Data Governance Manager

The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission.

At Howard University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth.

Here is what we offer:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support
• Work-Life Balance: PTO, paid holidays, flexible work arrangements
• Financial Wellness: Competitive salary, 403(b) with company match
• Professional Development: Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths
• Additional Perks:Wellness programs, commuter benefits, and a vibrant company culture

Join Howard University and thrive with us!

https://hr.howard.edu/benefits-wellness

We are seeking a Data Governance Manager to join the university's new data team.

The Data Governance Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the institution’s enterprise data governance program to ensure institutional data is accurate, consistent, secure, well-defined, and appropriately used across academic and administrative functions.

This position will report to the Chief Data and Analytics Officer and partner with the Senior Data Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Database Administrator, institutional data owners and stewards, and technology teams to establish data standards, improve data quality, define ownership and accountability, maintain institutional data definitions, and promote trusted and responsible use of data across the institution. The Data Governance Manager will serve as a key liaison between functional and technical teams, translating institutional business requirements into sustainable data governance policies, standards, and practices.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

The Data Governance Manager establishes and manages Howard University's enterprise data framework to ensure that institutional data remains accurate, secure, and consistently defined across all academic and administrative divisions. Reporting directly to the Chief Data and Analytics Officer, this role fosters high-level collaboration between technical teams and functional data stewards to outline clear ownership, maintain data dictionaries, and resolve conflicting information standards. Ultimately, the position drives higher education data literacy and enforces strict compliance with internal data privacy policies and federal FERPA regulations.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Develop, implement, and maintain the enterprise data governance framework, policies, standards, and procedures.
• Establish and maintain clear data ownership and stewardship roles across academic and administrative data domains.
• Lead development and maintenance of the institutional data dictionary, business glossary, metadata, data definitions, and data standards.
• Partner with functional offices and technical teams to establish consistent definitions, business rules, and source-of-truth systems for critical institutional data.
• Develop and manage data quality standards, validation rules, issue logs, remediation processes, and quality monitoring.
• Establish processes for documenting data lineage, source-to-target mappings, transformations, and reporting-specific business rules.
• Facilitate cross-functional data governance working groups and resolve conflicting data definitions, standards, and ownership responsibilities.
• Collaborate with technical and security teams to define data access, classification, privacy, retention, and security standards.
• Support governance of data used for institutional reporting, executive analytics, regulatory reporting, forecasting, and advanced analytics.
• Monitor adherence to governance standards and provide regular updates on data quality, governance initiatives, risks, and remediation activities.
• Promote institutional data literacy and provide training and guidance to data owners, stewards, analysts, and other data users.
• Support compliance with FERPA, institutional policies, and applicable data privacy and regulatory requirements.

CORE COMPETENCIES:    

• Strong knowledge of data governance, data stewardship, data ownership, metadata management, data lineage, data quality, and master/reference data principles.
• Experience developing and maintaining data dictionaries, business glossaries, data standards, business rules, and governance documentation.
• Strong understanding of data quality assessment, validation, issue management, and remediation processes.
• Familiarity with enterprise data environments, including ERP, SIS, CRM, data warehouses, data lakes, and business intelligence platforms.
• Working knowledge of SQL and data analysis concepts sufficient to investigate data quality and reconciliation issues.
• Knowledge of data privacy, security, access controls, and FERPA requirements in higher education.
• Ability to translate complex business processes and institutional requirements into clear data definitions, standards, and governance practices.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and facilitate agreement among technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong project management, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate data governance concepts effectively across all levels of the institution.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Business Analytics, Higher Education Administration, or a related field, with at least five (5) years of relevant data management, data governance, institutional research, or higher education data experience is preferred.

Compliance Salary Range Disclosure

Compensation Range: $130,000 - $147,000