Director of Data Governance

Framingham State University•Framingham, MA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Framingham State University is strategically committed to utilizing institutional data to bolster student success, retention, persistence, and completion. As part of this commitment, the Director of Data Governance is responsible for expanding, enhancing, and coordinating Framingham State University's data governance program to ensure that institutional data are trustworthy and useful for analysis, reporting, and decision-making. This role ensures that policies, data management practices, and oversight of institutional data produce reliable, well-defined, accessible data assets for people and systems to explore, navigate, and utilize. As a leader in fostering a data-informed culture, the Director works collaboratively with stakeholders across academic and administrative units to establish and sustain a governance framework that spans financial aid, human resources, student records, enrollment management, advancement, and other institutional data domains. This position is responsible for maintaining a catalog of institutional data assets and a glossary of semantic definitions to ensure clarity, consistency, and appropriate data usage. The Director coordinates the University's stewardship expectations, documentation practices, and decision processes that guide how institutional data are understood, managed, accessed, and used across the University. The position works closely with other staff in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, as well as Information Technology Services, Enterprise Data Services, Information Security, data trustees, data stewards, and other stakeholders to support the implementation of governance practices across institutional systems, reporting environments, analytics platforms, and business processes. Additionally, this role educates stakeholders on best practices in data management and responsible use, empowering them to confidently access, interpret, and apply institutional data in their work.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and five years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Demonstrated knowledge of data governance concepts, frameworks, roles, techniques, processes, and practices.
Demonstrated knowledge of institutional data, data quality, data definitions, data stewardship, data access, privacy, compliance, and responsible data use.
Demonstrated knowledge of data architecture, business intelligence, reporting, analytics, and technology environments sufficient to collaborate effectively with technical and functional stakeholders.
Demonstrated knowledge of higher education institutions and experience with enterprise data in a university context.
Demonstrated knowledge of FERPA, public records requirements, privacy, and ethical use of institutional data.
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving data, policy, reporting, analytics, institutional effectiveness, compliance, and/or business process improvement.
Strong project & program planning & management skills, including the ability to manage deliverables, timelines, stakeholder input, documentation, decision records, follow-through, and multiple priorities.
Strong planning, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, with the ability to cultivate professional partnerships across academic & administrative units and communicate complex data, policy, technical, and compliance concepts to diverse audiences.
Demonstrated ability to lead through collaboration, build consensus, resolve ambiguity, and influence stakeholders across organizational boundaries without relying solely on formal authority.
Demonstrated ability to act independently and as part of a team, with flexibility to adapt to different stakeholder needs and organizational cultures.
Ability to work successfully in a diverse environment and to contribute in a meaningful way to the diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion efforts of the university

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education within institutional research, institutional effectiveness, enrollment management, student success, academic affairs, finance, human resources, advancement, or other data-intensive university function.
Experience with student information systems such as Banner, enterprise reporting environments, data warehouses, analytics platforms, data catalogs, business glossaries, metadata management, data lineage tools, and related technologies.
Experience supporting implementation or adoption of an enterprise data warehouse, institutional analytics platform, data catalog, or data governance platform in a higher education environment.
Familiarity with accreditation expectations, information security, and data compliance issues and expectations.
Experience developing or implementing data governance policies, standards, data dictionaries, data catalogs, data quality processes, stewardship models, or data issue management workflows.
Experience designing or delivering data literacy, responsible data use, or governance training for faculty, staff, or administrative stakeholders.
Candidates with bilingual language skills in Portuguese and English or Spanish and English are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

Directly and intentionally advance the University's mission-critical, strategic commitment to utilizing institutional data to bolster student success, retention, persistence, and completion by leading and coordinating the University's Data Governance Program in alignment with approved Program, Council, and Coordinating Group charters
Facilitate relevant communication and collaboration across academic & administrative units and among data trustees, data stewards, data system custodians, divisional data management representatives, Institutional Effectiveness, Information Technology Services, Information Security, and other key units and stakeholders.
Work in close partnership with Institutional Effectiveness, Information Technology Services, Enterprise Data Services, Information Security, data trustees, data stewards, data system custodians, and functional data owners to ensure that institutional data governance policies, standards, definitions, stewardship practices, access requirements, and data quality expectations are implemented consistently across enterprise systems, reporting environments, analytics platforms, and institutional workflows.
Serve as a subject matter expert for the University regarding the interpretation, implementation, and compliance expectations associated with data governance policies, standards, procedures, compliance, and institutional data stewardship practices.
Develop, propose, and support implementation of data governance policies, standards, procedures, role definitions, data definitions, data usage guidance, and related documentation through appropriate data & University governance and approval processes in collaboration with appropriate units and stakeholders.
Develop and maintain guidance documentation, including usage agreements, data access instructions, decision records, data definition documentation, and best-practice guidelines in collaboration with appropriate units and stakeholders.
Establish and coordinate processes for identifying, documenting, prioritizing, escalating, and tracking institutional data quality, data definition, access, stewardship, and reporting issues in collaboration with appropriate units and stakeholders.
Maintain and continuously improve the institutional data catalog, business glossary, semantic definitions, and related governance documentation in collaboration with appropriate units and stakeholders.
Develop and deliver training, guidance, workshops, and communication resources to improve data literacy, responsible data use, and shared understanding of governance expectations across the University in collaboration with appropriate units and stakeholders.
Develop and deliver training, guidance, workshops, and communication resources to data trustees, stewards, system custodians, and users on data governance policies, appropriate data usage, and best practices in data management in collaboration with Institutional Effectiveness and Information Technology Services.
Oversee the data stewardship structure and provide ongoing support to data stewards.
Advise on business process changes that may affect governed institutional data, data definitions, data quality, reporting, analytics, system workflows, or downstream integrations, and coordinate appropriate review with functional leaders, ITS, Information Security, and governance bodies.
Collaborate with appropriate units and stakeholders to identify, develop, and socialize strategic data initiatives that align with institutional priorities and support data-informed decision-making.
Monitor developments in data governance, higher education analytics, privacy, compliance, information security, data ethics, and responsible use of data, and recommend improvements to strengthen the University's data governance maturity.
Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned.