Senior Data Scientist - Contract Service Manager

The Third-Party Data Acquisition team is the centralized hub for discovering, acquiring, and enabling the third-party data that fuels Ford's data and analytics ecosystem. This team acts as subject matter experts across the business, managing vendor relationships and contracts while delivering innovative sourcing solutions to internal customers across GDI&A and the broader Ford Enterprise.

We're looking for a Manager to lead this team - someone who can translate business data requirements into vendor strategy, negotiate favorable and compliant contracts, and bring product management discipline to how acquired data is enabled, reused, and governed as it moves out (egress) to internal customers. This role sits at the intersection of business needs, vendor management, legal/compliance, and data product strategy - and requires a leader who can operate credibly across all four.

Ford is seeking a Manager to lead the Third-Party Data Acquisition team, responsible for sourcing, negotiating, and enabling third-party data that powers Ford's data and analytics ecosystem - combining vendor/contract management with product management responsibilities for data egress.

• Lead and develop a team responsible for discovering, evaluating, and acquiring third-party data sources, including building and maintaining vendor landscapes
• Partner directly with internal business stakeholders to translate data requirements into sourcing strategy and vendor selection criteria
• Own end-to-end vendor contracting for data acquisition - partnering with Purchasing and Legal (OGC) on negotiation, statements of work, terms & conditions, and data-specific legal terms to ensure full compliance
• Apply product management practices to third-party data egress - defining requirements, prioritizing enablement work, and ensuring data products meet internal customer needs
• Drive enterprise-wide reuse of acquired data through proactive internal advocacy, customer engagement, and cross-functional relationship building
• Govern data movement enterprise-wide via Contract Services - overseeing centralized review, approval, and lifecycle tracking of ingress/egress contracts
• Establish and maintain Data Sharing Best Practices covering data access, ownership, security, AI/model use restrictions, and regulatory compliance
• Manage the team's data-portfolio budget in close collaboration with Finance and Leadership
• Coach and develop team members, building both technical/contracting expertise and business partnership skills
• Lead and develop a team responsible for discovering, evaluating, and acquiring third-party data sources, including building and maintaining vendor landscapes
• Partner directly with internal business stakeholders to translate data requirements into sourcing strategy and vendor selection criteria
• Own end-to-end vendor contracting for data acquisition - partnering with Purchasing and Legal (OGC) on negotiation, statements of work, terms & conditions, and data-specific legal terms to ensure full compliance
• Apply product management practices to third-party data egress - defining requirements, prioritizing enablement work, and ensuring data products meet internal customer needs
• Drive enterprise-wide reuse of acquired data through proactive internal advocacy, customer engagement, and cross-functional relationship building
• Govern data movement enterprise-wide via Contract Services - overseeing centralized review, approval, and lifecycle tracking of ingress/egress contracts
• Establish and maintain Data Sharing Best Practices covering data access, ownership, security, AI/model use restrictions, and regulatory compliance
• Manage the team's data-portfolio budget in close collaboration with Finance and Leadership
• Coach and develop team members, building both technical/contracting expertise and business partnership skills