Sr Director - Data Governance & Enablement (Memphis, TN or Remote in USA)

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital • Memphis, TN

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr Director, Data Governance & Enablement leads ALSAC’s enterprise data governance and enablement program, establishing the operating model, decision rights, policies, standards, and controls needed for trusted, responsible, privacy-centered use of data. The role sets expectations for data ownership, quality, access, accountability, lifecycle management, retention, acceptable use, compliance, sharing, and integration. It brings enterprise data governance, data enablement, and operational privacy together to support innovation, strengthen trust, and manage enterprise risk. Its scope includes data used in reporting, analytics, machine learning, and generative AI; governance of analytical methods, AI models, applications, and the broader AI lifecycle remains with the appropriate enterprise partners.

The Sr Director directs the operational privacy program within Enterprise Data & Intelligence, translating legal, regulatory, ethical, and organizational expectations into practical data practices, system requirements, review processes, and measurable controls. In partnership with Legal, Information Security, Technology, Procurement, Risk, and business leaders, the role embeds privacy considerations from strategy and design through data collection, use, sharing, retention, and disposition. The leader also guides a federated community of data owners, product owners, stewards, analysts, and technology partners, embedding governance into business, technology, analytics, and product delivery.

The position is based in Memphis, Tennessee, with a hybrid schedule. Remote consideration may be available for qualified candidates located in the United States.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in information management, data or computer science, analytics, business, risk, law, public policy, or a related field is preferred; equivalent education and experience are considered.
• 10 or more years of progressively responsible experience across data governance, data management, privacy, risk, technology, or related disciplines, including enterprise-scale program leadership.
• At least five years of experience leading teams, operating models, or federated communities in a complex environment.
• Demonstrated experience establishing data governance frameworks, policies, standards, decision rights, and controls.
• Experience translating privacy and risk requirements into practical business and technology practices.
• Strong understanding of modern data ecosystems, metadata and catalog capabilities, data quality, lineage, cloud platforms, analytics delivery, and data requirements for machine learning and generative AI.
• Executive communication, facilitation, negotiation, and change leadership skills, including the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Ability to connect governance and privacy investments to growth, efficiency, trust, risk reduction, and strategic outcomes.
• Leadership capabilities in enterprise thinking, strategic judgment, pragmatic governance, responsible innovation, risk-based decision-making, systems thinking, partnership building, conflict navigation, portfolio and operating-model leadership, talent development, and sustaining accountability through organizational change.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading integrated data governance, enablement, and privacy programs.
• Experience with enterprise data catalogs, business glossaries, lineage, data-quality monitoring, governance workflows, or privacy-management capabilities.
• Experience establishing controls for data used in analytics, machine learning, or generative AI.
• Relevant credentials in data management, privacy, security, risk, analytics, project management, or business process management.
• Experience in a mission-driven, fundraising, consumer, healthcare-adjacent, or highly regulated environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop, execute, and own the enterprise data governance and enablement strategy, roadmap, and maturity plan.
• Establish governance policies, standards, decision rights, forums, escalation paths, and clear accountability for data owners, product owners, stewards, and custodians.
• Define measures for program adoption, data quality, privacy risk, policy adherence, issue remediation, and value realization.
• Lead the operational privacy program in partnership with Legal, Information Security, Technology, Procurement, Risk, and business teams; translate privacy obligations into practical policies, system requirements, review processes, and controls.
• Embed privacy by design across systems, campaigns, products, analytics, AI data use, data exchanges, and third-party services; oversee data minimization, purpose alignment, consent and preferences, retention, data-subject request enablement, incident support, and vendor risk.
• Provide recurring operational health reporting on privacy risks, requests, incidents, control performance, policy adherence, third-party concerns, and remediation progress.
• Establish enterprise practices for data ownership, quality, access, accountability, classification, metadata, lineage, integration, sharing, acceptable use, compliance, master and reference data, retention, and disposition.
• Lead adoption of the enterprise data catalog and glossary, including definitions, critical data elements, ownership, quality expectations, lineage, and certification status.
• Create risk-based certification and issue-management practices that communicate fitness for purpose, access conditions, privacy requirements, and known limitations.
• Define and operationalize requirements for data collection, access, use, movement, sharing, retention, archival, and disposition across platforms and business processes.
• Partner with business and technology owners to apply proportionate controls to data exchanges, campaigns, data products, marts, and third-party services; ensure exceptions, risk acceptance, and remediation decisions are documented, monitored, and escalated.
• Establish governance requirements for data used in reporting, dashboards, self-service analytics, experimentation, and advanced analytical products, and partner with analytics and business leaders to ensure governed data is fit for purpose.
• Address conflicting data definitions, unsupported combinations, incomplete lineage, and inappropriate use of sensitive information; analytical methodology, metric governance, model validation, and interpretation remain with appropriate analytics owners.
• Establish governance requirements for data used in machine learning, generative AI, and emerging technologies, including expectations for training, grounding, reference, and evaluation data; provide risk-based review for novel uses, sensitive populations, new data combinations, and external providers.
• Lead a high-performing team and federated community of data and privacy owners, stewards, analysts, and technology partners, providing clear responsibilities, decision authority, playbooks, and support.
• Oversee role-based training and practical guidance on privacy, data handling, acceptable use, retention, sharing, and data responsibilities for analytics and AI; measure completion, comprehension, and adoption.
• Influence senior leaders and cross-functional teams to resolve competing priorities, sustain accountability, and embed governance into delivery.
• Partner with ITS and Product teams to embed data governance and privacy requirements into architecture, delivery methods, platforms, and operational workflows.
• Advance automation for metadata, lineage, data-quality monitoring, policy enforcement, access review, retention, consent and preference controls, and evidence collection.
• Continuously assess program maturity, regulation, technology, and organizational needs to improve controls, reduce manual effort, and prevent late-stage risk discovery.

Benefits

• Core medical coverage, including low-cost, low-deductible medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.
• 401(k) retirement plan with 7% employer contribution.
• Exceptional paid time off.
• Maternity and paternity leave.
• Infertility treatment program.
• Adoption assistance.
• Education assistance.
• Enterprise learning and development.

What This Job Offers

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