Responsibilities:
- Assess Data Needs: Collaborate with business stakeholders, data analysts, and decision-makers to understand data requirements and objectives, and identify opportunities to leverage external data sources to enhance insights and analytics.
- Identify Data Sources: Research and identify potential external data sources, including public datasets, commercial data providers, APIs, and data exchanges, that align with business needs and objectives, and evaluate their relevance and quality.
- Negotiate Data Partnerships: Establish relationships and negotiate agreements with external data providers, vendors, and partners to access and acquire data sets, ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements.
- Acquire Data: Develop and implement processes, tools, and techniques for acquiring, ingesting, and integrating external data sources into our organization's data ecosystem, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.
- Ensure Data Quality: Evaluate the quality, reliability, and integrity of acquired data sets, and implement data quality checks, validation processes, and cleansing procedures to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
- Manage Data Pipelines: Design and implement data pipelines and workflows for automating data acquisition, ingestion, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes, and monitor data pipelines for performance, reliability, and scalability.
- Optimize Data Acquisition: Continuously evaluate and optimize data acquisition processes and workflows to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance data quality and availability, and implement best practices and standards.
- Collaborate with Data Teams: Work closely with data engineers, data scientists, and data analysts to understand data requirements, integrate external data sources into analytical workflows, and support data-driven decision-making.
- Stay Updated with Industry Trends: Stay informed about emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in data acquisition, data integration, and data management, and assess their potential impact on our organization's data strategy and roadmap.
- Document and Communicate: Document data acquisition processes, methodologies, and best practices, and communicate them to stakeholders, project teams, and technical staff, and provide training and support as needed.
Must Have:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or a related field. (Master's degree preferred)
- Proven experience as a Data Acquisition Specialist, Data Strategist, or similar role, with expertise in identifying, acquiring, and integrating external data sources.
- Deep understanding of data acquisition concepts, methodologies, and best practices, and experience with data acquisition tools, technologies, and techniques.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyze complex data requirements, identify relevant data sources, and assess data quality and suitability.
- Experience with data integration tools and platforms (e.g., Apache Kafka, Talend, Informatica) and knowledge of data formats, protocols, and APIs (e.g., JSON, REST, SOAP).
- Excellent negotiation and relationship-building skills, with the ability to establish and maintain partnerships with external data providers, vendors, and partners.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
- Project management skills, with experience leading data acquisition projects from inception to completion, and managing resources, timelines, and budgets.
- Familiarity with data governance, privacy, and compliance requirements, and experience ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations.
- Certifications in data management, data strategy, or related fields (e.g., Certified Data Management Professional, Certified Data Management Architect) are preferred.