Data Governance Architect

ICON Consultants, LP; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A consultancy firm is seeking an experienced Governance Architect to design and implement an enterprise data governance framework. The role involves ensuring data compliance and quality while working at the intersection of business, data, and technology. Responsibilities include developing governance policies, aligning initiatives with business strategy, and driving stakeholder engagement. Candidates should have a strong background in data governance frameworks and regulatory compliance, alongside excellent executive communication skills.

Qualifications

• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise data governance frameworks.
• Deep understanding of data quality, metadata management, MDM, and lifecycle management.
• Experience with regulatory and privacy compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain the enterprise data governance architecture.
• Develop, document, and enforce enterprise data governance policies and standards.
• Lead implementation and governance of metadata management solutions.

Skills

Data governance frameworks

Data quality

Metadata management

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder engagement

Tools

Data governance tools

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Governance Architect to design, implement, and mature the enterprise data governance framework. This role is responsible for ensuring organizational data is accurate, secure, compliant, and strategically leveraged for business value.

The Governance Architect operates at the intersection of business, data, and technology, establishing governance standards, policies, and architectural patterns that enable trusted, compliant, and analytics-ready data assets across the enterprise.

Key Responsibilities

• Data Governance Strategy & Architecture
• Design and maintain the enterprise data governance architecture, including policies, standards, processes, and operating models
• Define and implement governance frameworks addressing data quality, metadata, master data, reference data, and lifecycle management
• Align governance initiatives with business strategy, enterprise architecture, and regulatory obligations
• Establish scalable governance operating models across multiple domains and systems
• Policy, Standards & Regulatory Compliance
• Develop, document, and enforce enterprise data governance policies and standards
• Ensure compliance with data privacy, security, and regulatory frameworks (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, SOX, and industry-specific mandates)
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Information Security to mitigate data-related risk exposure
• Support audit readiness and regulatory reporting requirements
• Data Quality & Stewardship
• Define enterprise data quality standards, KPIs, and monitoring processes
• Establish and operationalize data stewardship models, including role definitions and accountability frameworks
• Lead root cause analysis and remediation planning for critical data quality issues
• Drive continuous improvement of data accuracy, completeness, and consistency
• Lead implementation and governance of metadata management, business glossary, and data catalog solutions
• Ensure end-to-end data lineage visibility to support impact analysis, regulatory compliance, and analytics integrity
• Promote transparency and traceability of data flows across platforms
• Evaluate, select, and implement data governance tools and platforms
• Collaborate with Data Architecture, Engineering, Analytics, and Platform teams to embed governance controls into pipelines and systems
• Promote automation and scalable governance capabilities across cloud and on-prem ecosystems
• Ensure governance controls are integrated within enterprise data architecture standards
• Stakeholder Engagement & Change Management
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business and IT leaders on governance best practices
• Facilitate governance councils, domain working groups, and decision-making forums
• Drive communication, training, and change management initiatives to increase adoption of governance practices
• Influence cross-functional stakeholders to embed governance into daily operations

Required Qualifications:

• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise data governance frameworks
• Deep understanding of data quality, metadata management, MDM, and lifecycle management
• Experience with regulatory and privacy compliance requirements
• Strong knowledge of enterprise data architecture principles
• Experience with data governance and catalog tools
• Ability to operate strategically while driving operational execution
• Strong stakeholder engagement and executive communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in highly regulated industries
• Familiarity with cloud data platforms and modern data architectures
• Certification in data governance, data management, or related disciplines