Data Governance Program Manager

Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association•Denver, CO

1d•$105,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Data Governance Program Manager at Colorado PERA plays a key role in advancing the organization’s mission through modern, data-driven practices. This role is responsible for leading an enterprise data governance program that ensures data is trusted, secure, and accessible. The Data Governance Program Manager collaborates across teams to establish governance standards, strengthen data stewardship, and foster a culture where data is a shared, well-managed asset.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Management, Business, or related field and 5+ years of experience in data governance, data analytics, data management, or a related field.
A combination of relevant education, training, and experience that demonstrates the necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities will also be considered.
Proven experience with data governance frameworks, metadata management, and data lineage tools.
Deep understanding of data quality, privacy, and compliance principles.
Experience supporting data warehouse or analytics platform implementations.
Experience with BI tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) and reporting frameworks.
Experience with cloud data platforms (e.g. Snowflake, Microsoft Purview, AWS analytics stack, Azure Data Platform, Informatica, Alation, Collibra, etc.).
Experience driving enterprise adoption of analytics and self-service reporting capabilities.
Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (e.g., MBA, MPA, MS in Data Science or Analytics).
Certifications such as Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) or equivalent.
Experience in financial services, pension systems, or public sector organizations.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and continuously enhance a comprehensive enterprise data governance framework, including policies, standards, and procedures for data quality, metadata management, and the full data lifecycle.
Define and operationalize roles and responsibilities for data ownership, stewardship, and accountability across business units, ensuring clarity and consistency.
Lead cross-functional Data Governance Forum to drive alignment, prioritization, and oversight of governance initiatives.
Build and sustain a strong data stewardship community, enabling accountability and promoting best practices across the organization.
Serve as a key liaison between technical teams and business stakeholders, translating business needs into actionable data solutions and governance practices.
Foster a culture of data literacy, stewardship, and responsible data usage across PERA through communication, education, and engagement efforts.
Support organizational alignment by ensuring governance practices enable, rather than hinder, innovation and modernization efforts.
Provide mentorship, training, and development opportunities to strengthen data capabilities and governance practices across teams.
Ensure compliance with applicable data protection regulations (e.g. PII, HIPAA) and internal policies, safeguarding sensitive member and organizational data.
Collaborate with Legal, Enterprise Risk, and Information Security teams to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate data-related risks.
Define, monitor, and report on data governance KPIs, including data quality, policy adherence, and program maturity metrics.
Promote a risk-aware data culture while embedding governance controls into day-to-day operations and enterprise systems.
Ensure governed, high-quality data is effectively leveraged for reporting, advanced analytics, and decision-making.
Establish standards and best practices that align data governance with analytics delivery, ensuring consistency in definitions, metrics, and data usage across the organization.
Support the development of trusted data assets, curated datasets, and semantic layers that enable self-service analytics while maintaining appropriate controls.
Collaborate with business stakeholders to prioritize analytical use cases and ensure data governance practices support actionable insights and measurable outcomes.
Promote data-driven decision-making by enabling access to reliable, well-documented data and reinforcing alignment between governance, analytics, and modernization initiatives.
Continuously evaluate and optimize data governance processes to improve efficiency, scalability, and business value.
Stay informed on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in data governance, analytics, and data operations.
Recommend and implement innovative solutions that enhance data accessibility, usability, and trust.
Identify opportunities to embed governance into PERA’s ongoing modernization efforts, ensuring data is a strategic enabler of improved member experiences and organizational effectiveness.
Assess the need for procurement and implementation of data governance or data catalog tools.
Performs other duties as assigned