Data Governance Board Lead

Baker McKenzie; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Baker McKenzie seeks a Data Governance Board Lead to drive the day-to-day governance rhythm in a senior, business-led model. You will chair the Data Governance Council, own policy drafting and maintain standards while engaging with C-suite and practice groups.

This role sits within the Data Governance Office, reporting to the Chief Data Officer, and will stand up domain working groups and monitor governance KPIs to ensure continuous improvement across the organization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in data governance or related role.
• Experience leading governance forums with senior stakeholders.
• Experience standing up a governance function from scratch.
• Able to translate technical scope into business decisions.

Responsibilities

• Chair and coordinate the monthly Data Governance Council on behalf of the CDO: agendas, papers, decisions log and follow-up actions.
• Own the drafting, maintenance and version control of data governance policies, standards and the governance framework itself.
• Confirm each domain's Minimum Viable Governance Pack meets the agreed bar before it is tabled at the Council for sign-off.
• Prepare quarterly reporting and briefing materials for Strategic Leadership, tracking roadmap progress and escalations.
• Manage stakeholder engagement across practice groups, Business Services, Risk, Compliance and IT — building the relationships that make governance land as a business function rather than IT overhead.
• Support the CDO in framing governance in partnership-friendly terms, recognising that traditional, IT-led or committee-heavy governance does not work in a partnership model.
• Coordinate the stand-up and wind-down of temporary Domain Working Groups as each data domain is scoped, piloted and operationalized.
• Act as the first point of escalation for governance issues that can't be resolved at working-group level, before they reach the CDO.
• Track governance KPIs — domain progress, policy adoption, escalation resolution — and report performance to the CDO.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of the governance operating model as domains mature and the transformation program progresses.

Skills

Governance leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic reporting

Program management

Tools

Purview

Power BI

Microsoft 365

Job description

The Data Governance Board Lead is the Chief Data Officer's right hand in running the day-to-day operating rhythm of data governance at the Firm. This role chairs and coordinates the Data Governance Council, owns the governance policies and standards, manages senior stakeholder engagement across the business, and reports progress to Strategic Leadership. It is a foundational hire: the Firm has not had a CDO before, and this role is critical to making governance land as a business‑owned function rather than an IT compliance exercise.

The Data Governance Board Lead works closely with the CDO, Strategic Leadership, the Data Governance Council, Business Data Stewards, and the wider Data Governance team to stand up domain working groups, ratify policy and classification standards, and keep governance lightweight, business‑led and built to last.

Main responsibilities:

Governance Council Leadership:

• Chair and coordinate the monthly Data Governance Council on behalf of the CDO: agendas, papers, decisions log and follow‑up actions.
• Own the drafting, maintenance and version control of data governance policies, standards and the governance framework itself.
• Confirm each domain's Minimum Viable Governance Pack meets the agreed bar before it is tabled at the Council for sign‑off.

Strategic Reporting and Stakeholder Engagement:

Prepare quarterly reporting and briefing materials for Strategic Leadership, tracking roadmap progress and escalations.

Manage stakeholder engagement across practice groups, Business Services, Risk, Compliance and IT — building the relationships that make governance land as a business function rather than IT overhead.

Support the CDO in framing governance in partnership‑friendly terms, recognising that traditional, IT‑led or committee‑heavy governance does not work in a partnership model.

Domain Working Group Coordination:

Coordinate the stand‑up and wind‑down of temporary Domain Working Groups as each data domain is scoped, piloted and operationalized.

Act as the first point of escalation for governance issues that can't be resolved at working‑group level, before they reach the CDO.

Performance and Continuous Improvement

Track governance KPIs — domain progress, policy adoption, escalation resolution — and report performance to the CDO.

Contribute to continuous improvement of the governance operating model as domains mature and the transformation program progresses.

Skills and Experience

Governance and Program Leadership

• 5+ years in a data governance, information governance, or program/business management role, ideally within professional or legal services, financial services, or another partnership or advisory environment.
• A track record of running governance forums, steering committees or working groups with senior stakeholders, including board‑or partner‑level audiences.
• Experience standing up a governance function from scratch, or maturing an early‑stage one, is strongly preferred.
• Experience working alongside — not within — an IT/data transformation program, translating technical scope into business‑relevant decisions.

Stakeholder Management and Communication

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, comfortable operating with partners and senior business leaders.
• A change‑management and communications instinct — understands that adoption is won through relevance and incentives, not mandate.
• Strong program/secretariat skills: agenda‑setting, papers, minutes, action‑tracking and follow‑through.

Policy and Governance Design

• Policy and standards writing — able to turn governance principles into clear, usable documents.
• Working knowledge of data governance concepts (ownership, stewardship, quality, classification) — need not be deeply technical, but must be fluent enough to hold the room.
• Comfortable operating a "guardrails, not gatekeeping" model — designing lightweight, enforceable processes rather than heavyweight bureaucracy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior exposure to a legal or professional services partnership model and its governance dynamics (fee‑earner time as the scarce resource, distributed ownership).
• Familiarity with data governance frameworks (DAMA‑DMBOK, DCAM) or a relevant certification (CDMP).
• Enough familiarity with a Microsoft‑centered data estate (Purview, Power BI) to engage credibly with the technical team.

Reports to: Chief Data Officer

Position Type: Centre Services

Development Framework: Specialist