Head of USDI Data Governance Practice Leader

The Head of Data Governance Practice Leader is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and executing the USDI data governance strategy to ensure data is trusted, secure, compliant, and effectively leveraged as a strategic asset. This role establishes governance frameworks, drives policy adoption, and builds a federated governance operating model aligned to data domains and data products. The Head of Data Governance partners across business, technology, risk, and analytics to enable high-quality, AI-ready data while ensuring regulatory compliance and scalable governance practices.

Core Responsibilities:

A. Governance Strategy & Operating Model

• Define and lead the USDI data governance strategy, aligned to business priorities and data strategy
• Design and implement a federated governance model (domain-based ownership, stewardship, councils)
• Establish roles, responsibilities, and decision rights (Data Owners, Data Stewards, Domain Leaders)
• Drive alignment across business and technology to ensure clear ownership and accountability

B. Policy, Standards, and Controls

• Own data governance policies, standards, and frameworks
• Ensure consistent adoption of: Data classification & privacy controls Access and usage policies Retention and lifecycle standards
• Partner with Risk, Legal, and Compliance to ensure alignment with regulatory requirements
• Governance function is responsible for design, implementation, and enterprise coordination of governance standards and capabilities

C. Data Quality & Issue Management

• Establish a data quality framework with KPIs, controls, and monitoring
• Drive enterprise-wide data issue management lifecycle: Intake * triage * root cause analysis * remediation * closure
• Define accountability model for data defects and control ownership
• Governance roles ensure data accuracy, consistency, and alignment with business objectives

D. Metadata, Lineage & Transparency

• Establish and scale enterprise capabilities for: Business glossary and definitions Metadata management Data lineage and traceability
• Ensure data is: Discoverable Interpretable Trusted across domains
• Governance requires metadata, lineage, and data standards to support enterprise usage

E. Data Domain Governance & Stewardship

• Stand up and lead Data Governance Councils / Working Groups
• Ensure domain-level governance execution via: Data Domain Leaders Data Stewards
• Drive adoption of governance practices at the data product level

F. Governance Enablement & Adoption

• Drive data literacy, training, and change management
• Define measurable outcomes for governance adoption: Data quality improvements Metadata completeness Reduction in data issues
• Partner with Data Product, Engineering, and Analytics teams to embed governance in workflows

G. Platform & Tooling Alignment

• Oversee governance tooling strategy (e.g., catalog, lineage, data quality platforms)
• Ensure governance capabilities are embedded into the data platform and pipelines
• Partner with engineering to translate policies into enforceable controls

H. Executive Stakeholder Management

• Provide executive visibility into: Data quality health Governance maturity Risk exposure
• Lead cross-functional governance forums (e.g., Data SteerCo)
• Influence senior leadership decision-making on data priorities

• 12-15+ years in data governance, data management, or data strategy leadership
• Proven experience building enterprise-scale governance programs
• Deep expertise in: Data governance frameworks (DAMA, DCAM, etc.) Data quality, metadata, and lineage Regulatory and risk environments (ideally FS)
• Strong leadership across business and technology organizations
• Experience in domain-driven / data product operating models, * Experience with enterprise data platforms and tools (e.g., Collibra, Alation, Purview)
• Familiarity with AI/ML data governance and model data controls
• Background in financial services or regulated industries, * Minimum of eight years of related work experience.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience. Graduate degree preferred.

Special Factors

About Vanguard At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission-we're on a mission. To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best. How We Work Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.