VP Data Modernization

Relocation Benefits Available

Specific Job Summary 

Located at the Marriott Vacations Worldwide (MVW) Corporate Office in Orlando, FL, the Vice President (VP), Data Modernization is responsible for shaping the strategic vision, design, development, and delivery of data acquisition and modernization technologies and platforms across the MVW Enterprise.  

This role enhances owner and customer relationships and experiences by translating product requirements into value delivery, supporting the achievement of strategic resort operations business objectives and key results (OKRs). Creates business value by communicating the technical roadmap to key stakeholders, supporting data acquisition, and modernizing the Enterprise Data Platforms. Responsibilities include identifying data sources, defining ingestion patterns, building a connected data ecosystem, cleansing ingested data for quality, establishing a Data Engineering Center of Excellence, and modernizing the data platform and other critical technology functions. This role employs agile practices to translate, shape, and prioritize requirements into user stories and acceptance criteria. It is accountable for setting, achieving and measuring progress towards data platform pod OKRs.  

Oversees effective management of group product assets throughout their product life cycles by ensuring product features meet technical systems, security, data privacy, and architecture compliance standards and the implementation of governance, best practices, release management, and product performance optimization.  

Key Results 

• Data Acquisition and Modernization technical product pod members are engaged, motivated, and operating effectively. 

• Data Acquisition technology systems are highly resilient and secure. 

• Internal and external information security risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated in accordance with the company’s risk threshold. 

Working Relationships 

• GT Senior Leaders (CIO+1s) 

• Global Technology Sub-functional Leads 

• Data & Analytics Leadership 

• Internal Audit Leadership 

• Legal Counsel 

• Risk Management Leadership 

• Finance & Accounting Leadership 

Specific Expected Contributions  
 

• Builds Data Engineering team from ground up, attracts and retains talent. 

• Defines and communicates with key stakeholders. 

• Executes a strategic vision and platform roadmap for Data Ingestion capabilities, Data Engineering Excellence, ensuring support of MVW’s long-term business objectives and that are current with industry best practices. 

• Works closely with Data & Analytics senior business leaders, platform and product technical managers, and other key stakeholders across the MVW Enterprise to define business, digital, and technology Strategy for Data Engineering. Accountable for setting, achieving, and measuring progress toward OKRs for product pods.  

• Drives the Quarterly Business Review (QBR) on behalf of the Data Engineering group. Ensures the Data Engineering pods in the group are maximizing return on investment, enabling business value/results, and managing stakeholder expectations 

• Oversees the design, development, and implementation of effective Data ingestion and Data Engineering solutions, customizations, and integrations to meet business needs within established cost parameters.  

• Actively oversees Data Engineering practices and technologies throughout development lifecycles to ensure effective lifecycle management. 

• Partners with security and data privacy teams to implement measures protecting guest data and ensuring system safety from cyber threats. 

• Leads, coaches, and mentors a team of product technology pods inclusive of scrum masters, data engineers and developers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement based on data-driven decision making. Identifies trade-offs between short- & long-term advantages to the team's vision. 

• Introduces automation tools and standardizes production platforms to ensure scalability as Data products and Platforms expand.  

• Collaborates with cross-functional teams within GT and with business functional with the goal of identifying opportunities for process improvement and system enhancements. 

• Ensures reliability, scalability, and security of Enterprise Data Platforms technical products adhering to best practices and compliance standards. 

• Manages vendor relationships, including selection, contract negotiation, and performance evaluation where applicable. 

• Stays abreast of new Data Engineering and Platform technical features evaluating their applicability to business goals and leading the adoption of relevant innovations. 

• Drives change management initiatives to ensure smooth adoption of new systems and processes across the organization.  

• Develops and manages the Data Acquisition & Modernization team budget, ensuring cost-effective solutions that deliver value to the business. 

• Stays abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in the hotel and resort operations ecosystem. 

• Drives innovation by exploring new tools, techniques, and methodologies. 

• Continuously improves group data engineering processes and workflows. 

• Performs other duties as assigned. 

Specific Candidate Profile  

Education 

• Bachelor of Science (BS) degree that is technology based in information technology, engineering, computer science, or statistical/math sciences required.  

• Master’s degree, e.g., MBA or in Computer Science, preferred or additional 10 years of experience in lieu of master’s degree. 

Certifications Preferred 

• Relevant certifications in IT management, project management, or hospitality industry standards. 

