Modern Cloud Data Strategy Lead

Prominence Advisors

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Prominence Advisors is seeking a deeply experienced data strategy leader to serve as the people-and-process counterpart to our Cloud Platform technical leadership. This is a blank-canvas engagement — you will define the governance framework, build the program, and set the standard for how healthcare organizations navigate modern cloud data transformation at the human level. This role is not focused on technical architecture. Instead, it is centered on building the organizational structures, accountability models, and governance processes required to ensure long-term success. You will partner closely with cloud platform leaders while owning the strategy and execution of governance, stakeholder alignment, and operating model design.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive experience in data strategy, data governance, or enterprise information management — with at least five years in a senior leadership or principal consultant capacity.
Demonstrated track record of establishing a data governance program at an organization where no formal program previously existed — you have done this, not just advised on it.
Deep experience in healthcare IT, including familiarity with clinical and operational data domains, regulatory considerations (HIPAA, HITRUST, etc.), and the complexity of health system data ecosystems.
Proven ability to operate without a defined playbook — comfortable with ambiguity, able to structure work from first principles, and confident setting direction in novel environments.
Experience working alongside technical cloud platform teams, with the credibility to engage substantively on architecture decisions and the judgment to redirect technical scope when governance implications are overlooked.
Strong executive presence and stakeholder influence skills — able to move C-suite conversations, align competing constituencies, and drive decisions that stick.
Experience leading or embedding within consulting engagements, not just internal programs.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with governance tooling relevant to healthcare data environments (Collibra, Informatica, Alation, or equivalent).
Exposure to cloud-native data platforms and their embedded governance tools — Snowflake, Databricks, Azure, AWS, GCP — at a conceptual and process level sufficient to govern them effectively.
Experience with Epic's analytics ecosystem and the governance implications of self-service reporting environments.
Familiarity with data mesh, data product, or federated governance models in large enterprise settings.
Prior experience in a CDAIO, CDO, or VP of Data role at a health system or health-adjacent organization.

Responsibilities

Lead this dimension of the engagement for Prominence clients.
Partner directly with a Cloud Platform Leader who handles architectural and engineering workstreams, while you own everything related to people, process, operating model, and governance.
Design and stand up a modern cloud data governance program from the ground up — no template provided, no prior playbook to inherit.
Define and operationalize data ownership, stewardship structures, and accountability frameworks across client organizations.
Lead stakeholder alignment across clinical, operational, IT, legal, and executive leadership — translating technical realities into language that drives organizational decision-making.
Develop policies, standards, and operating procedures for data access, quality, classification, lineage, and lifecycle management in a cloud environment.
Establish a data governance council or equivalent governing body, including charter, cadence, roles, and escalation paths.
Partner closely with the Cloud Platform Leader to ensure that technical design decisions have corresponding process and accountability structures.
Lead change management strategy: assess organizational readiness, design adoption plans, and build the internal capability needed to sustain programs post-engagement.
Advise on data literacy initiatives that close the gap between platform investment and actual usage.
Define success metrics for governance maturity and track progress against them.
Contribute to Prominence's internal methodology, codifying learnings from client engagements into repeatable frameworks for the practice.