Data Governance Lead

Airgas • Radnor, PA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Data Governance Lead operationalizes and continuously improves Airgas’ data governance framework, including its policies, standards, stewardship model, and certification process. Working under the direction of the Data Officer and within the Air Liquide Group framework, this role puts Airgas Data Principles into practice across five divisions, 18 regions, business units, and corporate entities. The position keeps data ownership and stewardship documented and current, ensures data quality is measured and published, and certifies and catalogs data products so business teams and other data consumers can rely on them for decisions, reporting, and AI.

The Lead coaches data owners, stewards, and product teams; partners with the Data Quality Lead to route quality results to accountable owners and track remediation; and manages the Airgas data catalog and product certification process. The role also coordinates the Airgas Data & AI Council, aligns with Air Liquide counterparts on shared models and Group policies, and works with Data Privacy, IT Security, and Legal to incorporate relevant requirements into governance processes. In addition, the Lead advances data and AI literacy and works with business sponsors to define and track data-product KPIs, value, and ROI.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, business, data management, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in data management, including 5+ years leading data governance, stewardship, or data quality programs.
• Evidence of operating governance operations at scale, not only designing frameworks.
• Hands-on experience implementing and operating a stewardship model, including recruiting and coaching data owners and stewards, maintaining ownership registers, and sustaining accountability through organizational change.
• Working experience implementing or administering enterprise data catalog and metadata tools, such as Collibra, Alation, Informatica, or Microsoft Purview.
• Experience partnering with data-quality measurement teams and converting published metrics into remediation follow-through with business owners.
• Ability to write clear policies and standards and facilitate senior cross-functional forums by setting agendas, driving decisions, and ensuring follow-through.
• Experience operating in a matrixed or multi-entity environment and aligning local practices with corporate or group-level frameworks.
• Strong communication skills to translate between executives, business process owners, and engineers, and diplomacy to enforce standards without owning the data.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree.
• Experience in industrial, manufacturing, or distribution businesses, particularly in SAP-centered environments with complex customer, product, and asset master data.
• Salesforce experience.
• Familiarity with AI governance practices, including data readiness for AI, model documentation, and emerging regulation such as the EU AI Act.
• Experience in a subsidiary or group-company structure, working with parent-company governance bodies.
• CDMP (DAMA) or comparable data management certification.
• Experience establishing or operating a data product certification, data contract, or similar assurance mechanism.

Responsibilities

• Operate and continuously improve Airgas’ data governance framework, including policies, standards, and the stewardship model, in collaboration with regions, business units, and corporate entities and in alignment with Airgas Data Principles and the Air Liquide Group framework.
• Issue and maintain data standards and procedures that put governance policies into daily practice.
• Maintain the register of critical data ownership and stewardship, ensuring every critical dataset has a named, supported owner and that accountability remains current as the organization changes.
• Coach data owners, stewards, and product teams on standards and best practices.
• Partner with the Data Quality Lead to ensure quality scorecards are published to data owners and leadership at the committed frequency.
• Route published data-quality results to accountable owners, track remediation commitments through the governance rhythm, and make progress visible over time.
• Operate the data product certification process and maintain the Airgas data catalog, including owners, definitions, certification status, and approved uses.
• Support data-risk reviews for AI initiatives to help ensure AI and executive reporting use certified data.
• Manage the operating rhythm of the Airgas Data & AI Council, including agendas, decisions, and follow-through.
• Coordinate with Air Liquide counterparts on shared data models and adoption of Group policies.
• Partner with Data Privacy, IT Security, and Legal to embed their requirements into governance processes and ensure compliance with relevant data privacy, security, and regulatory requirements.
• Advance data and AI literacy across Airgas and promote the value of trusted reporting, faster delivery, and AI built on reliable data.
• Work with business sponsors to define KPIs and expected value for each data product before it is built.
• Track realized value and ROI against data-product KPIs after deployment, and report the portfolio’s value story to the Data Officer and business leadership.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation.
• Medical, dental, and vision plans.
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• Life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Pre-tax commuter transportation benefit.
• Parental leave.
• Vacation and sick time.
• Floating holidays, jury duty leave, funeral/bereavement leave, and paid holidays for eligible full-time employees.
• 401(k) plan with company matching funds for eligible employees.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Discounted college tuition for eligible employees’ dependents.
• Airgas Scholarship Program for dependent children.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior