Data Governance Lead

Career Guide

A Data Governance Lead builds and runs the rules, processes, and accountability needed to keep an organization’s data accurate, secure, and trusted. The role coordinates people across business and technology teams to define standards, improve data quality, and ensure data is handled responsibly.

Key Responsibilities

Define data governance policies and standards
Set up a governance operating model with clear ownership and decision rights
Lead a data stewardship program and support data owners
Establish data quality rules, monitoring, and issue resolution workflows
Define and maintain common business definitions for key data
Oversee data access processes and role based permissions
Partner with security and privacy teams to support responsible data use
Manage a data catalog program and improve data discoverability
Create metrics and reporting for governance progress and adoption
Train teams on data handling standards and governance practices

Top Skills for Success

Stakeholder Management

Program Management

Change Management

Communication

Policy Writing

Data Quality Management

Data Stewardship

Data Catalog Management

Metadata Management

Data Lineage

Access Governance

Privacy Compliance

Risk Management

Data Architecture Fundamentals

Data Literacy Enablement

Career Progression

Can Lead To

Data Governance Lead

Data Governance Manager

Data Quality Manager

Data Stewardship Manager

Transition Opportunities

Head of Data Governance

Director of Data Management

Director of Data Strategy

Chief Data Officer

Data Risk Manager

Privacy Program Manager

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills

Operating Model DesignData Quality MetricsData Catalog OwnershipMetadata StandardsData Lineage DocumentationAccess Control DesignPrivacy Requirements TranslationIssue Triage ProcessTraining DesignExecutive Reporting

Development SuggestionsBuild a simple governance playbook, then pilot it on one high value dataset. Define ownership, create a small set of quality checks, document definitions, and publish results monthly. Partner with security and privacy teams to align access rules and data handling expectations.

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range

Entry LevelUSD 105,000 to 135,000

Mid LevelUSD 135,000 to 175,000

Senior LevelUSD 175,000 to 230,000

Growth Trend

Strong and steady growth, driven by increasing data volumes, tighter privacy expectations, and executive focus on trustworthy analytics and artificial intelligence.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers

AccentureDeloitteIBMMicrosoftAmazonGoogleWells FargoJPMorgan ChaseUnitedHealth GroupCVS HealthPfizerVerizon

Industry Sectors

Financial ServicesHealthcareInsuranceRetailTechnologyTelecommunicationsPharmaceuticalsGovernmentConsulting

Recommended Next Steps

Draft a one page data governance charter with goals, roles, and decision rights

Create a list of critical data elements and assign data owners

Launch a data quality dashboard with a small set of priority metrics

Stand up a data issue intake and resolution workflow with clear timelines

Implement a data catalog rollout plan and measure adoption

Run a short training series on data definitions and safe data handling

Collect baseline metrics and report progress to leadership each month