This brief outlines the role of a Data Governance Lead, the expectations, and the skills required to manage data policy, stewardship and compliance across an organisation.
The Data Governance Lead establishes policy and practice to ensure data is accurate, accessible and compliant. They guide stakeholders and champion data stewardship across business units.
Data Governance Lead Job Profile
The Data Governance Lead is a senior specialist responsible for defining and delivering a pragmatic governance framework. They work with business and technical teams to create accountable data ownership, policies and standards.
This role suits an experienced data professional who can translate regulatory requirements into operational controls, coach data stewards, and drive continual improvement in data quality and usability.
Data Governance Lead Job Description
The Data Governance Lead designs, implements and maintains a comprehensive data governance programme. They define policy, standards and processes to ensure data assets are managed consistently across the organisation. The role involves creating governance artefacts such as a business glossary, data catalogue and stewardship model while establishing metrics to measure data quality and compliance.
Working closely with information security, legal and data engineering teams, the postholder ensures alignment with regulatory obligations, including GDPR and sector-specific rules. They lead stakeholder engagement, provide training, and act as the escalation point for data incidents and disputes. The role requires pragmatic decision-making, strong communication skills and the ability to influence at senior levels.
Data Governance Lead Duties and Responsibilities
- Develop, document and maintain data governance policies, standards and procedures.
- Establish and manage a data stewardship model with clear roles and responsibilities.
- Create and maintain a business glossary, data catalogue and metadata definitions.
- Define data quality metrics and run measurement and reporting programmes.
- Coordinate with legal and information security to ensure regulatory compliance, including GDPR.
- Lead data governance councils, working groups and stakeholder forums.
- Define processes for data access, retention, classification and disposal.
- Investigate and resolve data incidents, supporting root cause analysis and remediation.
- Provide training and guidance to business users and stewards on governance practices.
- Support data architecture and engineering teams to embed governance controls in systems and pipelines.
- Drive continuous improvement and change management related to data practices.
Data Governance Lead Requirements and Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Management, Business or related discipline; relevant postgraduate qualification desirable.
- Proven experience in data governance, data management or information governance roles.
- Strong knowledge of data protection law, such as GDPR and sector specific regulation.
- Experience developing business glossaries, data catalogues and metadata frameworks.
- Familiarity with data quality tools, master data management and data lineage techniques.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; able to influence senior leaders.
- Analytical mindset with experience in metrics and reporting for data quality and compliance.
- Practical experience working with data engineers, architects and security teams to implement controls.
- Professional certifications such as DAMA CDMP, DGIQ or similar are advantageous.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and lead cross-functional initiatives in a complex environment.
