Senior Data Strategy & Operations Lead

WE POWER PEOPLE’S PROGRESS. At Preply, we’re all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalised learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it’s creating real impact. We’ve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D, accelerating our vision to transform education through human-led, AI-enhanced learning. Today, 100,000+ tutors teach 90+ languages to learners in 180 countries - and we’re only getting started. As a category-defining company, we’re shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale. Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale, and building something that truly matters for millions of people, every day. MEET THE TEAM! Preply's Data & Applied AI team sits at the intersection of data intelligence and AI-driven product innovation. We build the data foundations, analytics capabilities, and applied AI systems that power Preply's growth, from personalisation and matching algorithms to marketplace intelligence, experimentation platforms, and emerging AI-powered learning features. As Preply scales and AI becomes increasingly central to our product and business strategy, the demands on this team are growing fast. We need someone who can bring operational rigour, strategic clarity, and cross-functional coordination to help the team deliver at its best. This role reports directly to the VP of Data & Applied AI. This is not a people management role. It is a high-impact individual contributor position that acts as a force multiplier for the VP and the broader Data & Applied AI organisation, ensuring the team operates with focus, transparency, and momentum. ABOUT THE ROLE: You will be the operational backbone of the Data & Applied AI team and a trusted partner to the VP. You will own the team's planning cadences, drive cross-functional alignment, keep strategic initiatives on track, and ensure stakeholders across the company have visibility into the team's work and impact. You will also identify inefficiencies and design better ways of working, so the team can focus on what matters most. If you are someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution, who can navigate technical environments with confidence, and who gets energy from making teams work better, this role is for you. WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING: OPERATING CADENCE & PLANNING - Own and run the operational rhythm of the Data & Applied AI org: team syncs, roadmap reviews, OKR cycles, quarterly planning, and retrospectives. - Lead the annual and quarterly planning processes for the team, linking data and AI initiatives to company-level goals and product strategy. - Manage the VP's leadership calendar and key team meetings, including agenda setting, preparation of materials, coordination with presenters, and follow-ups for cross-functional reviews, executive updates, and offsites. - Own the preparation cycle for leadership forums and company-wide reviews where the Data & Applied AI team presents: ensuring the right content, framing, and data are ready. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL ALIGNMENT & STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION - Serve as the connective tissue between the Data & Applied AI team and Product, Engineering, Commercial, and other functions, ensuring priorities are aligned and dependencies are visible. - Own stakeholder communication: regular updates, progress reports, and dashboards that give leadership and partner teams clarity on what the team is delivering and why. - Represent the Data & Applied AI team in company-wide planning processes (e.g., product planning, OKR alignment, resource allocation). PROJECT TRACKING & DELIVERY - Track progress on key data and AI initiatives end-to-end, from scoping through delivery, identifying risks early and driving resolution. - Support the VP in managing the team's port