Data Governance Consultant

Role Purpose

The Data Governance Consultant collaborates with clients to design, document, and implement effective governance frameworks for data management. This role engages a diverse range of stakeholders including business, data, technology, security, and compliance teams to define decision rights, assign ownership and stewardship, develop policies and procedures, and establish the necessary registers and reporting tools to maintain ongoing governance.

The consultant utilizes structured analysis, facilitation skills, and comprehensive documentation to support initiatives such as evidence reviews, maturity assessments, role definition, committee assistance, policy drafting, issue tracking, and performance reporting. While offering recommendations and facilitating implementation, the consultant does not assume the roles of Data Owner, policy owner, or governance authority. The ultimate goal is to deliver sustainable governance processes and artifacts that client teams can continue independently after transition.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct interviews to uncover governance requirements and review associated documents such as policies, charters, role descriptions, registers, and implementation evidence.
• Assist in assessing data-management maturity and governance capabilities using verifiable evidence.
• Create governance frameworks, operating procedures, policies, standards, charters, and decision documentation.
• Identify and map client roles and responsibilities, developing practical RACI matrices for governance tasks.
• Support defining roles and practices for Data Owners, Data Stewards, focal points, committees, and working groups.
• Develop workshop materials and facilitate discussions around mandates, ownership, escalation procedures, and policy needs.
• Maintain registers for issues, decisions, actions, exceptions, and dependencies related to governance workstreams.
• Prepare committee-related documents including agendas, evidence summaries, recommendations, and follow-up records, without exercising approval authority.
• Develop governance metrics and reporting dashboards to track adoption, challenges, decisions, and progress.
• Coordinate governance requirements across metadata, quality assurance, architecture, data sharing, security, content, and analytics teams.
• Support communication efforts, role-based training, and governance activation across client departments.
• Document implementation choices and transfer necessary tools, methods, and operational guidance to client staff.

Minimum Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in information systems, data management, business, public administration, or a closely related discipline; alternatively, a comparable combination of education and relevant consulting or implementation experience may be accepted.
• 4 to 8 years of professional experience in data governance, information governance, risk management, compliance, or data management roles.
• Proven involvement in supporting data governance, information governance, risk, compliance, or data management initiatives.
• Hands-on experience drafting governance documentation such as policies, procedures, RACI matrices, charters, registers, and reports.
• Experience collaborating with both business and technical stakeholders to document and reach consensus on decisions.
• Preferably experience working in public sector or regulated environments.

Technical and Domain Expertise

• Thorough understanding of data governance principles, operating models, and decision-making hierarchies.
• Knowledge of policy and standards lifecycle management, handling exceptions, and compliance auditing.
• Familiarity with data ownership, stewardship, and committee governance practices.
• Experience conducting governance maturity assessments and mapping supporting evidence.
• Management of issue, action, decision, and risk registers.
• Design and utilization of governance indicators, reporting tools, and implementation tracking mechanisms.
• Collaboration with metadata management, data quality, architecture, data sharing, and security teams.
• Working knowledge of governance artifacts and processes aligned with QDKC standards.

Core Competencies

• Development of governance frameworks.
• Policy and procedure drafting skills.
• Designing RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrices.
• Issue management strategies.
• Documentation accuracy and reporting proficiency.
• Maintaining structured documentation discipline.
• Effective stakeholder coordination.
• Conducting structured interviews and gathering evidence systematically.
• Preparing and facilitating workshops with precise decision record keeping.
• Clear and concise writing of policies, procedures, and reports.
• Converting governance concepts into actionable business practices.
• Managing diverse stakeholder interests and priorities.
• Producing traceable deliverables with version control.
• Supporting implementation efforts while respecting the client's governance accountability.

Preferred Certifications

• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) Associate or Practitioner, preferably with a specialty in Data Governance.
• Prosci Change Practitioner certification.