Senior Director, Data and Analytics

Church’s Texas Chicken

Employee Job Description

Job Title: Senior Director, Data and Analytics

Reports to: EVP, Chief Commercial Officer

Department: Marketing

Location: Restaurant Support Center- Atlanta, GA

Revised: June 2026

Job Summary:

The Sr. Director, Data and Analytics leads the data and analytics function at Church’s Texas Chicken, converting transaction, guest, digital, and financial data into commercial intelligence that drives measurable P&L impact. An AI-forward analytics leader who builds and operationalizes a modern capability spanning rigorous statistical methods, machine learning, generative AI, and self-service tools — holding all AI-generated outputs to a standard of provable correctness before they inform commercial decisions. Reports to the EVP, Chief Commercial Officer. Partners closely with Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Franchise teams. Leads an analytics team and may coordinate external data science resources and agency partners.

Key Duties / Responsibilities

• Lead executive and board-level analytics narratives — connecting transaction, guest, digital, and financial data into clear commercial stories — augmented by AI-generated signals that are validated and provably correct before reaching leadership.
• Institutionalize A/B testing, causal inference, and AI-powered forecasting models that optimize promotions, media, digital, and loyalty programs; govern an experimentation platform with rigorous standards for test design and result interpretation.
• Build and deploy machine learning and generative AI solutions — including predictive models, recommendation engines, and LLM-powered analytics tools — with validation frameworks that ensure outputs are accurate, reproducible, and auditable in production.
• Design and deliver self-service dashboards, AI-assisted playbooks, and training that empower team members to answer 80% of business questions independently, with AI-generated recommendations clearly confidence-scored and traceable to underlying data.
• Build enterprise data literacy — training commercial, marketing, and franchise teams to interpret AI outputs, recognize model limitations, and know when to escalate for deeper human analysis.
• Serve as the primary analytics liaison to the CCO and commercial leadership, translating data and AI insights into “so-what / now-what” actions, aligning on KPIs, and communicating AI-generated recommendations with the confidence framing and validation evidence decision-makers need.
• Partner with data engineering and technology teams to ensure the analytics data environment — data lake, semantic models, and AI feature stores — provides the clean, governed foundations that accurate analytics and provably correct AI require.
• Coach, develop, and recruit top analytics talent; build a team culture of curiosity, intellectual honesty, and continuous improvement where validating AI outputs is as valued as generating them.

Position Requirements (Education, Qualifications, Experience)

• Bachelor’s in Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Economics, or related STEM field required; Master’s/MBA preferred
• 12 + years progressive analytics experience in multi‑unit restaurants, retail, or hospitality. Proven record driving measurable P&L impact through analytics programs
• 10+ years progressive marketing experience—ideally in multi-unit restaurants, retail, or franchise systems—with demonstrated ownership of local or regional marketing.
• Expert in SQL and at least one scripting language (Python / R); hands‑on experience with modern cloud data warehouses and BI tools. Familiarity with machine‑learning frameworks and experimentation platforms
• Executive‑ready storytelling, consultative mindset, cross‑functional influence, and the ability to simplify complexity for non‑technical audiences

Competencies

• Strategic Thinking & Innovation: connects analytics vision to enterprise strategy; pilots new methods (GenAI, causal inference) and scales what works
• Data Storytelling & Influence: crafts compelling narratives that drive action with senior stakeholders and franchisees
• Operational Excellence: balances speed and rigor; hard‑wires insights into daily routines through automated reporting and alerts
• People Leadership: builds high‑engagement teams
• Critical Thinking: Separates signal from noise, prioritizes value, and frames recommendations decisively

Core Values & Behaviors:

• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, teamwork, focus, discipline, professionalism, organizational stewardship, performance standards & rewards. Look for w