Reference Data Management Lead

Humana • New York, NY

1d • $117,600 - $161,700

About The Position

This role is critical to ensuring the integrity and usability of reference data across the organization. The Reference Data Management Project Lead will help enable data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency. We ask that you have a strong blend of data management expertise, governance discipline, technical fluency, delivery leadership, and stakeholder influence.

We are looking for an experienced Reference Data Management Lead to drive the strategy, implementation, and governance of enterprise reference data initiatives. This role will define and drive the operating model, governance practices, standards, and controls. It will also develop an adoption approach needed to ensure reference data is accurate, consistent, well-governed, and trusted across systems, business processes, analytics, reporting, and data products.

You will sit at the intersection of data governance, technology, and business operations, ensuring consistent, accurate, and controlled use of reference data across systems and processes. This role is accountable for maturing the enterprise reference data operating model, including ownership, authoritative sources, lifecycle governance, quality controls, metadata, lineage, change workflows, and adoption across business and technology teams. The ideal candidate combines strong project leadership with deep knowledge of data management principles and stakeholder coordination.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Data Management, Business, or a related field
• 7+ years of experience in data management, data governance, or reference/master data projects
• Knowledge of healthcare data concepts, regulatory reporting, privacy/security expectations, audit readiness, or compliance-driven data controls
• Experience with reference data lifecycle management, authoritative sources, data ownership, stewardship, metadata, lineage, data quality, controls, and issue remediation
• Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional projects
• Experience with data governance frameworks, data quality, and metadata management
• Experience with SQL, data analysis, data profiling, data mapping, ETL/integration concepts, and system-to-system data flows
• Excellent stakeholder management
• Familiarity with project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall)

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree or relevant certifications such as CDMP, DAMA, PMP, Scrum, or data governance/data management certifications.
• Experience with MDM/RDM platforms, data catalogs, metadata management tools, data quality tools, workflow tools, or cloud data platforms.
• Experience with Reltio Reference Data Management tool.
• Knowledge of healthcare data concepts, regulatory reporting, privacy/security expectations, audit readiness, or compliance-driven data controls.
• Experience with data visualization or reporting tools
• Technical proficiency in SQL, data analysis tools, or scripting languages

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of reference data management projects, from planning and design through implementation and post-launch support
• Define and maintain reference data standards, policies, and governance frameworks
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, data owners, and IT teams to identify and document reference data requirements
• Oversee data modeling, data mapping, and integration efforts related to reference data domains
• Manage project timelines, budgets, risks, and dependencies across multiple workstreams
• Ensure data quality by establishing validation rules, monitoring processes, and remediation workflows
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including data engineers, analysts, and business users
• Drive adoption of reference data tools, platforms, and best practices across the organization
• Develop and maintain documentation including data dictionaries, lineage, and governance artifacts
• Report project status, risks, and KPIs to senior leadership and stakeholders
• Champion enterprise-wide data governance projects and align reference data strategy with broader data management goals
• Implement modern data management tools (e.g., MDM platforms, data catalogs, metadata management solutions)
• Lead change management efforts to improve data literacy and governance adoption
• Mentor junior team members and help build a strong data management culture
• Partner with architecture and engineering teams to define scalable integration and distribution patterns for reference data, including APIs, batch feeds, event-driven patterns, and catalog integration
• Identify opportunities for automation and process optimization within reference data workflows
• Support regulatory and compliance requirements related to data management (e.g., audit readiness, reporting standards)
• Contribute to long-term data strategy and roadmap planning

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• time off (including paid time off, company and personal holidays, paid parental and caregiver leave)
• short-term and long-term disability
• life insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior