Data Governance Analyst / Steward

ascendingdc; Richmond (VA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ascendingdc seeks a Data Governance Analyst (Contract) to support its Enterprise Data Management program from a remote base in Central Virginia, with on-demand onsite availability. You will partner with stakeholders to improve data quality, curate metadata, and align business and technical definitions.

You will perform data profiling, establish governance artifacts, and help drive change management to strengthen data literacy and controls across the organization.

Qualifications

• Several years in Data Governance, Data Management, Data Analysis, or related domains.
• Advanced SQL proficiency; able to write complex joins, aggregation, and profiling queries.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills with analytical functions.
• Demonstrated experience with metadata management and business glossaries.
• Strong process documentation capabilities (procedures, processes, workflows).
• Excellent communication (written & verbal) and cross-functional engagement.

Responsibilities

• Support the Enterprise Data Management Program with data governance focus.
• Curate enterprise metadata and manage business glossary terms.
• Maintain governance artifacts and meeting records; investigate data issues.
• Assist in workshops and change management to strengthen data quality and literacy.

Skills

Data governance

SQL

Advanced Excel

Metadata management

Process documentation

Communication

Tools

Alation

Collibra

Microsoft Purview

Azure DevOps

Data quality tools

Job description

Data Governance Analyst (Contract)

Remote - Must reside in Central Virginia and be able to come onsite on demand

Long-term contract

We are looking for a Data Governance Analyst to support our Enterprise Data Management Program, with a focus on Data Governance practices and comprehensive data analysis. This role will partner with key stakeholders to curate enterprise metadata, manage business glossary terms, and ensure alignment between technical and business definitions. The right candidate will thrive in a cross-functional environment, bringing strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and excellent communication to drive data quality and governance initiatives across the organization.

In this role, you will perform advanced data analysis, profiling, and cross-source validation to identify anomalies, support data quality rules and controls, and drive issue documentation and escalation. You will maintain governance artifacts and meeting records, investigate data issues to produce clear, actionable insights, and assist in setting up workshops and change management efforts that strengthen metadata management, data quality, and data literacy across the organization.

To be successful in this role, you MUST possess:

• Several years in Data Governance, Data Management, Data Analysis, or related domains
• Advanced SQL proficiency; able to write complex joins, aggregation, and profiling queries
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, with expertise in handling analytical functions within the tool
• Demonstrated experience with metadata management and business glossaries
• Strong process documentation capabilities (procedures, processes, workflows)
• Excellent communication (written & verbal) and task management skills; comfortable with cross-functional business/IT engagement

The ideal candidate would also have experience in:

• Working experience in a DevOps development environment, preferably Microsoft-based
• Hands-on experience with an Enterprise Data Catalog tool (e.g., Alation, Collibra, Microsoft Purview)
• Experience with a Data Quality Scorecard/Rules Engine tool
• Exposure to data lineage, reference data, and data stewardship models
• Understanding of data governance frameworks (policies, standards, controls) and regulatory drivers (e.g., privacy, risk, compliance)
• Experience facilitating data stewardship forums and familiarity with DevOps Boards (e.g., Azure DevOps) for backlog, tasks, and issue tracking

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.