Head of USDI Data Governance Practice Leader

Vanguard • Malvern, PA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role is responsible for defining and leading the USDI data governance strategy, aligned to business priorities and data strategy. The Head of USDI Data Governance Practice Leader will design and implement a federated governance model, establish roles and responsibilities, and drive alignment across business and technology. Key responsibilities include owning data governance policies, standards, and frameworks, ensuring consistent adoption of data classification, privacy controls, access and usage policies, and retention/lifecycle standards. The role also involves partnering with Risk, Legal, and Compliance to ensure alignment with regulatory requirements. A significant part of the role is establishing a data quality framework with KPIs, controls, and monitoring, and driving the enterprise-wide data issue management lifecycle. Additionally, the position requires establishing and scaling enterprise capabilities for metadata management, business glossary, and data lineage to ensure data is discoverable, interpretable, and trusted. The leader will also stand up and lead Data Governance Councils/Working Groups, drive adoption of governance practices at the data product level, and lead data literacy, training, and change management initiatives. Finally, the role oversees the governance tooling strategy and ensures governance capabilities are embedded into the data platform and pipelines, while also providing executive visibility into data quality, governance maturity, and risk exposure.

Requirements

• 12–15+ years in data governance, data management, or data strategy leadership
• Proven experience building enterprise-scale governance programs
• Deep expertise in: Data governance frameworks (DAMA, DCAM, etc.)
• Deep expertise in: Data quality, metadata, and lineage
• Deep expertise in: Regulatory and risk environments (ideally FS)
• Strong leadership across business and technology organizations
• Experience in domain-driven / data product operating models
• Minimum of eight years of related work experience.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with enterprise data platforms and tools (e.g., Collibra, Alation, Purview)
• Familiarity with AI/ML data governance and model data controls
• Background in financial services or regulated industries
• Graduate degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the USDI data governance strategy, aligned to business priorities and data strategy
• Design and implement a federated governance model (domain-based ownership, stewardship, councils)
• Establish roles, responsibilities, and decision rights (Data Owners, Data Stewards, Domain Leaders)
• Drive alignment across business and technology to ensure clear ownership and accountability
• Own data governance policies, standards, and frameworks
• Ensure consistent adoption of: Data classification & privacy controls, Access and usage policies, Retention and lifecycle standards
• Partner with Risk, Legal, and Compliance to ensure alignment with regulatory requirements
• Establish a data quality framework with KPIs, controls, and monitoring
• Drive enterprise-wide data issue management lifecycle: Intake → triage → root cause analysis → remediation → closure
• Define accountability model for data defects and control ownership
• Establish and scale enterprise capabilities for: Business glossary and definitions, Metadata management, Data lineage and traceability
• Ensure data is: Discoverable, Interpretable, Trusted across domains
• Stand up and lead Data Governance Councils / Working Groups
• Ensure domain-level governance execution via: Data Domain Leaders, Data Stewards
• Drive adoption of governance practices at the data product level
• Drive data literacy, training, and change management
• Define measurable outcomes for governance adoption: Data quality improvements, Metadata completeness, Reduction in data issues
• Partner with Data Product, Engineering, and Analytics teams to embed governance in workflows
• Oversee governance tooling strategy (e.g., catalog, lineage, data quality platforms)
• Ensure governance capabilities are embedded into the data platform and pipelines
• Partner with engineering to translate policies into enforceable controls
• Provide executive visibility into: Data quality health, Governance maturity, Risk exposure
• Lead cross-functional governance forums (e.g., Data SteerCo)
• Influence senior leadership decision-making on data priorities

Benefits

• Hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection.
• Mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.
• Culture that promotes teamwork, along with an unwavering focus on serving our clients' best interests.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree