Head Insights & Intelligence

Smoke Customer Intelligence

Date: 4 days ago
City: Johannesburg, Gauteng
Contract type: Full time

Smoke CI is looking for a Head of Insights & Intelligence to turn CX/EX feedback and operational data into decisions, not just dashboards. This is a value-creation role: you'll surface the patterns, risks and opportunities that change what clients and internal teams do next, and quantify the commercial impact of acting on them.

You'll be a strategic partner to clients and to Client Success, Professional Services, Sales, Product and Marketing, trusted to challenge assumptions and shape direction at executive level. You'll also lead an automation-first insights engine, replacing manual reporting with automated, self-serve and AI-assisted pipelines, and build a team that's known as a leading voice in CX/EX insight.

  • Lead the Research & Insights function, transforming data into strategic, actionable recommendations for clients and internal stakeholders.
  • Partner with clients and cross-functional teams to influence business decisions through evidence-based insights.
  • Drive automation and AI adoption to improve reporting efficiency, scalability and self-service insight delivery.
  • Oversee the delivery of high-quality, accurate and timely insight reports, dashboards and presentations.
  • Lead, mentor and develop the Research & Insights team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
  • Own and enhance sentiment and thematic analysis methodologies, ensuring insights remain relevant and impactful.
  • Identify opportunities to improve commercial value, reduce cost-to-serve and support the development of new insight offerings.
  • Represent the Insights function in executive, client and leadership engagements, presenting findings and strategic recommendations.
  • Ensure compliance with internal governance, data privacy and quality standards, including ISO 27001 requirements.
  • Continuously evaluate and implement new technologies, analytics approaches and AI capabilities to keep the function at the forefront of CX and EX insights.
  • 7–10 years in research, customer insight, analytics or BI, with senior-level team leadership experience
  • A track record of influencing executive/client strategy with insight, not just delivering reports
  • Experience leading automation/transformation of reporting and analytics workflows
  • Strong BI/dashboarding skills (Power BI, Tableau, Looker) and working fluency with data automation tools (SQL, Python, Power Query, or AI/no-code tools)
  • Postgraduate qualification in Data Science, Business Analytics, Market Research, Statistics, Economics or related field (or equivalent experience)
  • Competitive TCTC salary
  • Group life, disability & funeral cover
  • 15 days annual leave plus gifted shutdown leave over Christmas/New Year
  • Discretionary annual performance bonus
  • Hybrid working

Should you be interested and meet the requirements above please send your CV to

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