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Chicago, Illinois, United States
Hybrid
Established in 2021, Independence Pet Holdings is a corporate holding company that manages a diverse and broad portfolio of modern pet health brands and services, including insurance, pet education, lost recovery services, and more throughout North America.
We believe pet insurance is more than a financial product and build solutions to simplify the pet parenting journey and help improve the well-being of pets. As a leading authority in the pet category, we operate with a full stack of resources, capital, and services to support pet parents. Our multi-brand and omni-channel approach include our own insurance carrier, insurance brands and partner brands.
Lead Data Solutions Strategist
Reports To: Head of Data Strategy & Planning
Direct Reports: 2 Data Solutions Strategists
Comparable Titles: Data Strategy Manager | Analytics Solutions Manager | Manager of Data Strategy & Planning
About Independence Pet Holdings (IPH)Established in 2021, Independence Pet Holdings (IPH) is a corporate holding company that manages a diverse and broad portfolio of modern pet health brands and services, including insurance, pet education, lost recovery services, and more throughout North America.
We believe pet insurance is more than a financial product and build solutions to simplify the pet parenting journey and help improve the well-being of pets. As a leading authority in the pet category, we operate with a full stack of resources, capital, and services to support pet parents. Our multi-brand and omni-channel approach includes our own insurance carrier, insurance brands, and partner brands.
Job Summary
The Lead Data Solutions Strategist connects business priorities with data and analytics capabilities, ensuring every initiative entering the data roadmap is clearly framed, strategically justified, and tied to measurable outcomes. This role owns the front door — from initiative intake and discovery through solution framing and prioritization — before handing off to the Data Product Manager for backlog ownership and delivery execution.
Managing a team of two Data Solutions Strategists, this role works across departments — from Claims and Finance to Marketing and Operations — to identify high-value data opportunities, shape solution briefs, and ensure alignment between business sponsors, data architecture, and enterprise governance standards.
Main Responsibilities
Initiative Intake & Strategic Framing
Own the initiative intake process — define how requests enter the data roadmap, how they are assessed for strategic fit, and how they are prioritized relative to enterprise objectives.
Partner with business stakeholders to identify and frame high-value data and analytics opportunities across Claims, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and other functions.
Translate complex business challenges into clear data requirements, opportunity briefs, and solution recommendations.
Collaborate with the Head of Data Strategy & Planning to support annual planning, roadmap updates, and executive prioritization decisions.
Solution Design & Handoff
Develop solution blueprints and functional specifications that define the “what” and “why” for new data initiatives, enabling clean handoff to the Data Product Manager for backlog ownership and delivery.
Partner with the Data Product Manager to ensure strategic intent is accurately translated into product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
Work with the Senior Data Architect to ensure proposed designs align with enterprise data standards, architecture patterns, and governance requirements.
Support build vs. buy evaluations by providing business-grounded input on value, risk, and strategic fit — in collaboration with Architecture and Engineering.
People Leadership & Team Development
Lead, mentor, and develop a team of two Data Solutions Strategists — setting clear expectations, reviewing deliverables, managing workload prioritization, and supporting career growth.
Ensure consistency and quality across solution briefs, stakeholder deliverables, and initiative framing produced by the team.
Facilitate cross-functional workshops and alignment sessions with business, engineering, and analytics teams.
Build a culture of intellectual curiosity, business accountability, and outcome-oriented delivery within the strategy function.
Value Measurement & Communication
Define KPIs and success metrics for data initiatives at the point of intake, not just at delivery.
Track and communicate the business value, ROI, and adoption outcomes of delivered solutions to stakeholders and leadership.
Provide regular visibility into the health and prioritization of the initiative pipeline to the Head of Data Strategy & Planning.
Serve as an escalation path for stakeholder alignment issues that arise during solution definition or delivery.
Qualifications
8+ years of experience in data strategy, analytics, solution delivery, or business analysis roles.
Demonstrated ability to bridge business and technical perspectives — translating ambiguous business needs into structured, actionable data requirements.
Strong understanding of data management concepts including data modeling, integration, governance, and quality.
Experience working with modern data platforms such as Azure, Azure DevOps, Databricks, and Power BI; familiarity with policy administration systems a plus.
2+ years of people management or team leadership experience, including mentoring and managing delivery quality.
Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills — comfortable presenting to executive audiences and cross-functional teams.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Analytics, Information Systems, or related field.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in insurance, financial services, or another regulated industry with complex data environments.
Familiarity with data governance frameworks and tools (e.g., Collibra, Purview) given close partnership with the Governance function.
Exposure to Agile/scrum delivery models and product management practices.
Experience evaluating data products or vendor solutions as part of build vs. buy assessments.
Pet health, insurtech, or multi-brand portfolio experience is a plus.
Success Indicators
Business value and ROI: Data initiatives delivered through this function are clearly tied to measurable outcomes — claims efficiency, customer retention, pricing accuracy — and that value is visible to executive stakeholders.
Pipeline quality: The initiative pipeline is well-prioritized, clearly framed, and free of ambiguous or low-value requests. Business sponsors understand why their requests ranked where they did.
Stakeholder trust: Business leaders across Claims, Finance, Marketing, and Operations view the strategy team as a trusted partner, not a gatekeeper.
Team performance: Both Data Solutions Strategists are producing high-quality solution briefs with increasing independence and growing in their stakeholder engagement capabilities.
Handoff quality: The Data Product Manager consistently receives well-framed initiatives with clear business context, reducing downstream rework and scope ambiguity.
All of our jobs come with great benefits including healthcare, parental leave and opportunities for career advancements. Some offerings are dependent upon the location of where you work and can include the following:
Comprehensive full medical, dental and vision Insurance
Basic Life Insurance at no cost to the employee
Company paid short-term and long-term disability
12 weeks of 100% paid Parental Leave
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Retirement savings plan
Personal Paid Time Off
Paid holidays and company-wide Wellness Day off
Paid time off to volunteer at nonprofit organizations
Pet friendly office environment
Commuter Benefits
Group Pet Insurance
On the job training and skills development
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
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