Head of Data

About the Role

Fora is looking for a Head of Data to build and scale our data function as it matures from measuring the business to actively shaping it. Today, the team's strength is in descriptive and diagnostic work — reporting on what happened and explaining why. This role will lead the next phase: building the predictive capabilities (forecasting, LTV modeling, propensity and churn scoring, marketing mix modeling) and prescriptive recommendations that let Fora act ahead of the business rather than just interpreting it after the fact.

This is a highly strategic and hands-on leadership role for someone who can turn complex behavioral, transactional, product, and marketing data into models and systems that directly shape company decisions. The Head of Data will lead data science and analytics across business and corporate needs, product, and marketing, building on a strong existing foundation created by a lean team of three individual contributors. As Fora scales, this leader will strengthen the infrastructure, models, operating processes, and team required to support increasingly sophisticated marketplace decisions, AI and machine learning initiatives, executive forecasting and planning, self-serve analytics, and greater operational rigor.

This role will work closely with executive leadership and cross-functional partners across engineering, product, finance, and go-to-market teams. The ideal candidate combines deep modeling and analytical judgment with technical fluency, business intuition, and the ability to build a data organization ahead of company scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Own Fora's data science and analytics strategy across marketing, product, and corporate and business analytics — establishing the vision and roadmap for moving the org from descriptive/diagnostic reporting to predictive and prescriptive decision-making.
• Lead marketing data science, including marketing mix modeling, attribution and incrementality, lifetime value and CAC, channel efficiency, advisor acquisition and segmentation, and the investment decisions informed by those models.
• Lead product data science for Fora's two-sided marketplace, including matching and liquidity, experimentation, predictive and behavioral modeling (churn/propensity scoring), retention, personalization, and the machine learning roadmap.
• Own the metrics and analytical frameworks used to operate and evaluate the business, including board reporting, cohort economics, company OKRs, retention and net revenue retention, executive forecasting, and planning.
• Build and maintain a trusted source of truth for company performance — the descriptive foundation the rest of the roadmap builds on.
• Scale Fora's analytics engineering capabilities and data infrastructure to support growing transaction volume, more sophisticated modeling, and reliable self-serve analytics across the organization.
• Develop the data organization as Fora grows, including hiring strategy, org structure, operating processes, and execution standards needed to deliver against an ambitious data science roadmap.
• Create strong analytical operating rhythms that improve prioritization, accountability, data quality, and the speed at which insights and models translate into action.
• Partner closely with engineering, product, finance, and go-to-market teams to identify opportunities, evaluate investments, prioritize initiatives, and improve business performance.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to executive leadership, using data and models to inform company direction, marketplace strategy, resource allocation, product priorities, and long-term planning.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in data science or analytics, including experience leading and scaling a data team or function.
• Demonstrated experience building predictive models (e.g., MMM, LTV, propensity/churn scoring, forecasting) and moving a team beyond descriptive/diagnostic reporting.
• Demonstrated depth across both marketing and product data science, with particularly strong expertise in at least one of these areas.
• Experience working with marketplace, transactional, or similarly complex business models and solving analytical problems involving attribution, experimentation, cohort economics, segmentation, and retention.
• Strong technical fluency with modern analytics and ML infrastructure, and the ability to engage meaningfully with data models, pipelines, analytical methodologies, and BI systems.
• Hands-on experience with BigQuery, dbt, and BI tools such as Omni or comparable platforms.
• Experience translating complex models and data into clear recommendations for senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Strong business judgment and the ability to move between detailed modeling work and broader strategic questions.
• Experience building effective partnerships across engineering, product, finance, marketing, and other go-to-market functions.
• Demonstrated ability to develop teams, establish effective operating processes, and scale a data science organization as business complexity increases.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience building or scaling ML/AI-driven initiatives (personalization, propensity models, recommendation systems) from the ground up.
• Experience working with large-scale marketplace or transaction datasets, addressing questions related to liquidity, matching, acquisition, retention, and growth.
• Experience building analytical and data science capabilities in a rapidly scaling technology company.
• Experience establishing executive forecasting, board reporting, and company-wide metrics with a high degree of accuracy and operational rigor.
• Experience building self-serve analytics capabilities that enable teams across an organization to make faster, more informed decisions.

Compensation

Compensation for this role varies based on experience, with an indicative range of $225K–$275K + equity. Final compensation will depend on the level at which the candidate is hired, as we’re considering multiple levels for this role.

• Unlimited vacation
• Health Insurance (including an option completely covered by Fora HQ)
• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Wellhub Memberships
• 401k plan with company match
• Commuter Benefits
• Supplemental Life Insurance
• Stock Options

This role is based in our beautiful New York City office (Tribeca/Fidi) with lots of natural light and great views.