Career profile · SOC ESC-D8F634F8

chief data officer

Chief data officers manage companies' enterprise-wide data administration and data mining functions. They ensure data are used as a strategic business asset at the executive level and implement and support a more collaborative and aligned information management infrastructure for the benefit of the organisation at large.

chief data officer chief data officers manage companies' enterprise-wide data administration and data mining functions. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.55 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include information structure, data mining, visual presentation techniques, decision support systems, business processes.

AI exposure
5.5/10
automation risk

Pay in the UK

UK: median £56,438 a year for IT managers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)

Middle half of full-time jobs: £44,372 to £73,901 a year

UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2132). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)

Pay in India (occupation group)

Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Managers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only chief data officer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.

Urban India
₹55,360 a month
Rural India
₹31,701 a month
All India
₹50,408 a month

Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 1. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report

Top skills

information structure data mining visual presentation techniques decision support systems business processes data storage data ethics data science manage ICT data classification define technology strategy

Frequently asked questions

What does chief data officer do?

Chief data officers manage companies' enterprise-wide data administration and data mining functions. They ensure data are used as a strategic business asset at the executive level and implement and support a more collaborative and aligned information management infrastructure for the benefit of the organisation at large.

What skills does chief data officer need?

The most in-demand skills for this role include information structure, data mining, visual presentation techniques, decision support systems, business processes, data storage. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Will AI replace chief data officer?

Our AI-durability model gives chief data officer a score of 0.55 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.

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