Data Governance Lead

Job Summary

The Data Governance Lead designs, implements, and maintains a comprehensive data governance framework that ensures data is treated as a strategic asset across the organization. This role collaborates with the Vice President of Insights and Innovation, Data Product Owner, and agile team members to set standards, policies, and processes for data management, quality, and compliance. The Data Governance Lead empowers data stewards, drives accountability, and supports the organization’s vision for data democratization, actionable insights, and predictive analytics.

The Data Governance Lead reports to the Vice President of Insights and Innovation.

Essential Functions

Data Governance Framework Development

• Design and implement a data governance framework that establishes clear standards, policies, and processes for data management, supporting a single source of truth and predictive analytics.
• Partner with the VP of Insights and Innovation and Data Product Owner to align governance with organizational goals.
• Establish and lead a Data Governance Council to drive alignment, accountability, and adoption of governance policies across business and IT stakeholders.

Data Steward Empowerment

• Define roles, responsibilities, and training for data stewards, enabling accountability for data quality, usage, and compliance.

Standard Setting

• Develop and enforce data standards, including naming conventions, formats, metadata management, and quality metrics.

Data Cleanup & Reformatting

• Lead efforts to assess and reformat existing data to align with governance standards and modern platforms.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure adherence to financial industry regulations and partner with Information Security to mitigate risks related to data security, privacy, and compliance.

Agile Collaboration

• Work within an agile pod to integrate governance practices into data product development, supporting member journey frameworks and predictive analytics.

Data Quality Assurance

• Implement processes for data profiling, validation, and cleansing to support actionable insights and accurate performance measurement.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with business units, IT, and other stakeholders to communicate governance policies and promote a culture of data accountability.
• Collaborate closely with IT and Data Architecture teams to ensure governance standards align with technical architecture and enterprise data strategies.

Data Democratization Support

• Ensure governance supports simplified, accessible data structures for business users.

Continuous Improvement

• Monitor industry trends and refine the governance framework to support the shift from static reporting to predictive analytics.

Documentation & Training

• Maintain documentation of governance policies and provide training to ensure consistent adoption and compliance.

Other

• Adhere to all company policies, procedures and business ethics codes.
• Complete required regulatory training as assigned.
• Maintain strict adherence and compliance to all laws, rules, regulations, and internal controls specific to the role, including but not limited to Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, USA Patriot Act, OFAC and Fair Lending regulations.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Excellent communication skills, able to translate governance policies for business and technical teams across all levels of leadership within the organization.
• Strong understanding of data governance principles: data quality, metadata management, data lineage, and compliance.
• Familiarity with Python or similar scripting languages for data profiling and quality checks.
• Experience with data governance tools (Collibra, Alation, Informatica, Purview) and platforms (Databricks, cloud environments).
• Proficiency in SQL or similar tools for data profiling and quality assurance.
• Leadership and collaboration skills for agile environments.
• Analytical mindset to identify gaps and propose solutions.
• Ability to manage complex projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to change mindset, be a thought partner in driving a data culture.
• Ability to establish data governance across the organization to drive member impact.

Competencies

• Demonstrating Member Obsession

• Puts themselves in the Member’s shoes
• Looks for friction points
• Makes it personalized and easy

• Demonstrating Performance Excellence

• Sets standards for elevating excellence
• Ensures elevated quality
• Takes responsibility
• Conducts continuous improvement

• Demonstrating Innovation

• Challenges current thinking
• Approaches change with a positive mindset

Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Management, Information Systems, Business Administration, or related field.
• 5+ years in data governance, data management, or related role, with a focus on governance frameworks.
• Hands-on experience working with enterprise data warehouses, preferably cloud-based.
• Proven experience leading data cleanup or reformatting initiatives.
• Experience in agile environments and cross-functional collaboration.
• 2+ years in financial services (banking, insurance, fintech).

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree
• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) or equivalent.
• DAMA Certification
  CIPP/US or CIPM (Privacy certifications)
• Certifications in data governance tools or cloud-based data warehousing platforms.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described are representative of those that an employee must meet, with or without accommodation, to perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Frequent

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.
• Extensive use of the telephone and virtual communications platforms, requiring the ability to effectively listen and accurately explain complex information.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. 

• This position requires frequently working onsite at UFCU Plaza in Austin, Texas.
• This position may involve periodic stressful conditions.
• May occasionally require an adjusted work schedule, overtime, and evening/weekend hours.
• Public contact position, requiring appropriate professional appearance.
• Frequent computer use at a workstation up to two hours at a time.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.