Data Governance Manager

Motability Operations Ltd; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Motability Operations Ltd. seeks a Data Governance Manager to establish and evolve the enterprise Data Governance capability, owning strategy, operating model, and framework to treat data as a trusted asset that enables regulatory compliance, decision-making and innovation.

The role collaborates with Information Security, Data & Analytics, Enterprise Architecture and Legal to embed governance policies, drive accountability, and promote adoption across all business domains, reporting to the CISO

Responsibilities

• Own the Enterprise Data Governance Capability by defining, implementing and continually evolving the organisation’s Data Governance strategy, operating model and framework, ensuring governance supports the organisation’s strategic objectives, regulatory obligations and risk appetite.
• Lead Governance Strategy and Policy, establishing enterprise-wide governance policies, standards and guidance covering data ownership, classification, quality, metadata, retention, lifecycle management and regulatory compliance, ensuring these remain aligned to business priorities and industry best practice.
• Drive Organisational Adoption by embedding Data Governance across all business functions, developing governance communities, promoting clear accountability for data ownership, and fostering a culture where data is managed as a strategic business asset.
• Provide Executive Leadership and Influence by acting as the organisation’s senior business lead for Data Governance, building trusted relationships with Executive Leadership, senior business stakeholders, Information Security, Risk, Legal, Enterprise Architecture and Data & Analytics to drive governance priorities and informed decision-making.
• Chair Governance Forums by establishing and leading enterprise governance councils and working groups, providing effective oversight of governance risks, policy compliance, ownership decisions, issue resolution and strategic prioritisation.
• Own Governance Maturity by defining governance objectives, maturity measures and key performance indicators, regularly assessing organisational capability and driving continuous improvement initiatives that increase governance effectiveness and business value.
• Sponsor Governance Technology by defining the business outcomes required from governance technologies and working in partnership with the Principal Data Governance Engineer to ensure governance platforms, metadata management, lineage, data quality and automation capabilities support the organisation’s governance strategy.
• Lead Regulatory and Risk Alignment by ensuring Data Governance supports compliance with regulatory obligations, information security standards and organisational risk management objectives, working closely with Risk, Compliance and Information Security teams to manage governance-related risks.
• Develop Organisational Capability by establishing governance roles and responsibilities, supporting Data Owners and Data Stewards, delivering governance communications, training and awareness activities, and embedding consistent governance practices across the organisation.
• Represent Data Governance internally and externally, maintaining awareness of emerging legislation, regulatory expectations, industry frameworks and best practice, ensuring the organisation’s governance capability continues to evolve in line with business needs and the wider data management landscape.

Job description

Reporting to the Chief Information Security Officer, the Data Governance Manager is accountable for establishing, leading and continually evolving Motability Operations’ enterprise Data Governance capability. The role owns the organisation’s Data Governance strategy, operating model and framework, ensuring that data is managed as a trusted, secure and valuable business asset that supports regulatory compliance, effective decision-making and business innovation.

Working across Information Security, Data & Analytics, Enterprise Architecture, Risk, Legal and business functions, you will develop and embed governance policies, standards and processes that enable clear accountability for data ownership, quality, classification, retention and lifecycle management. You will establish governance as a core organisational capability, ensuring it is understood, adopted and consistently applied across all business domains.

As the organisational lead for Data Governance, you will build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, chair governance forums, influence strategic decision-making and drive a culture of accountability for data. You will work closely with executive leadership to establish governance priorities, oversee governance maturity, and ensure regulatory and business requirements are translated into practical, sustainable governance outcomes.

You will provide leadership for the organisation’s governance capability, sponsoring the evolution of governance technologies and working in close partnership with the Principal Data Governance Engineer to ensure the technical implementation of governance platforms, metadata management, lineage, automation and data quality capabilities fully supports the organisation’s governance strategy and operating model.

Success in this role will be measured through demonstrable improvements in governance maturity, business adoption, regulatory compliance, data ownership, policy adherence and the overall effectiveness of Data Governance as an enterprise capability.

Key responsibilities:

• Own the Enterprise Data Governance Capability by defining, implementing and continually evolving the organisation’s Data Governance strategy, operating model and framework, ensuring governance supports the organisation’s strategic objectives, regulatory obligations and risk appetite.
• Lead Governance Strategy and Policy, establishing enterprise-wide governance policies, standards and guidance covering data ownership, classification, quality, metadata, retention, lifecycle management and regulatory compliance, ensuring these remain aligned to business priorities and industry best practice.
• Drive Organisational Adoption by embedding Data Governance across all business functions, developing governance communities, promoting clear accountability for data ownership, and fostering a culture where data is managed as a strategic business asset.
• Provide Executive Leadership and Influence by acting as the organisation’s senior business lead for Data Governance, building trusted relationships with Executive Leadership, senior business stakeholders, Information Security, Risk, Legal, Enterprise Architecture and Data & Analytics to drive governance priorities and informed decision-making.
• Chair Governance Forums by establishing and leading enterprise governance councils and working groups, providing effective oversight of governance risks, policy compliance, ownership decisions, issue resolution and strategic prioritisation.
• Own Governance Maturity by defining governance objectives, maturity measures and key performance indicators, regularly assessing organisational capability and driving continuous improvement initiatives that increase governance effectiveness and business value.
• Sponsor Governance Technology by defining the business outcomes required from governance technologies and working in partnership with the Principal Data Governance Engineer to ensure governance platforms, metadata management, lineage, data quality and automation capabilities support the organisation’s governance strategy.
• Lead Regulatory and Risk Alignment by ensuring Data Governance supports compliance with regulatory obligations, information security standards and organisational risk management objectives, working closely with Risk, Compliance and Information Security teams to manage governance-related risks.
• Develop Organisational Capability by establishing governance roles and responsibilities, supporting Data Owners and Data Stewards, delivering governance communications, training and awareness activities, and embedding consistent governance practices across the organisation.
• Represent Data Governance internally and externally, maintaining awareness of emerging legislation, regulatory expectations, industry frameworks and best practice, ensuring the organisation’s governance capability continues to evolve in line with business needs and the wider data management landscape.