Head of Data

Location: Preferably based in Amsterdam, but open to remote opportunities for the right candidate. 

Date of Issuance: July 30, 2025 

Application Deadline: Aug. 19, 2025

About OCCRP

OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) is one of the largest investigative journalism organizations in the world, headquartered in Amsterdam and with staff across six continents. We are a mission-driven nonprofit newsroom that partners with other media outlets to publish stories that lead to real-world action. At the same time, our media development arm helps investigative outlets around the world succeed and serve the public.

Our mission is to spread and strengthen investigative journalism around the world and expose crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account. Our work has four main pillars: Investigations - we lead collaborative cross-border projects and publish hard-hitting stories; Infrastructure - we provide training, tools, and resources so investigative outlets can thrive; Innovation - we develop new technology and solutions that serve the field of journalism; and Impact - we accelerate the fight against global crime and corruption with groundbreaking partnerships.

Position overview

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic leader to join OCCRP as the head of OCCRP’s multidisciplinary data team.

OCCRP's Data Team is central to the unique investigative journalism we produce. Their work falls into two main areas:

1. Supporting Investigative Journalism: Through tooling, data manipulation, software development, and DevOps, the team enables complex investigations that depend on large-scale, structured data.
2. Driving Data-Driven Investigations: Our data journalists lead or collaborate on investigative projects, uncovering stories hidden in the data. They often embed directly into editorial teams, bringing deep technical expertise to support and guide reporting.

As Data Director, you will lead this expert, multidisciplinary group of data journalists, data scientists, and technologists. Your role blends hands-on technical expertise with strategic and managerial oversight. You will guide the team’s work across investigations, tooling, and technical infrastructure, ensuring strong alignment with OCCRP’s broader goals, funding obligations, and organizational priorities.

Equally important, you will nurture a culture of trust, learning, and performance. That means setting clear, motivating goals; providing thoughtful support; and ensuring your team has what it needs to succeed. You’ll help the team grow, collaborate effectively, and do its best work in a complex, global newsroom environment.

In addition, you will provide strategic leadership and vision for the future of OCCRP’s data journalism. As the importance of data journalism continues to grow in exposing wrongdoing worldwide, your leadership will help define the next evolution of OCCRP’s investigative work. You will play a key role in bridging the technical divide between technologists and reporters—co-creating the next generation of investigations with senior editorial leadership and spearheading OCCRP’s innovations in data-driven storytelling.

Additionally, you will represent OCCRP in external forums, championing the importance of data in journalism and investigative reporting.  

We’re looking for a passionate and driven leader with deep experience in data journalism, investigative reporting, or data science. You should understand how structured data enables investigations, and be comfortable with the technical landscape—whether that’s data engineering, scripting, or newsroom DevOps. Most importantly, you should bring strong team management skills, a collaborative mindset, and a commitment to ethical, impactful journalism.

Key Responsibilities

1. Team & Project Management:

• Lead a team of data developers and data journalists to execute projects within OCCRP’s scope of work.
• Set short-term and long-term goals for the team, conducting regular check-ins and evaluations.
• Ensure a safe and supportive work environment that prioritizes the well-being of team members.
• Communicate expectations clearly and ensure team members understand their roles and professional growth opportunities.
• Oversee team resources, approve timesheets and expenses, and ensure operational efficiency.
• Set vision and strategy on long-term data-journalism vision for the team and organisation.
• Manage auxiliary data resources, including databases and analytical systems, to support investigative efforts.
  

      2. Data & Research Management:

• Manage data-driven investigations focused on crime and corruption across borders.
• Oversee the acquisition, processing, and analysis of data to support investigative projects.
• Maintain and improve OCCRP’s data pipeline systems, in collaboration with the technical teams, ensuring standardized and documented workflows.
• Manage key datasets in Aleph and administer access and permissions across our data platforms. 
• Stay up to date on technological developments in data and investigative journalism, integrating relevant innovations into the team’s work.

      3. Capacity Building & External Representation:

• Develop and implement training programs to enhance data journalism skills within the OCCRP network.
• Represent OCCRP at conferences, meetings, and other external events where data is relevant.
  

What We’re Looking For

• Proven Leadership Experience: Minimum of 3-5 years managing diverse teams, ideally in journalism, technology, or data-focused environments. Experience leading distributed or cross-cultural teams is a strong asset.
• Project Management Skills: Demonstrated ability to oversee complex, deadline-driven projects involving multiple stakeholders, with a track record of delivering high-impact work.
• Investigative or Data Journalism Background: Experience in investigative journalism, data analysis, or working with structured/unstructured datasets in a journalistic or research context.
• Technical Fluency: Strong understanding of data pipelines, open-source intelligence (OSINT), data acquisition and cleaning methods, and expert-level hands-on experience working with large amounts of data using programming and data scripting languages. For example, knowledge and experience of tools such as:
  • Data pipeline tools similar to Argo Workflows or Apache Beam
  • Containerization tooling, such as Docker and Kubernetes
  • The Python programming language
  • Datastores, such as SQL, graph, and large flat-file data storage in the cloud
  • youData acquisition and processing via web scraping, APIs, streaming, and other interfaces.
• Familiarity with the legal and ethical considerations surrounding acquisition, storage, processing, and sharing of data within the scope of investigative journalism. 
• A strong command of information and operational security practices when handling sensitive data and sources of data, including modern encryption and related tooling
• Familiarity with Investigative Tools: Knowledge of platforms like Aleph, OCCRP’s research platform, or similar data analysis/investigation tools.
• Training & Capacity Building: A passion for mentorship, with experience developing and delivering training programs or workshops, ideally in data journalism or technical skills.
• Public Representation: Comfortable representing a mission-driven organization at external events, conferences, and in public forums related to journalism, transparency, or data.
• Commitment to Mission: Deep interest in anti-corruption, human rights, open data, and the role of investigative journalism in holding power to account.

To Apply

To apply, please upload a cover letter and resume, no later than Aug. 19, 2025.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Whilst we have internal goals to reply to unsuccessful candidates, we regret that the high number of applicants greatly exceeds our capacity to respond to each person. We apologise that we will not be able to reply to every unsuccessful applicant.

As an equal opportunity employer, OCCRP values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We offer competitive compensation and benefits and encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, medical conditions, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics. If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process, please contact hr@occrp.org.