Director of Enterprise Data Governance

Job Description

Who We Are

Horizon Media, founded in 1989 by Bill Koenigsberg, is recognized as one of the most innovative marketing and advertising firms. We are headquartered in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. A leader in driving business solutions for marketers, Horizon is known for its highly personal approach to client service. Renowned for its incredible culture, Horizon is consistently named to all the prestigious annual Best Places to Work lists published by Fortune, AdAge, Crain’s New York Business and Los Angeles Business Journal.

Together we are building a place of belonging. At Horizon, we understand the value that different perspectives can bring to our clients and culture, so we strive for an environment where our employees feel welcomed, safe and empowered. We value YOU and believe that your authentic voice and unique perspective allows us to create a more rewarding culture and experience together. Our simple recipe for success? We hire talented people (thinkers, doers, dreamers, makers), challenge them and give them every opportunity to grow.

What You’ll Do

The Director of Enterprise Data Governance reports to the SVP of Data Governance, Privacy & Risk. This role is responsible for implementing and operating Horizon’s enterprise data governance program.

This role will act as the key translator between legal agreements, regulatory requirements, and business operations. You will analyze data-use restrictions in commercial contracts (MSAs, SOWs, DPAs) and translate them into clear, operational policies and standards that business and engineering teams must follow. A deep operational understanding of the Data Controller vs. Data Processor (Third Party vs. Service Provider) model under GDPR/CCPA is critical to succeeding in this role.

Contract Translation & Policy Authorship

• Analyze and translate complex legal and commercial agreements (including MSAs, SOWs, DPAs, and Data Collaboration Amendments) to identify binding data-use restrictions, licensing parameters, and compliance obligations.
• Establish and maintain clear, actionable enterprise data governance policies, standards, and guidelines that convert legal and regulatory requirements into operational business rules.
• Partner closely with Legal and Information Security teams to ensure data governance policies seamlessly align with client contractual commitments.
• Provide strategic, policy-level guidance to business units on how to safely activate client and third-party data under specific contractual parameters.

Data Governance Transformation

• Develop and maintain the governance standards, data inventory guidelines, and Records of Processing Activities (RoPA) frameworks required to support Horizon’s strategic evolution from a Data Processor to Limited Data Controller.
• Assist in defining the enterprise governance rules and processes for first-party, licensed, and proprietary audience data assets used across Horizon’s products, identity-resolution platforms (like Blu ID), and partner networks supporting the collection, use, storage, sharing, retention and disposal of this data.
• Establish clear policies and risk-triage workflows for emerging technologies, third-party API connectors, and AI model data inputs/outputs.

Data Stewardship & Program Governance

• Establish and manage Horizon’s cross-functional Data Stewardship Program across business and technology organizations.
• Partner with business leaders to assign formal, non-technical accountability for critical data assets (Data Owners and Business Stewards).
• Facilitate the resolution of cross-departmental data policy, usage, and ownership issues, utilizing relationship-building and soft influence rather than direct reporting authority.
• Promote organizational governance adoption through high-impact training, policy documentation, and stakeholder outreach.

Strategic Data Quality & Standards (Non-Technical)

• Assist in defining the business standards, metadata requirements, and critical data element (CDE) definitions that technical engineering teams must implement.
• Partner with Data Engineering and BI teams to ensure that data lineage, data classification, and master data management practices are strategically aligned with enterprise policy.
• Support the strategic roadmap for data quality metrics, ensuring that data platforms meet business-defined compliance and operational trust thresholds.

Privacy-by-Design Integration

• Operationalize a pragmatic Privacy-by-Design intake framework for new business initiatives, SaaS platforms, and data integration partnerships.
• Support the business process for conducting Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).
• Implement the governance standards for consent management, purpose limitation, and data minimization across all media planning and buying workflows.
• Assist with governance activities related to data incidents, investigations, and regulatory inquiries.

Governance Technology Oversight

• Deploy and administer enterprise governance and privacy platforms (e.g., OneTrust, ServiceNow, or cataloging technologies), ensuring they align with policy goals.
• Support automation of governance workflows, data mapping inventories, and compliance reporting to maximize operational efficiency and increase regulatory readiness.
• Partner with Technology teams to integrate governance capabilities into enterprise applications and data platforms.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Legal, Information Security, AI, Analytics and Business Operations to embed governance throughout enterprise initiatives.
• Support governance requirements for AI, advanced analytics and enterprise data products.

• Prepare governance dashboards, metrics and program updates for executive leadership.

Who You Are

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Management, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or equivalent related work experience.
• 6–8 years of experience in Data Governance, Data Management, Information Governance, Privacy Operations, or a related field.
• Experience implementing enterprise data governance frameworks, policies, and overseeing governance technologies (e.g., OneTrust, Collibra, Microsoft Purview, or similar).
• Strong understanding of data governance principles, including data quality, metadata management, data lineage, data classification, and data stewardship.
• Working knowledge of GDPR, CPRA/CCPA, and other applicable privacy regulations (specifically the operational distinctions of the Controller/Processor model).
• Experience partnering with business, legal, and technology teams to implement enterprise governance initiatives.
• Strong communication, organizational, and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a cross-functional environment.

Preferred (Nice to Have) Skills & Experience

• Experience in the advertising, media, marketing technology (MarTech/AdTech), or digital marketing industry.
• Familiarity with the structure and data-use parameters of modern enterprise data platforms (such as Snowflake, Databricks, or Google Cloud Platform).
• Experience supporting the governance and compliance review of licensed, identity, or audience data assets.
• Professional certifications such as CIPP, CIPM, CIPT, or CDMP.

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Horizon Media is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.  We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

Salary Range

$175,000.00 - $200,000.00

A successful applicant’s actual base salary may vary based on factors such as individual’s skill sets, experience, training, education,  licensure/certifications, and qualifications for the role.  As an organization, we take an aptitude and competency-based hiring approach.We provide a competitive total rewards package including a discretionary bonus and a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, company paid holidays and unlimited paid time off (PTO), mental health and wellness resources, pet insurance, childcare resources, identity theft insurance, fertility assistance programs, and fitness reimbursement.