Data Governance Contract

IO Associates; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 92,000 - 111,000; Full time

Job summary

IO Associates is seeking a Data Governance Lead for a 9-month contract in London, hybrid. You’ll kick off discovery, map business processes, inventory data assets, design data strategies, operating models and metadata workflows, and implement data catalog tooling with stakeholders.

Responsibilities include establishing data quality rules, automation, MDM enrichment and guardrails, and coaching data stewards to own the process long term.

Qualifications

• Active SC Clearance is essential and must be valid at contract start.
• Strong background delivering data governance in central government or closely aligned public sector bodies.
• Hands-on experience with modern data governance technologies (Purview, Collibra, Databricks Unity Catalog, Alation, Atlan, or Ataccama).
• Proven ability to define data governance strategies, operating models and metadata management across enterprise tools.
• Experience in data quality rules, automation and Master Data Management (MDM).
• Proactive, outcome-focused mindset with strong stakeholder management to bridge technical and business teams.

Responsibilities

• Kick off the discovery phase and map key business processes.
• Create a clear inventory of existing data assets and metadata.
• Design and shape data strategies, operating models and workflows.
• Collaborate with technical and business stakeholders to roll out data catalog tools.
• Set up data quality rules, metrics and automation for monitoring.
• Support MDM cleansing, enrichment and match/merge rules; coach data stewards.

Skills

Active SC clearance

Central gov experience

Data governance tooling

Metadata management

Data quality & MDM

Stakeholder collaboration

Tools

Microsoft Purview

Collibra

Databricks Unity Catalog

Alation

Atlan

Ataccama

Job description

Data Governance Contract

Posted on Friday, 9th October 2026

Location: London (Hybrid)

Duration: 9 months

Rate: £500 – £600/day (Outside IR35)

Clearance: Active SC (Security Check) mandatory

iO associates are partnering with a central government department in London to bring in an experienced Data Governance Lead for a major 9-month digital transformation programme.

This is a hands‑on role where you’ll be helping kick off the discovery phase, sitting down with business teams to map out key processes, and getting a clear inventory of existing data assets. You’ll be designing and shaping data strategies, operating models, and workflows, while working directly with technical and business stakeholders to get metadata sorted, build out data lineage, and roll out data catalog tools.

Beyond setting up the framework, you’ll be hands‑on with data quality—assessing issues, setting rules, creating metrics, and automating monitoring. You’ll also touch upon Master Data Management (MDM) by helping refine cleansing, enrichment, and match/merge rules, as well as coaching and training data stewards so they can own the process long‑term.

Experience:

• Active SC Clearance: Essential. Must be fully active, transferable, and valid at the start of the contract.

• Central Gov Experience: A strong background delivering data governance initiatives within central government departments or closely aligned public sector bodies.

• Tooling Expertise: Hands‑on experience working with modern data governance technologies (e.g., Microsoft Purview, Collibra, Databricks Unity Catalog, Alation, Atlan, or Ataccama).

• Framework & Metadata Experience: Proven track record defining data governance strategies, operating models, and organizing business/technical metadata through enterprise data management tools.

• Data Quality & MDM: Practical experience handling data quality rules, automation, and master data management solutions.

• Collaboration & Drive: A proactive, outcome‑focused approach with strong stakeholder management skills to bridge technical teams and business units.