Senior Principal, Data Governance & Strategy

Slalom; Wellington; On-site; NZD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Slalom NZ is seeking a data governance professional to help clients develop and operationalise data governance frameworks, policies and standards. You will work with data owners and stewards to define ownership models and metadata standards, and present insights to senior stakeholders.

You will mentor junior analysts and contribute to Slalom’s thought leadership in data strategy and governance, while delivering practical business outcomes in a fast-paced consultancy environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in data governance or data management within a professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of data governance principles, frameworks (e.g. DAMA), and data lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and operationalising data governance strategies and policies.
• Familiarity with data governance tools and metadata management platforms (e.g. Alation, Informatica, Collibra).
• Experience developing presentations, training, or other materials for evangelising data governance and policies.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to translate data challenges into business outcomes.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills across business and technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and operationalise data governance frameworks, policies and standards.
• Define data ownership models, stewardship roles, and metadata standards with stakeholders.
• Conduct detailed data analysis, profiling, and data quality assessments to identify issues.
• Provide input into design of data catalogs, lineage, and business glossaries.
• Support the implementation of data governance tools and platforms (e.g., Collibra, Informatica, Alation).
• Lead data governance activities within broader data transformation initiatives, including data migration.
• Present insights and governance findings to senior stakeholders through storytelling and visuals.
• Mentor junior analysts and contribute to Slalom’s thought leadership in data strategy and governance.

Skills

Data governance

Data management

Stakeholder engagement

DAMA framework

Metadata management

Collibra

Informatica

Alation

Data quality

Executive storytelling

Mentoring

Tools

Collibra

Informatica

Alation

Job description

About Us

In 2023 Slalom opened their first New Zealand office in Auckland, as part of our expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. Three years later, we have over 80 professionals who, in collaboration with our alliance partners, have built our brand in Aotearoa through delivering high value outcomes that serve the strategic, technological, business and transformational needs of our cross-sector customers.

About The Role

This role sits at the intersection of Data Strategy, Data Governance and Analytics supporting our clients in their journey towards being data driven. You will play a critical role in shaping and operationalising data governance frameworks, enabling high-quality, trusted data to flow through our clients' organisations. This is a hands-on and client-facing position, ideal for a problem solver who can translate complex data challenges into practical business outcomes.

What You’ll Do

• Help our clients develop and operationalise data governance frameworks, policies and standards.
• Work closely with client data owners, stewards and business stakeholders to define data ownership models, stewardship roles, and metadata standards.
• Conduct detailed data analysis, profiling, and data quality assessments to identify issues and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide input into the design of data catalogs, lineage, and business glossaries.
• Support the implementation of data governance tools and platforms (e.g., Collibra, Informatica, Alation).
• Lead data governance activities within broader data transformation initiatives, including data modernisation and data migration.
• Present insights and governance findings to senior stakeholders through clear storytelling, visualisations, and executive-ready materials.
• Mentor junior analysts and contribute to Slalom’s thought leadership in data strategy and governance.

What You’ll Bring

• Strong experience in data governance or data management, within a professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of data governance principles, frameworks (e.g. DAMA), and data lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and operationalising data governance strategies and policies.
• Familiarity with data governance tools and metadata management platforms (e.g. Alation, Informatica, Collibra)
• Experience developing presentations, training, or other materials for evangelising and educating an organisation on data governance, data management, data policies and standards.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a natural curiosity to explore and untangle complex data environments.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence across both business and technical teams.
• Confident working in cross-functional project teams, with the ability to adapt and lead in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Our Values

Our culture and values reflect each individual Slalomer. We are dedicated to encouraging workplace diversity and ensuring all our people, from any background can contribute to their full potential. We wish to build a team that echoes the diversity of the communities we serve, and our values are an active part of our every-day, guiding our decisions.

What keeps us here?

Our New Zealand office knows the important of a good work/life balance. We have the freedom to be ourselves when life gets in the way. We make a big effort to bring everyone together and allow space when space is needed. We believe in helping each other thrive in work and life and are proud to invest in benefits that include holistic wellbeing, meaningful allowances and investment in our team’s professional, technical and personal growth. It’s an exciting time to be one of our foundational members, getting involved in setting up our ‘Kiwi’ values and culture and what makes us uniquely Slalom NZ!

Slalom is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Slalom does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis as protected by applicable law.