, finance, and downstream systems.
• Reporting and analytics platforms.
• Ensure data consistency, traceability, and auditability across all integration touchpoints
• Works in close partnership with the Integration & Reporting Lead on data contracts — ownership of integration design sits with the Integration Lead, APIs and middleware design.
• Engagement with ITSM/ServiceNow data owners to ensure consistency between HR service management data and SF EC master data.

7. Stakeholder Management & Team Leadership

• Partner with HR, IT, Total Rewards, Finance, and business stakeholders across regions and clusters.
• Lead and mentor a team of data analysts, migration specialists, and data stewards.
• Drive workshops, data discovery sessions, and validation reviews with business and technical teams.
• Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for all HR data related decisions and escalations.

8. Business Value Realization

• Align data strategy to core business outcomes:
• Improved data quality, accuracy, and consistency across the enterprise.
• Reduced manual data handling and reconciliation effort.
• Trusted data foundation to enable GenAI, agentic frameworks, and advanced analytics.
• Enhanced reporting and decision-making capabilities for HR and leadership.
• Establish KPIs and value tracking mechanisms.

Requirements:

• 8+ years in HR technology with deep expertise in HR data management within SAP SuccessFactors
• Proven experience as a Data Lead or Senior Data Consultant on large-scale, global HR transformation programs.

Experience handling:

• Multi-instance SAP SF data landscapes.
• Global organizations with multiple legal entities, data structures, and regulatory requirements.
• Large-scale data migration from legacy and manual systems into SuccessFactors.

Functional & Technical Expertise:

Strong knowledge of:

• Strong functional understanding of the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central data model, including foundation objects, position management, job framework, and employee/employment record structures.
• This role requires more than technical data management capability — the Lead must understand how HR data is structured and governed within SF EC to make sound data design and migration decisions.
• Data migration tools and methodologies (SF Data Import, Migration templates, ETL tools)
• Data governance frameworks and master data management principles.
• Working knowledge of GDPR, PDPA, and equivalent regulations as they apply to HR data architecture, migration, and cross-border data flows. Experience defining data privacy controls within SF data models.

Experience with:

• Data migration tooling such as Spinifex, OpenText, or equivalent HR data migration platforms.
• Where dedicated tooling is not available, strong proficiency in Excel scripting and data manipulation is essential to support manual migration and cleansing activities.
• Data masking tools or techniques to ensure personal and sensitive employee data are appropriately protected during migration, testing, and validation activities.
• Data profiling, cleansing, and quality management tools.
• Integration data flows (SAP CPI / middleware).
• HR reporting and analytics (Story Reports, Ad Hoc Reports, People Analytics).

Transformation & Innovation:

Strong understanding of:

• Data readiness requirements for AI / GenAI and agentic frameworks.
• Data quality maturity models and continuous improvement approaches.
• Emerging trends in HR data management and people analytics.

Leadership & Consulting Skills

Ability to:

• Lead cross functional teams and manage delivery across multiple data workstreams.
• Translate complex data challenges into structured, actionable plans.
• Influence senior stakeholders including HR leadership and IT governance.
• Manage competing priorities and data dependencies across clusters and geographies.

Required Qualifications

• SAP SuccessFactors certification (Employee Central preferred).
• Experience with enterprise data governance tools and platforms.
• Experience in highly regulated or complex global industries.