Associate Director- MENA Chief Data Officer (CDO)- Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon

Chief Data Officer (MENA)

At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence. 

We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go. 

Join EY and help to build a better working world. 

The Opportunity:

The Chief Data Officer (CDO) is accountable for establishing and executing a MENA-wide data strategy that accelerates business value creation, enables AI at scale, and ensures data is trusted, secure, and compliant. This is a cross–Service Line leadership role supporting Assurance, Tax, Consulting, and EY-Parthenon, defining the data operating model, overseeing governance and stewardship, and partnering with senior leaders to transform data into differentiated products, insights, and revenue-generating services across the region. The base location for this position will either Egypt, Jordan or Lebanon office.

Your key responsibilities :

As Chief Data Officer for the MENA Super Region, you will set the vision and lead the execution of an AI-ready data agenda across countries and across Assurance, Tax, Consulting, and EY-Parthenon—balancing growth, innovation, and risk. You will create alignment between service-line strategies and shared data capabilities, standardize governance and data ways of working, and build a scalable foundation for data products, analytics, and responsible AI that can be reused across offerings and engagements.

• Define and execute the regional data strategy and roadmap (12–36 months), aligned to global direction and local regulatory, market, and client needs.
• Establish a fit-for-purpose data operating model (roles, decision rights, funding, and prioritization) and lead cross-country data councils and communities of practice.
• Lead enterprise data governance and stewardship, including policies, standards, data quality, metadata, lineage, master/reference data, and domain ownership.
• Enable AI and analytics at scale by promoting reusable data products, trusted datasets, and self-service capabilities; partner with technology teams on platform strategy and modernization.
• Oversee data risk management, privacy, security, and compliance (e.g., GDPR and local regulations), working closely with Risk, Legal, and Cyber teams to ensure responsible data use and AI governance.
• Drive measurable value from data investments by defining KPIs (quality, adoption, reuse, time-to-insight, risk reduction) and establishing benefits tracking and reporting to leadership.
• Lead data monetization by identifying high-value data assets and transforming them into revenue-generating assets, products, and services (e.g., data-enabled managed services, benchmarks, client insights products, accelerators), including pricing/packaging, go-to-market alignment, and performance tracking.
• Act as an executive sponsor and ambassador for data, engaging senior stakeholders, clients, and external partners; represent the region in global forums and contribute to industry thought leadership.

• Data strategy and operating model agreed with regional leadership and all Service Lines (Assurance, Tax, Consulting, EY-Parthenon), including funding, prioritization, decision rights, and governance cadence.
• Core governance capabilities in place (data owners/stewards per domain, policies, critical data elements, quality rules, and a metadata/catalog approach) with demonstrated adoption and measurable quality uplift across countries and Service Lines.
• A prioritized portfolio of reusable data products and AI-ready datasets delivered, enabling at least 2–3 high-impact cross–Service Line use cases (e.g., client delivery, risk/compliance, or operational efficiency) and an initial data monetization pipeline established (target offerings defined, pricing/packaging agreed, and first pilots or revenue realized).

Skills and attributes for success:

You bring senior, enterprise-scale leadership experience across data strategy, governance, platforms, and value realization, including:

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Computer Science, Data/Analytics, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field; 12+ years in data/technology leadership with 5+ years in an enterprise or regional CDO/Head of Data/VP Data-equivalent role.
• Demonstrated success establishing data governance, stewardship, and data quality at scale; deep understanding of data management practices (metadata, lineage, MDM, reference data, retention) and regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR).
• Proven experience shaping data platform/architecture strategy (cloud, lakehouse/warehouse, integration, APIs) and enabling analytics/AI delivery through data products and modern engineering practices.
• Executive-level communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills; able to partner with C-suite leaders, lead through ambiguity, and operate effectively in a multicultural, matrixed environment (fluent English required; Arabic is plus).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in professional services or similarly complex, regulated environments with multiple Service Lines and country-level nuances.
• Track record of delivering enterprise data products, monetizing data assets, or scaling AI/advanced analytics in a governed manner.
• Experience implementing data catalog, governance workflow, and quality tooling; familiarity with common frameworks (e.g., DAMA-DMBOK, DCAM) is beneficial.
• Strong understanding of information security, privacy-by-design, and responsible AI governance principles.

What we look for :

• Strategic leadership: sets vision, aligns stakeholders, and translates strategy into an executable roadmap.
• Value orientation: prioritizes outcomes, measures benefits, and optimizes investment across the data portfolio.
• Governance and risk mindset: balances innovation with controls, compliance, and ethical data/AI use.
• Product thinking: builds reusable data products with clear ownership, SLAs, and adoption plans.
• Collaboration: partners effectively across Technology, Risk, Legal, and Service Lines in a matrixed organization.
• Change leadership: drives cultural adoption, capability building, and continuous improvement.

What we offer

• Continuous learning: You’ll develop the mindset and skills to navigate whatever comes next. 
• Success as defined by you : We’ll provide the tools and flexibility, so you can make a meaningful impact, your way. 
• Transformative leadership: We’ll give you the insights, coaching and confidence to be the leader the world needs. 
• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs. 

The exceptional EY experience. It’s yours to build. 

EY | Building a better working world 

EY exists to build a better working world, helping to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets. 

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.