Data Use Specialist (Ethics & Governance) - Xero - Job details

Data Use Specialist (Ethics & Governance) at Xero

Data, Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence, Permanent, Melbourne, AU melbourne full-time

Description

Posted 17 days ago

Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors grow and thrive.

At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. This purpose sits at the centre of everything we do. We support our people to do the best work of their lives so that they can help small businesses succeed through better tools, information and connections. Because when they succeed they make a difference, and when millions of small businesses are making a difference, the world is a more beautiful place.

- Are you passionate about bringing data ethics to life in a really practical way for a fast- scaling company?
- Can you bring a pragmatic mindset to defining ethical positions, and translating them into - structures that are easy for Xeros to understand, buy into and adhere to in their daily
lives.
- Do you love collaborating with Cyber, Privacy, Risk, Commercial and Product teams to drive responsible outcomes for all our customers and partners?

This is not a traditional, compliance-focused data governance role by any stretch!

Xero is embarking on the next phase of growth including a significant new focus on creating value from data through ML-powered products, platform business models and Open Data partnerships. This role will contribute to developing the policies, guardrails, playbooks, implementation frameworks, and education programs to ensure Xero’s use of data remains consistent with our values as we scale.

About the team:

The Data team is responsible for driving the adoption of data driven decision making across Xero - for both our internal users and our global customers of small business owners, bookkeepers and accountants.

We are the centre of expertise for data strategy, data architecture, data modelling, machine learning, ethical data usage and artificial intelligence service design. We lead the effort to raise the data and AI literacy levels across Xero and to embed our commitments to responsible data use into culture and practices across our fast-growing organisation.

Data strategy is an emerging specialist group, building global collaborations to define, communicate and drive a cohesive approach to data usage that combines commercialisation, consent, ethics and sustainability. They work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds to drive robust and mature decision making around using data as a commercial asset, aligned to our belief in the primacy of customer consent.

How you'll make an impact:

You will be an integral part of driving the agenda around customer consent, privacy and control, as well as ethical use of data across analytics and machine learning. You’ll bring a pragmatic mindset to defining Xero’s positions in these complex areas, and translating them into structures that are easy for Xeros to understand, buy into and adhere to in their daily lives. While this role is not hands-on technical, you will need the ability to work with diverse engineering, architecture, applied science, and analytics teams to help them ensure their data and AI uses are responsible.

This is not a traditional, compliance-focused data governance role by any stretch; the operative word in the job title is Data Use. To this end the team partners with all areas of the business to drive new and creative uses of data, from building artificial intelligence features and APIs through to delivering better insights and beautiful experiences for our customers. All the while the team is developing the policies, guardrails, playbooks, implementation frameworks, and education programs to ensure Xero’s use of data remains consistent with our values.

About you:

Partner with teams across Xero to define best practice guidance and playbooks around data governance, data ethics, customer consent, and privacy.

Influence and coach stakeholders in Product, Customer and Partnership teams to translate best practice approaches into their operational context. This includes helping to identify and remediate gaps against our ambitious Responsible Data Use Commitments, and supporting high-value use cases with the right level of governance and guardrails.

Drive Xero’s approach to responsible AI and address ambiguous ethical issues (e.g. fairness, bias, transparency, and explainability in ML systems), in partnership with other subject matter experts across Xero.

Work with our Legal, Regulatory, Privacy, Government Relations and Risk functions to ensure Xero remains ahead of the expectations of customers, partners and regulators as the landscape continues to evolve (e.g. data ownership and portability).

Co-design and drive the responsible data and AI change roadmap.

Develop and deliver educational resources, programs, and communities of practice to uplift Xero’s literacy around the responsible use of data and AI, in collaboration with our Learning Experience and Comms teams.

Put in place effective approaches to manage risks - and measure benefits - relating to Xero’s responsible data and AI initiatives.

Represent the Data Team and Xero to raise awareness of the work we do, including acting as a public advocate for responsible data use and ethical approaches to AI.

What you'll bring with you:

Experience in one or more the following fields: analytics, data science, machine learning, data governance, data protection and/or privacy

Experience driving successful data-related change programs where teams have multiple, competing priorities

Proven ability to translate regulatory, privacy, security and/or ethical requirements into implementation guidance at scale

The ability to provide guidance and advice on how to identify and manage data-related risks and operate within appropriate guardrails

Experience facilitating discussions between technical and non-technical audiences at all levels

Familiarity with relevant regulatory and certification frameworks such as: GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27001/SOC2, and Open Data/Opening Banking Regimes

By joining Xero you’ll be helping us to make our vision of becoming the most insightful and trusted small business platform a reality - and in the process, we’ll make life better for people in small business, their advisors and communities around the world.

Why Xero?

At Xero we support many types of flexible working arrangements that allow you to balance your work, your life and your passions. We offer a great remuneration package including shares plus a range of leave options to suit your well-being. Our work environment encourages continuous improvement and career development and you’ll get to work with the latest technology.

Our collaborative and inclusive culture is one we’re immensely proud of. We know that a diverse workforce is a strength that enables businesses, including ours, to better understand and serve customers, attract top talent and innovate successfully. We are a member of Pride in Diversity, in recognition of our inclusive workplace. So, from the moment you step through our doors, you’ll feel welcome and supported to do the best work of your life.

Xero strongly encourages employees and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to work from a Xero office, or engage in any face-to-face Xero business.