Associate Director - Reporting and Data Analytics

Job description

At EY, you’ll have the chance to build a career as unique as you are, with the global scale, support, inclusive culture and technology to become the best version of you. And we’re counting on your unique voice and perspective to help EY become even better, too. Join us and build an exceptional experience for yourself, and a better working world for all. GDS ES FINANCE | REPORTING & DATA ANALYTICS JOB DESCRIPTION Associate Director – R&DA Role purpose Serve as the strategic business advisor and R&DA delivery leader for the Regions, with end-to-end accountability for reporting, analytics and insights outcomes, stakeholder relationships, people leadership, operational excellence and regional adoption of transformation, automation and innovation initiatives. Associate Director – Reporting & Data Analytics Function GDS ES Finance | Reporting & Data Analytics Role overview The Associate Director – R&DA, Regions Lead is a strategic business advisor and delivery leader responsible for connecting regional business and finance priorities with the full R&DA capability. The role leads high-quality reporting, advanced analytics and actionable insight delivery while ensuring strong governance, controls, stakeholder alignment and measurable business value. The Regions Lead also mobilises regional takeaways and adoption from enterprise-led initiatives, strengthens collaboration across regions and global teams, and scales repeatable solutions and best practices across the reporting and analytics ecosystem. Primary objectives Provide strategic partnership and decision support to regional business and finance leadership. Own end-to-end governance for reporting, analytics and insights delivered to assigned regional stakeholders. Improve quality, consistency, timeliness and business relevance across R&DA outcomes. Drive standardisation, optimisation, automation, AI adoption and scalable delivery practices. Build strong regional stakeholder relationships and connect regional demand to global and enablement capabilities. Lead a high-performing, inclusive and future-ready R&DA team. Ensure regional mobilisation, adoption and value realisation from enterprise transformation initiatives. Key responsibilities Regional strategy and business advisory Act as a trusted advisor to regional business and finance leadership, providing insights and recommendations that enhance business performance and margins. Develop strong understanding of regional business cycles, KPIs, revenue drivers, reporting frameworks and stakeholder priorities. Influence and support strategic planning, forecasting and key business initiatives in partnership with stakeholders. Translate regional priorities into a clear R&DA agenda, demand plan and decision roadmap. Provide executive-level insights by integrating relevant financial, operational and market information. Business insights and advanced analytics Lead the design and delivery of executive reporting, dashboards and analytics solutions. Drive predictive, scenario-based and forward-looking analysis to support leadership decisions. Identify performance-improvement opportunities across profitability, pipeline health, staffing effectiveness, operational investments and cost optimisation. Translate complex information into clear recommendations, narratives and decision points for senior stakeholders. Promote adoption of advanced analytics and automated insights where these improve decision support. Reporting and delivery governance Own end-to-end delivery governance for reporting, analytics and insights for assigned regional stakeholders. Ensure timeliness, accuracy, consistency and quality across deliverables through clear controls and review mechanisms. Lead or support cyclical finance processes including monthly reporting, forecasting, revenue planning and GIP submissions. Establish transparent service expectations, priorities, ownership, escalation routes and delivery routines. Identify delivery risks early and drive mitigation with relevant business, finance, R&DA and enablement stakeholders. Standardisation, optimisation and scalability Drive standardisation and optimisation across regional reporting operations to improve efficiency and stakeholder experience. Identify duplication, local variations, manual touchpoints and low-value outputs that can be simplified, rationalised or eliminated. Promote common reporting definitions, templates, controls, documentation and ways of working where practical. Scale repeatable solutions and best practices across R&DA teams while retaining justified regional requirements. Use fact-based baselines and benefit measures to demonstrate improvements in quality, turnaround, effort and control. Transformation, automation and innovation Lead the regional R&DA transformation agenda to modernise reporting and insights through automation, AI and advanced analytics. Set direction and execute improvement initiatives that reduce manual effort and elevate value-added analysis. Partner with enablement and technology teams to deliver future-ready products and capabilities and ensure business outcomes are realised. Lead regional mobilisation, adoption and takeaways for initiatives led by enterprise or other teams. Identify opportunities for innovation, new capabilities and scalable solutions that strengthen stakeholder value and support growth. Stakeholder and relationship ownership Own and manage key regional stakeholder relationships, ensuring alignment between business needs, priorities and delivered insights. Serve as a primary liaison between regional business leadership, finance teams, global service line leaders, R&DA teams and enablement teams. Lead stakeholder-facing communication including monthly business reviews, leadership decks, strategic commentary and decision memos. Manage expectations transparently and facilitate timely decisions on priorities, risks, trade-offs and investment needs. Represent regional stakeholder needs while balancing enterprise consistency, control and scalability. Cross-region and cross-team collaboration Drive cross-pillar and cross-team collaboration to improve visibility, knowledge sharing and integrated problem solving. Represent regional stakeholders in relevant R&DA forums and ensure regional priorities and outcomes are visible. Identify opportunities to share activity, capacity, expertise and solutions across teams. Build effective partnerships with global, regional, service line, finance, transformation and technology stakeholders. Promote reuse and avoid unnecessary duplication of reports, analysis and technology solutions. People leadership and workforce planning Lead cross-functional teams across reporting, analytics and finance operations, setting clear goals and accountability. Drive recruitment, onboarding, coaching, upskilling and performance management to build a future-ready talent pipeline. Foster a high-performing, inclusive and collaborative team culture with strong ways of working. Lead workforce planning including headcount strategy, role prioritisation, capacity planning and attrition management. Develop succession, backup coverage and capability plans aligned to evolving R&DA and regional needs. Governance, controls and compliance Lead participation in governance routines such as MBRs, leadership syncs and planning cycles with clear actions and follow-through. Ensure adherence to control, compliance and governance standards across reporting and analytics operations. Maintain appropriate oversight of reporting risks, data quality concerns, process dependencies and issue resolution. Ensure transformation and technology adoption preserve required controls, accountability and operational readiness. Business growth and enterprise initiatives Lead delivery and value realisation for core regional reporting and analytics initiatives with full accountability for outcomes. Contribute to enterprise programmes such as cross-service-line transformation, integrated delivery models and innovation programmes. Lead regional adoption of relevant enterprise capabilities and convert strategic initiatives into practical regional outcomes. Deliver value through productivity improvements, cost-reduction insights and scalable reporting and analytics solutions. Key deliverables Regional R&DA strategy, priorities and stakeholder engagement plan. Integrated regional demand, delivery and transformation roadmap. Executive reporting, dashboards, insights and decision-support narratives. Delivery governance pack covering service performance, risks, issues, actions and decisions. Standardisation and optimisation backlog with documented benefits. Regional automation, AI and advanced analytics adoption roadmap. Stakeholder-facing monthly business reviews, leadership decks and strategic commentary. Workforce, capability, succession and capacity plans. Regional mobilisation and adoption plans for enterprise initiatives. Benefits-realisation view covering quality, timeliness, productivity, cost and stakeholder outcomes. Key stakeholder groups Regional business and finance leadership Global service line and finance leaders R&DA leadership and delivery teams Enablement, transformation, data and technology teams Enterprise programme and initiative leads Reporting, analytics and finance operations teams Experience and qualifications Essential Substantial experience in reporting and data analytics, finance partnering, business insights or related leadership roles. Demonstrated experience leading reporting, analytics and insight delivery for senior stakeholders. Strong understanding of business cycles, KPIs, revenue drivers, financial reporting and decision-support requirements. Proven stakeholder relationship management and executive communication capability. Experience leading cross-functional teams, workforce planning, coaching and capability development. Experience driving operational excellence, standardisation, optimisation and transformation initiatives. Strong governance, risk management, prioritisation and delivery oversight skills. Preferred Experience leading regional or multi-country stakeholder portfolios. Experience with Power BI, automated insights, advanced analytics, AI-enabled solutions or comparable reporting technologies. Experience mobilising regional adoption of global or enterprise programmes. Knowledge of integrated planning, forecasting, workforce transformation or machine-learning-enabled forecasting initiatives. Experience creating and scaling reusable reporting and analytics solutions across teams or geographies. Core capabilities Capability area & Expected capability Strategic leadership - Business advisory; regional agenda setting; planning; value framing; decision support Insights and analytics - Executive reporting; advanced analytics; scenario analysis; actionable narratives Operational excellence - Delivery governance; quality; standardisation; controls; service performance Transformation - Automation; AI adoption; innovation; mobilisation; benefits realisation Stakeholder leadership - Relationship ownership; influence; executive communication; expectation management People leadership - Team direction; coaching; workforce planning; capability and succession building Measures of success Regional leadership receives timely, accurate and decision-relevant reporting and insights. Stakeholder priorities are translated into a transparent and governed R&DA delivery agenda. Reporting and analytics outcomes meet agreed quality, consistency, control and timeliness expectations. Standardisation, optimisation, automation and analytics initiatives deliver measurable business value. Regional adoption of enterprise initiatives is mobilised with clear ownership, readiness and benefits. Stakeholder relationships are strong, expectations are managed transparently and issues are resolved proactively. Workforce capacity, capability, succession and retention risks are actively managed. Repeatable solutions and best practices are shared and scaled across appropriate teams. Leadership attributes Strategic and commercially aware Trusted, credible and outcome-focused Data-led and analytically rigorous Clear, concise and influential communicator Collaborative across regions, functions and technology teams Comfortable challenging complexity and driving standardisation Inclusive people leader and capability builder Disciplined in governance, controls and follow-through 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. Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.