Data Lead

About CES
Accelerating the transition to a circular economy
We are proud to be an active contributor in the circular economy through container deposit schemes (10c refund for eligible drink containers). We help our scheme partners to recycle close to 10 million drink containers every day, diverting them from landfill into the circular economy.

Our technology and services enable the circular lifecycle of drink containers. We have a large in-house software engineering team using modern technology stacks to develop and support our products. As well as a suite of SaaS products, our range of business services includes accounting, payments, brand & marketing, materials trading, HR, customer service and support.

CES was formed in 2017 as a joint venture between Lion and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and has grown rapidly. We are headquartered in North Sydney, near public transport with beautiful harbour views. Our teams are passionate about our mission to ensure valuable materials are recycled and not wasted. We provide an inclusive culture, hybrid and flexible working and career development to bring the best out in our people.

Originally known as Container Exchange Services, we have rebranded to Circular Economy Systems to recognise our vision to be leaders in the transition to a circular economy.

About The Role
As the Data Lead at CES, you will own the direction, delivery, and operations of our data infrastructure. You will shape the data strategy, drive adoption of best practices in governance and architecture, and ensure our data foundations support critical business decisions and growth.

You will lead a small team with an outsized impact and partner with business leaders across Finance, Product, and Technology. The ideal candidate combines strong technical depth (particularly in modern cloud data platforms) with leadership and stakeholder management skills.

Key Responsibilties
Data Strategy & Leadership

• Define and own the data roadmap in alignment with CES's strategic goals.
• Champion data governance, quality, and security practices across the organisation.
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and technical guidance to data engineers and analysts.

Delivery & Operations

• Oversee the design, development, and optimisation of scalable data pipelines supporting BI, analytics, and reporting.
• Ensure reliability, performance, and compliance of the data platform.
• Manage and prioritise the team's backlog (Jira) to balance immediate business needs with longer-term improvements.
• Lead resolution of critical data platform issues (P1/P2).

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with Finance, Technology and external vendors to translate business needs into scalable data solutions.
• Serve as the primary point of accountability for data delivery and reporting.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, balancing technical detail with business impact.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive automation, documentation, and "shift-left" practices to reduce manual work and increase platform resilience.
• Ensure suppliers and partners deliver against SLAs and CES standards.
• Promote a culture of experimentation and innovation in data usage across the company.

About You

• Bachelor's or master's in computer science, Information Technology, Data Science, or related field.
• Proven experience as a Data Lead, Data Manager, or Senior Data Engineer with leadership responsibilities.
• Strong knowledge of SQL, data modelling, and modern data warehousing (Snowflake, Databricks, etc).
• Deep understanding of ETL/ELT, data architecture, and governance frameworks.
• Strong exposure to Azure (or AWS/GCP) with experience in DBT, Python, and Azure Data Factory.
• Skilled in stakeholder management, with the ability to engage executives and non-technical teams.
• Familiarity with Jira/Confluence, agile methodologies, and data product delivery.
• Consulting or transformation project experience is highly desirable.

Our Values

• Scheme success is our success: Our mission is to accelerate recycling rates. We make decisions in the best interest of all schemes to maximise our impact for individuals, community, and the environment.
• Win as a Team: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Great things are achieved in teams that combine the right expertise and leadership.
• Make a Difference: Take initiative, take ownership. Openly communicate the outcome you want and go make it happen
• Be Engaged: Reflect your passion in your work, no matter the task or challenge. Your engagement is a source of inspiration to your peers.
• Do the Right Thing: Do the right thing by others and the company, and the rest will follow. Seek win-win outcomes, listen, act inclusively, and always aim for better.