Chief data officer

Description

Chief data officers manage companies’ enterprise-wide data administration and data mining functions. They ensure data are used as a strategic business asset at the executive level and implement and support a more collaborative and aligned information management infrastructure for the benefit of the organisation at large.

Excludes data scientists data scientist.
Excludes data analysts data analyst.
Includes people performing high executive data roles.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to chief data officer:

chief analytics officer
CDO
chief data officers

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as chief data officer. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Chief data officer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

Chief data officer career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to chief data officer.

data analyst
data scientist
ICT information and knowledge manager
database administrator
database integrator

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of chief data officer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of chief data officer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of chief data officer.

Information structure: The type of infrastructure which defines the format of data: semi-structured, unstructured and structured.
Data mining: The methods of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and databases used to extract content from a dataset.
Visual presentation techniques: The visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-numerical data, in order to reinforce the human understanding of this information.
Decision support systems: The ICT systems that can be used to support business or organisational decision making.
Business processes: Processes which an organisation applies to improve efficiency, set new objectives and reach goals in a profitable and timely manner.
Data storage: The physical and technical concepts of how digital data storage is organised in specific schemes both locally, such as hard-drives and random-access memories (RAM) and remotely, via network, internet or cloud.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of chief data officer.

Manage ict data classification: Oversee the classification system an organisation uses to organise its data. Assign an owner to each data concept or bulk of concepts and determine the value of each item of data.
Manage ict data architecture: Oversee regulations and use ICT techniques to define the information systems architecture and to control data gathering, storing, consolidation, arrangement and usage in an organisation.
Define data quality criteria: Specify the criteria by which data quality is measured for business purposes, such as inconsistencies, incompleteness, usability for purpose and accuracy.
Apply information security policies: Implement policies, methods and regulations for data and information security in order to respect confidentiality, integrity and availability principles.
Manage data: Administer all types of data resources through their lifecycle by performing data profiling, parsing, standardisation, identity resolution, cleansing, enhancement and auditing. Ensure the data is fit for purpose, using specialised ICT tools to fulfil the data quality criteria.
Utilise decision support system: Use the available ICT systems that can be used to support business or organisational decision making.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of chief data officer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Information security strategy: The plan defined by a company which sets the information security objectives and measures to mitigate risks, define control objectives, establish metrics and benchmarks while complying with legal, internal and contractual requirements.
Business intelligence: The tools used to transform large amounts of raw data into relevant and helpful business information.
Mdx: The computer language MDX is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the software company Microsoft.
Information architecture: The methods through which information is generated, structured, stored, maintained, linked, exchanged and used.
Db2: The computer program IBM DB2 is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company IBM.
Microsoft access: The computer program Access is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company Microsoft.
Xquery: The computer language XQuery is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the international standards organisation World Wide Web Consortium.
Database: The classification of databases, that includes their purpose, characteristics, terminology, models and use such as XML databases, document-oriented databases and full text databases.
Openedge database: The computer program OpenEdge Database is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company Progress Software Corporation.
Objectstore: The computer program ObjectStore is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company Object Design, Incorporated.
Mysql: The computer program MySQL is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, currently developed by the software company Oracle.
Sparql: The computer language SPARQL is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the international standards organisation World Wide Web Consortium.
Information extraction: The techniques and methods used for eliciting and extracting information from unstructured or semi-structured digital documents and sources.
Ibm informix: The computer program IBM Informix is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company IBM.
Information categorisation: The process of classifying the information into categories and showing relationships between the data for some clearly defined purposes.
Resource description framework query language: The query languages such as SPARQL which are used to retrieve and manipulate data stored in Resource Description Framework format (RDF).
Query languages: The field of standardised computer languages for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information.
Database development tools: The methodologies and tools used for creating logical and physical structure of databases, such as logical data structures, diagrams, modelling methodologies and entity-relationships.
Information confidentiality: The mechanisms and regulations which allow for selective access control and guarantee that only authorised parties (people, processes, systems and devices) have access to data, the way to comply with confidential information and the risks of non-compliance.
Ldap: The computer language LDAP is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information.
Postgresql: The computer program PostgreSQL is a free and open-source software tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the PostgreSQL Global Development Group.
Database management systems: The tools for creating, updating and managing databases, such as Oracle, MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
Online analytical processing: The online tools which analyse, aggregate and present multi-dimensional data enabling users to interactively and selectively extract and view data from specific points of view.
Filemaker (database management systems): The computer program FileMaker is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company FileMaker Inc.
Cloud technologies: The technologies which enable access to hardware, software, data and services through remote servers and software networks irrespective of their location and architecture.
Sql server: The computer program SQL Server is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company Microsoft.
Unstructured data: The information that is not arranged in a pre-defined manner or does not have a pre-defined data model and is difficult to understand and find patterns in without using techniques such as data mining.
Ca datacom/db: The computer program CA Datacom/DB is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, currently developed by the software company CA Technologies.
Linq: The computer language LINQ is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the software company Microsoft.
Data quality assessment: The process of revealing data issues using ​quality indicators, measures and metrics in order to plan data cleansing and data enrichment strategies according to data quality criteria.
Teradata database: The computer program Teradata Database is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company Teradata Corporation.
Oracle relational database: The computer program Oracle Rdb is a tool for creating, updating and managing databases, developed by the software company Oracle.
N1ql: The computer language N1QL is a query language for retrieval of information from a database and of documents containing the needed information. It is developed by the software company Couchbase.
Data models: The techniques and existing systems used for structuring data elements and showing relationships between them, as well as methods for interpreting the data structures and relationships.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of chief data officer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Develop information security strategy: Create company strategy related to the safety and security of information in order to maximise information integrity, availability and data privacy.
Apply change management: Manage development within an organisation by anticipating changes and making managerial decisions to ensure that the members involved are as less disturbed as possible.
Manage business knowledge: Set up structures and distribution policies to enable or improve information exploitation using appropriate tools to extract, create and expand business mastery.
Integrate ict data: Combine data from sources to provide unified view of the set of these data.
Implement ict risk management: Develop and implement procedures for identifying, assessing, treating and mitigating ICT risks, such as hacks or data leaks, according to the company’s risk strategy, procedures and policies. Analyse and manage security risks and incidents. Recommend measures to improve digital security strategy.
Coordinate technological activities: Give instructions to colleagues and other cooperating parties in order to reach the desired outcome of a technological project or achieve set goals within an organisation dealing with technology.
Deliver visual presentation of data: Create visual representations of data such as charts or diagrams for easier understanding.
Report analysis results: Produce research documents or give presentations to report the results of a conducted research and analysis project, indicating the analysis procedures and methods which led to the results, as well as potential interpretations of the results.

ISCO group and title

1330 – Information and communications technology service managers

 

 


 

 

References
  1. Chief data officer – ESCO
Last updated on August 8, 2022