Director of Data Governance

Framingham State University•Framingham, MA

16h

About The Position

Framingham State University seeks a Director of Data Governance to expand, enhance, and coordinate its data governance program. The position supports the University’s strategic commitment to using institutional data to bolster student success, retention, persistence, and completion by ensuring that data are trustworthy, well-defined, accessible, and useful for analysis, reporting, and decision-making. The Director establishes and sustains a governance framework spanning institutional data domains such as financial aid, human resources, student records, enrollment management, and advancement. The role also maintains an institutional data catalog and glossary of semantic definitions, and coordinates stewardship expectations, documentation practices, and decision processes for how institutional data are understood, managed, accessed, and used. The Director works with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Information Technology Services, Enterprise Data Services, Information Security, data trustees, data stewards, system custodians, functional data owners, and other stakeholders to implement governance practices across institutional systems, reporting environments, analytics platforms, and business processes. The position educates stakeholders on data management best practices and responsible data use. It reports to the Associate Provost and has no direct reports currently assigned, though it may provide functional direction, coordination, and guidance to people and groups working on data governance activities. This is a full-time, exempt, benefits-eligible position in the Association of Professional Administrators bargaining unit, with the union title of Director. It is externally funded through MA SUCCESS funding, and ongoing employment is contingent on continued grant funding. The anticipated starting salary is $100,000. Work is ordinarily performed at the University’s main campus and may periodically be performed remotely under the University’s Telework Guidelines and an approved Telework Agreement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and five years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Knowledge of data governance concepts, frameworks, roles, techniques, processes, and practices.
Knowledge of institutional data, data quality, data definitions, stewardship, data access, privacy, compliance, and responsible data use.
Knowledge of data architecture, business intelligence, reporting, analytics, and technology environments sufficient to collaborate effectively with technical and functional stakeholders.
Knowledge of higher education institutions and experience with enterprise data in a university context.
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 and program planning and management skills, including managing 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, including the ability to build professional partnerships across academic and administrative units and explain complex data, policy, technical, and compliance concepts to diverse audiences.
Ability to lead collaboratively, build consensus, resolve ambiguity, and influence stakeholders across organizational boundaries without relying solely on formal authority.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team, adapting to stakeholder needs and organizational cultures.
Ability to work successfully in a diverse environment and contribute meaningfully to the University’s diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion efforts.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education within institutional research, institutional effectiveness, enrollment management, student success, academic affairs, finance, human resources, advancement, or another 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, or 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.
Bilingual Portuguese and English or Spanish and English language skills; candidates with these skills are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

Lead and coordinate the University’s Data Governance Program in alignment with approved program, council, and coordinating group charters.
Facilitate communication and collaboration across academic and administrative units and among data trustees, stewards, system custodians, data management representatives, and other stakeholders.
Partner with relevant units and functional data owners to implement governance policies, standards, definitions, stewardship practices, access requirements, and data quality expectations across systems, reporting environments, analytics platforms, and workflows.
Serve as the University’s subject matter expert on the interpretation, implementation, and compliance expectations of data governance policies, standards, procedures, and 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 approval processes.
Develop and maintain guidance documentation, including usage agreements, data access instructions, decision records, data definitions, and best-practice guidelines.
Establish and coordinate processes to identify, document, prioritize, escalate, and track institutional data quality, definition, access, stewardship, and reporting issues.
Maintain and continuously improve the institutional data catalog, business glossary, semantic definitions, and related governance documentation.
Develop and deliver training, guidance, workshops, and communication resources to improve data literacy, responsible data use, and understanding of governance expectations.
Train and guide data trustees, stewards, system custodians, and users on governance policies, appropriate data use, and data management best practices.
Oversee the data stewardship structure and provide ongoing support to data stewards.
Advise on business process changes that may affect governed data, definitions, quality, reporting, analytics, workflows, or downstream integrations, and coordinate appropriate review.
Collaborate with stakeholders to identify, develop, and socialize strategic data initiatives aligned with institutional priorities and data-informed decision-making.
Monitor developments in data governance, higher education analytics, privacy, compliance, information security, data ethics, and responsible data use, and recommend improvements to the University’s governance maturity.
Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned.