Data Governance Roles — M1
DATAGO.DATAGOVE3227.M1
Management track for data governance leadership: supervising and leading teams that establish, operate, and enforce data governance programs — including governance policies/standards, metadata and data catalog operations, data lineage, business glossaries, data quality rules/metrics, and regulatory compliance. Distinct from individual-contributor (IC) governance analysts who author deliverables hands-on; this track owns people management, program operations, framework accountability, and progressively the enterprise data strategy. Scope deepens from supervising a governance unit (M1) to directing the enterprise governance program with division-wide impact (M5).
Management track for data governance leadership: supervising and leading teams that establish, operate, and enforce data governance programs — including governance policies/standards, metadata and data catalog operations, data lineage, business glossaries, data quality rules/metrics, and regulatory compliance. Distinct from individual-contributor (IC) governance analysts who author deliverables hands-on; this track owns people management, program operations, framework accountability, and progressively the enterprise data strategy. Scope deepens from supervising a governance unit (M1) to directing the enterprise governance program with division-wide impact (M5).
Focus — Data Governance Roles
Management track for data governance leadership: supervising and leading teams that establish, operate, and enforce data governance programs — including governance policies/standards, metadata and data catalog operations, data lineage, business glossaries, data quality rules/metrics, and regulatory compliance. Distinct from individual-contributor (IC) governance analysts who author deliverables hands-on; this track owns people management, program operations, framework accountability, and progressively the enterprise data strategy. Scope deepens from supervising a governance unit (M1) to directing the enterprise governance program with division-wide impact (M5).
Responsibilities by level
What this person actually does at each level on the management track — escalating scope, not one generic blob. Your level is highlighted.
- Supervises the daily work of data governance analysts maintaining the Data Catalog tool, including data intake, security classification, and user documentation, assigning tasks and reviewing output for completeness and accuracy
- Oversees a unit's compliance monitoring activities — data privacy controls, consent management, and data access restrictions — escalating exceptions to senior governance leadership
- Coordinates analysts curating metadata and maintaining data dictionaries and metadata repositories, ensuring deliverables meet established governance standards
- Supports the implementation of established data governance policies, procedures, and guidelines within the unit, applying defined practices to recurring data issues
- Runs unit-level training sessions and workshops to disseminate governance best practices to staff and data stewards
- Leads a skilled team of governance analysts owning end-to-end deliverables such as data lineage diagrams, business glossaries, and data quality validation checks, and is accountable for their tactical outcomes
- Manages cross-functional cooperation with data owners and stewards to keep data dictionaries, lineage, and metadata repositories accurate, current, and interpretable by technical and business audiences
- Applies judgment within known governance factors to prioritize the team's workload across catalog operations, lineage development, and data quality profiling
- Oversees regular audits and assessments of data compliance and security risks, consolidating findings for senior management review
- Coordinates adoption of metadata management and data catalog platforms (e.g., Collibra, Informatica, Purview) across the team, owning the configuration and operational use of assigned tools
- Manages the data governance department's operations and budget, planning, assigning, scheduling, prioritizing, directing, and coordinating the work of data governance analysts and staff
- Leads the development, implementation, and management of the data governance program across the function, evaluating trends and diverse data issues to guide improvement
- Supervises the establishment of data governance policies, procedures, standards, and frameworks, and resolves ambiguous data-related issues escalated by the team
- Collaborates with cybersecurity teams to drive adoption of data governance tools and with data owners to oversee compliance with state and federal regulations
- Participates in the selection and assignment of staff, and identifies areas for improvement, providing guidance on data quality metrics and stewardship practices
- Manages multiple governance sections or critical functions (e.g., metadata/catalog operations, data quality, regulatory compliance), aligning governance strategy with broader business objectives
- Develops and maintains the enterprise data governance framework, defining strategic policies whose lapses could jeopardize business and compliance activities
- Defines data ownership and stewardship models and assigns responsibilities across the organization, engaging senior leaders on functional governance strategy
- Establishes and monitors data quality metrics and KPIs across multiple teams, directing remediation where systemic quality or compliance risks emerge
- Coordinates with risk, legal, and compliance functions to address regulatory obligations, influencing without direct authority across the cross-functional environment
- Directs the enterprise data governance program through subordinate managers, with decisions impacting overall division or company data operations
- Defines governance methods and the enterprise data strategy, resolving complex org-wide data issues and aligning data initiatives with business objectives
- Runs the Data Governance Program Office — including documentation, communication, and enforcement — and reports governance metrics and progress to executives
- Influences executives and major stakeholders on key data risk, quality, and compliance issues, and champions data as a strategic asset across the organization
- Establishes division-wide accountability models and stewardship governance, leading through department managers and coordinating with risk, legal, and compliance leadership
Level guidelines
The universal leveling rubric applied to this function — how scope, complexity, collaboration, and experience step up across levels.
