Data Governance Analyst

American University•Washington, DC

2d•$110,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Data Governance Analyst plays a critical role in advancing the university’s data governance initiatives by promoting data quality, consistency, and accessibility across systems. This position collaborates with cross-functional teams to define and implement data standards, manage metadata, and support integration between data management tools. The analyst leads the development and maintenance of the AU Data Governance Center (Collibra), facilitates stakeholder engagement through working groups, and conducts data analysis to support strategic decision-making. This position is union eligible.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
5 - 8 years of relevant experience.
Experience working in a Higher Education environment.
Proven experience implementing and supporting data governance solutions in medium to large organizations across multiple business domains.
Hands-on experience in Collibra administration, including workflow management, data catalog integration, and overall environment maintenance.
In depth understanding of data governance best practices, data management principles, and the ability to conduct independent data analysis.
Experience with enterprise data systems such as ERP, CRM, data warehouses.
Proficiency in SQL with the ability to write complex queries; familiarity with JavaScript, REST APIs, web services, and scripting in Python or R.
Demonstrated technical aptitude and ability to adapt to new systems and technologies across various business areas.
Experience in data analysis, data quality, and data enrichment.
Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and requirement discovery skills.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across all levels of management, business units, and IT teams.
Self-motivated with the ability to take initiative and work independently with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

Data Governance Program Management Lead the design, development, and maintenance of the AU Data Governance Center (Collibra) to enable shared understanding of data definitions and foster trust in university data assets. Develop and maintain a repository of cross-referenced metadata, including information requirements, data definitions, data relationships, naming conventions, and formatting standards. Disseminate data standards to business and technical users and promote adoption of data governance practices.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement Collaborate extensively with the Data and Analytics team, product managers and development teams, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, and the Office of the University Registrar on projects with data implications. Serve as co-chair for the Application & Data Stewards Working Group to facilitate discussions, recommend and document standard data definitions and formats, and promote data management best practices across business and technical communities.
Technical Development and Integration Develop integrations between data management tools through workflow engineering, scripting, API calls, Java modules, and connections with target systems. Create and maintain scripts for importing and exporting data across systems.
Training, Documentation, and Continuous Improvement Develop and maintain documentation for data governance processes and tools. Identify and implement process improvement to enhance program effectiveness. Train users to strengthen data governance culture and encourage data-driven decision-making. Enhance professional knowledge and skills by attending conferences and advanced training in required areas of expertise, as budget permits.
Data Analysis and Quality Assurance Conduct data research and analysis by working with subject matter experts, querying data sources, identifying data relationships, and understanding business context. Identifies data management metrics and design data quality scorecards to monitor and improve data integrity.