Head of Data Economics

GRAI AP National Exclusion Register & Integration Projects - Interview Schedule.docxHead of Data Economics 

Background 

Fáilte Ireland's Corporate Strategy 2026–2029 places data and evidence at the core of how the 

organisation plans, invests in and grows Irish tourism. To deliver this ambition, Fáilte Ireland has 

established a new Directorate — Data, Insights and Economic Services — bringing together six 

divisions responsible for data, insight and economic analysis across the organisation. Five of these 

divisions continue existing functions under revised remits; Data Economics is an entirely new 

division, created to lead the organisation's data strategy, standards and capability. 

This is a significant and rare opportunity: the successful candidate will establish Data Economics 

from the ground up, shaping its team, standards and culture, and defining how Fáilte Ireland's data 

underpins tourism policy, investment and enterprise decisions for years to come. 

Role Purpose 

The Head of Data Economics is a senior leadership role, responsible for setting the strategic 

direction, standards and capability that put data at the centre of decision-making across Fáilte 

Ireland. The role leads the development and implementation of Fáilte Ireland's data strategy, 

establishing and leading the organisation's Tourism Data Office — the central hub that owns the 

standards, architecture, systems and tools that turn the organisation's data into a trusted foundation 

for tourism insight, policy and investment decisions. 

The directorates five other divisions generate deep domain data and analysis across their own areas 

of expertise. The Head of Data Economics owns the data strategy, standards and data integrity that 

connect this into a single, coherent evidence base, ensuring every division and stakeholder across 

the organisation can find, trust and act on it. 

Enabling every part of the organisation to access, interpret and act on evidence with confidence is a 

shared responsibility across the Directorate's leadership team; the Head of Data Economics leads 

this by providing the underlying data, standards and tools that make it possible for every division. 

Delivering this strategy draws on a range of analytical, technical and digital capability, including the 

application of AI to drive efficiency, insource analytical work that would otherwise be contracted 

externally, and build modern, self-service data tools. AI is one of several capabilities this role applies 

in service of the data strategy: the role's primary focus is data leadership across the organisation. 

In time the team will lead the establishment of a Tourism Futures Lab — Ireland's tourism equivalent 

of Bord Bia's Thinking House. Rather than a research project that sits on a shelf, it will be a living hub 

giving destinations, clients and policymakers direct access to global trends, foresight and scenario 

modelling that no single organisation could build or afford alone. Delivered in partnership with 

academia, EU initiatives and other research bodies, the Lab will let the whole tourism system see 

further ahead, test what's coming, and attract the private investment needed to act on it. 

Principal Duties and Responsibilities 

Tourism Data Office (TDO) 

• Establish and lead a permanent Tourism Data Office within Fáilte Ireland as the organisation's 

central data hub, bringing tourism data together across Fáilte Ireland and partner 

organisations. 

• Own the standards for data quality, governance, ethics and release calendars that the TDO 

runs on, holding every division to a single, trusted way of working with data. 

• Build shared data capability across the tourism ecosystem, and develop clear, plain-English 

“explain the insight” narratives that make data and analysis usable by policymakers, 

destination teams, SMEs and non-specialist colleagues. 

Data Strategy & Standards Leadership 

• Lead the development and implementation of Fáilte Ireland's data strategy, setting the 

direction for how data is captured, governed, connected and used across the organisation. 

• Own data integrity across the organisation — the definitive authority on the data standards 

and quality that every division works to. 

• Lead the development and implementation of data standards and processes that give every 

division a common, trusted way of working with data. 

• Partner closely with the other five divisions and other data sources in the organisation — who 

own the deep domain data and analysis in their areas — so the strategy, standards and tools 

this role leads are built around what they actually need to turn their own data into decisions. 

Data Architecture & Centralisation 

• Design and lead the build of a secure, scalable core tourism data architecture that centralises 

data from across Fáilte Ireland and partner organisations into a single, shareable evidence 

base. 

• Apply the organisation's data standards and quality controls consistently across the 

architecture, reducing duplication and enabling a single shared evidence base for national, 

regional and enterprise-level decisions. 

• Ensure sensitive data is protected while enabling broad, role-appropriate access — the aim is 

more people across the organisation using the data, not fewer. 

Data Tools to Deliver the Strategy 

• Develop the data tools — dashboards, calculators, AI-assisted query tools — that deliver the 

data strategy in practice for both internal teams and external industry/SME stakeholders. 

• Build self-service products that put data and insight directly into stakeholders' hands, reducing 

reliance on bespoke, one-off analytical requests. 

• Continuously identify where recurring demand for data or analysis signals the need for a new 

self-service tool. 

Economic Impact, Modelling & Forecasting 

• Maintain and refresh tourism economic impact measurement tools and sharing mechanisms. 

• Develop analytical tools that showcase tourism's economic contribution, test policy and 

investment choices, and provide early warning signals on future performance. 

• Build economic modelling and forecasting frameworks that help the organisation understand 

how tourism value flows through the economy and what is likely to happen next. 

Applying AI to Strengthen Delivery 

• Apply AI to drive efficiency in day-to-day data management and analysis — data cleaning, 

reconciliation, reporting and routine modelling — and to insource analytical work currently 

contracted externally, delivering measurable budget savings. 

• Lead Fáilte Ireland's AI strategy and adoption roadmap as it relates to data and analysis, 

including chairing the internal AI Steering Group, so the organisation applies AI consistently 

and responsibly in support of the data strategy. 

Tourism Futures Lab 

• Develop and lead a Tourism Futures Lab in partnership with academia, EU initiatives and other 

research bodies. 

• Advance applied foresight, scenario modelling and long-term tourism system analysis. 

• Support advanced tourism investment modelling to attract and inform private investment. 

• Scan global trends and structural shifts affecting tourism demand, supply, investment and 

competitiveness. 

Resource Management 

• Establish, inspire, lead and develop the Data Economics team to deliver agreed objectives, 

fostering high performance, collaboration and accountability through effective coaching, 

mentoring and performance reviews in line with Fáilte Ireland policy. 

Governance & Reporting 

• Ensure strong governance across all Data Economics activity, complying with Fáilte Ireland 

policies on planning, procurement, budgets and reporting, with tight control of team 

expenditure within agreed budgets. 

• Act as an active member of the Leadership Team, providing timely status updates, insights and 

risk escalation to the Director and Executive colleagues, and systematically reviewing progress 

against plans and KPIs. 

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight across the Division, ensuring effective project and 

risk management, robust financial governance, compliance with State Aid requirements, and 

adherence to public spending obligations and public financial procedures. 

Skills and Competencies Required 

• Strong track record in leading data strategy, data governance and data architecture at 

organisational scale. 

• Demonstrable experience in developing actionable insights with examples of the impact made 

• Economic modelling, forecasting and applied economics. 

• Research design and advanced quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. 

• Data governance, ethics and quality assurance. 

• Technical documentation and the ability to translate complex analysis into clear, plain-English 

insight and to develop and implement tools to make this accessible for stakeholders. 

• Strong attention to detail and analytical rigour. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication, able to flex across Executive, policy and industry 

audiences. 

• Proven people leadership experience, with the ability to build, lead and develop a new team 

and function. 

• Practical understanding of how AI and automation tools can be applied to strengthen data 

management, analysis and efficiency, with experience leading their adoption within an 

organisation.