| Level | Knowledge & Application | Complexity & Problem Solving | Collaboration & Interaction | Typical Degree & Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | Functional expert in data governance operations (catalog maintenance, metadata curation, compliance monitoring) with some leadership exposure; applies established practices and standards to a defined unit. | Limited scope; resolves recurring, well-defined data issues using established governance procedures and guidelines. | Daily interactions with unit staff and peer stewards/owners to coordinate operational governance tasks. | Functional governance expertise with first-line supervisory exposure; directly supervises individual contributor analysts. |
| M2 | Deepens governance specialization across lineage, glossary, and data quality; applies judgment within known factors to lead a skilled team owning end-to-end deliverables. | Makes judgments within known governance factors; balances competing operational priorities and interprets standards for non-routine data cases. | Cross-functional cooperation with data owners, stewards, and platform teams to maintain shared governance artifacts. | 2–5 years in team leadership or specialist governance roles; manages skilled ICs or junior governance staff. |
| M3 | Applies broad governance knowledge to lead a department's program, policies, and frameworks; evaluates trends across diverse data domains. | Addresses diverse data governance issues requiring trend evaluation and judgment; resolves ambiguity escalated from the team. | Leads functional and cross-functional governance teams; partners with cybersecurity, data owners, and compliance contacts. | 5–7+ years managing data professionals and owning governance operations and budgets. |
| M4 | Applies strategic governance expertise to define enterprise frameworks, stewardship models, and quality KPIs aligned to business objectives. | Tackles strategic policy questions where governance gaps could jeopardize business and regulatory activities; defines methods across multiple sections. | Engages senior leaders on governance strategy and influences risk, legal, and compliance functions without direct authority. | 8–10+ years; complex multi-team or critical-function governance leadership. |
| M5 | Defines enterprise data strategy and governance methods; applies division-wide expertise to position data as a strategic asset. | Resolves complex org-wide governance issues and defines the methods and accountability models that shape division/company data operations. | Influences executives and major stakeholders on key data risk, quality, and compliance issues; leads through department managers. | 10–12+ years, including second-level management and enterprise data strategy work. |
Skills
Focus-specific skills the role applies — the relevance layer beyond the occupational base.
- Data governance
- Establishing policies, standards, and accountability to ensure data quality, integrity, and security.
- Data management
- Practices for handling, storing, and maintaining organizational data.
- Regulatory compliance
- Ensuring adherence to data privacy regulations and data protection policies.
- Stakeholder management
- Coordinating across technical and business stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
- Influence without authority
- Communicating and persuading others to fix problems and adopt governance practices without direct managerial control.
- Project management
- Planning, coordinating, and delivering governance initiatives.
- Metadata curation and management
- Creating and maintaining metadata, data dictionaries, and repositories.
- Data lineage development
- Building end-to-end diagrams tracing data from source systems through transformations to consuming applications; distinguishing technical lineage from business lineage.
- Business glossary management
- Building and maintaining shared business definitions of data terms.
- Data quality rule authoring
- Writing data quality rules and validation checks across dimensions of completeness, accuracy, consistency, and timeliness.
- Data analysis
- Examining data to derive insights and support decisions.
- SQL
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Collibra
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Microsoft Purview
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
Provenance
The evidence base behind this profile — every layer is sourced; quality is scored by an adversarial review panel (1–5; passes at ≥4 on the minimum dimension).
9 sources
- O*NET Database Architects (15-1243.01)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Database Administrators and Architects outlook 2023-2033, ~9% growth)
- Nebraska state job classification (Data Governance Analyst I and Analyst III)
- Virginia (Commonwealth) data governance analyst posting
- Dice senior data governance analyst posting
- UK Government data governance framework
- Gartner (Chief Data Officer definition)
- DAMA-DMBOK
- Job postings analysis (specialized skills frequency)
Level — M1 — Manager (Team Lead)
Front-line people manager of a single team; owns delivery, coaching, and execution.
- Scope
- A single team
- Autonomy
- Manages within established goals
- Complexity
- Day-to-day delivery and people issues
- Impact
- Team output and health
- Decision rights
- Owns team execution, hiring input, performance
- Leadership
- Direct people management of one team
- Typical experience
- 3–6 yrs
Adjacent roles
Nearest roles by structural coordinates (level + taxonomy). Distance 0 → 1; each carries its 3-state match band. How coordinates work → · Compare side-by-side →
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O*NET / SOC
- code=11-3021source=jfm-factory.resolve