Experience 

• At least 12 years progressive experience in Data Engineering and Platforms is crucial. Deep understanding of hotel and resort technical products, architecture, and best practices is preferred. Proven experience in designing and implementing scalable, secure, and integrated IT architectures for resort environments or similar. Ability to integrate diverse systems such as Marketing & Sales systems, property management systems (PMS), point-of-sale (POS), and guest experience platforms, etc. 

• Proven ability to learn how a business operates while continuously building business acumen. Familiarity with financial analysis and associated reporting tools. Experience managing the budget process and being financially accountable for achieving results. 

• Implemented Micro services-based architecture for the ingestion and integration of data. 

• Implemented the entire Data Management Life Cycle. 

• Designed and implemented Data Lake Architecture as an Enterprise Data Hub in support of OnDemand to Data consumption. 

• Proven experience driving organizational change and leading technology transformations via stakeholder engagement and vendor management. 

• Proven ability to apply advanced analytical, conceptual strategic planning, and execution skills to solve complex technical challenges, optimizing performance, and ensuring scalability.  

• Successful track record managing cross-functional, multi-disciplinary teams to achieve business outcomes. 

• Experience in developing Data Engineering Platforms for hospitality industry is preferred.    

• Experience gathering requirements and translating into a group product vision by leveraging expertise in product development, systems integrations, and data engineering. 

• Experience managing a product backlog/release plan, tracking team level metrics, attending platform team ceremonies, and removing blockers (burndown chart, release burn up, etc.) 

• Experience managing current and emerging technologies related to hospitality industry and how to apply them to create new and enhance existing data technical products.  

• Experience with emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, and cloud data computing, and their applications in enhancing guest experiences and operational efficiency. 

• Progressive experience in release management and DevOps including overseeing deployment cycles, version control, and release processes.  

• Familiarity Agile methodologies and continuous integration. 

• Experience defining and leading large-scale projects with multiple stakeholders. 

• Experience in a multi-national, matrix structured organization preferred.  

• Experience in Hotel Management, Vacation Ownership, or Hospitality preferred.  

Skills/Attributes 

• Analytical and Strategic Thinking 

• Strategic Thinking: Capacity to align hospitality technical solutions with the Enterprise Data Platform strategic goals and objectives. Ability to be a strategic thought partner at the intersectionality of technology and the business with senior leaders.  

• Analytical Skills: Ability to analyze data and metrics to assess the performance and Data Engineering technologies. 

• Technical 

Data Engineering: Experience in Cloud, Big Data, Enterprise Data Warehouse, Data Hub, Technology Roadmap and Strategy. Data Integration technologies, Data Quality, Metadata Management, Data Virtualization. Enterprise Application Integration. Databases – MPP, Relation, NoSQL, Legacy DBs. 

• Migration and Integration: Experience with ingesting data from enterprise systems to Enterprise Data platform and ensuring a connected Data Ecosystem.  

• Security and Compliance: Understanding of security protocols and compliance. 

• Observability and Automation: Proficiency in developing and deploying observability tools to ensure high quality of data across the ingestion platform. 

• Troubleshooting and Support: Strong problem-solving skills to diagnose and resolve issues related to hotel and resort platform and product implementations. 

• Project Management Skills 

• Requirement Analysis: Skills in gathering and analyzing business requirements to Data Engineering solutions to meet business needs. 

• Planning and Execution: Ability to plan, execute, and manage projects, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget while meeting technical and quality requirements. 

• Change Management: Experience in managing change within an organization, including training and supporting end users. 

• Interpersonal 

• Communication: Proven verbal and written communication skills to convey technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders in easy-to-understand ways. Able to contribute ideas that challenge assumptions and thinking.  

• Customer Focus: Commitment to a strong customer service orientation to understand and address internal client needs effectively. Ability to build empathy with key stakeholders in the course of their daily work. 

• Collaboration: Proven ability to collaborate within the Global Technology organization at all levels, vendors, and Managed Service providers to architect solutions and oversee successful project implementations.  

• Leadership Courage: Ability to influence at all levels, lead, motivate, and inspire team members, driving successful implementation and adoption of group product features and solutions.  

• Additional Attributes 

• Adaptability: Flexibility to adapt to changing project requirements and organizational dynamics within a matrixed organizational structure. 

• Curiosity and Continuous Learning: Commitment to staying updated with the latest technical features, updates, and best practices. 

• Coaching and Training: Ability to identify critical learning objectives for user groups and partner with learning program designers in support of developing technical training programs and collateral. Proven ability to deliver both in class and on-line technical training sessions.  

• Problem-Solving: Proactive approach to identifying and addressing potential issues before they escalate. 

• Attention to Detail: Ensuring accuracy and thoroughness in all aspects of implementation. 

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