Senior Data Governance Lead

Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced Senior Data Governance Lead to drive the next phase of our data governance evolution. This role is ideal for a hands-on leader who can translate abstract governance concepts into clear taxonomies, measurable data rules, and enforceable quality standards that scale across the organization.

You will help to lead a taxonomy and rules transformationestablishing shared definitions, structured classification systems, and outcome-driven data quality rules that directly improve data trust, usability, and business impact. This role partners closely with data, product, engineering, operations, and analytics teams to embed governance into how data is designed, produced, and consumednot as overhead, but as enablement.

This role is critical to building long-term data governance muscle across the organization by equipping teams with practical frameworks, guidance, and repeatable ways of working.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and governance of an enterprise taxonomy and data rule framework, including business terms, entities, products, and classification hierarchies that support consistent data use.
• Translate business needs into clear, objective, and measurable data and quality rules that can be implemented, tested, and monitored.
• Develop governance frameworks that connect taxonomy ? business rules ? data quality standards ? measurable outcomes.
• Partner with data engineering, analytics, and product teams to embed governance requirements into data pipelines, tooling, and workflows.
• Establish standards for rule authoring, validation, conflict detection, and lifecycle management.
• Drive clarity and consistency in definitions, metadata, and documentation across domains.
• Support the creation of data quality metrics, thresholds, and reporting aligned to business use cases.
• Coach and enable data owners, stewards, analysts, and associates to apply governance standards confidently and consistently.
• Contribute to governance operating models, playbooks, and training materials designed for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Act as a thought partner on governance best practices, tooling needs, and maturity progression.

Success Measures:

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Taxonomy Adoption & Clarity Demonstrated reduction in ambiguity and rework through consistent use of approved taxonomies and definitions.
• Rule Effectiveness Clear, testable data and quality rules that lead to measurable improvements in data accuracy, consistency, and trust.
• Scalability of Governance Frameworks and standards that teams can apply independently without constant governance intervention.
• Data Quality Improvements Observable improvements in key data quality indicators tied to governed datasets.
• Stakeholder Enablement Positive feedback from teams on the usability, clarity, and practicality of governance guidance.
• Operationalization Governance artifacts (taxonomy, rules, standards) actively used in production workflows rather than existing only as documentation.

Key Qualifications and Role Requirements:

• 510 years of experience in data governance, data management, data quality, analytics, or data operations.
• Proven experience designing or implementing taxonomy frameworks, classification systems, or business term definitions.
• Strong ability to translate complex business concepts into structured, objective rules.
• Experience working cross-functionally with data engineering, analytics, product, and operational teams.
• Demonstrated success moving organizations from ad hoc or narrative governance toward structured, standards-based approaches.
• Familiarity with data quality dimensions (e.g., accuracy, completeness, timeliness, consistency) and how to operationalize them.
• Knowledge of or certification in DAMA / DMBOK is a strong plus.
• Comfort operating in environments with evolving maturity and ambiguity.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Career Path

A Senior Data Governance Lead has opportunities to grow into roles such as:

• Principal Data Governance Lead owning enterprise-wide governance strategy and maturity.
• Head of Data Governance or Data Enablement leading governance as a core organizational capability.
• Data Quality & Standards Lead owning critical data elements and quality programs.
• Data Product or Platform Enablement Leader embedding governance into scalable data products.
• Director-level roles across data governance, data operations, or data strategy.

This role provides exposure to enterprise-wide data challenges, strategic initiatives, and the opportunity to shape how the organization defines, trusts, and scales its data assets.