Data Stewardship Governance Lead

NVA Equine; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

National Veterinary Associates is seeking a Data Stewardship & Governance Lead to serve as the operational backbone of our enterprise data governance program. This individual contributor role works with data stewards, owners, and product owners to apply standards, policies, and best practices, owning the data catalog and data definitions in Microsoft Purview.

Reporting to the Director, Data Governance, you will champion data governance, facilitate Data Governance Committee meetings, monitor

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in data governance across a multi-stakeholder enterprise.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Purview or comparable catalogs.
• Knowledge of DAMA-DMBOK framework and governance best practices.
• Strong coordination and cross-functional meeting facilitation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain enterprise data catalog and metadata in Purview.
• Coordinate Data Governance Committee meetings and action tracking.
• Monitor data definitions and change logs across departments.
• Champion governance practices and drive accountability.
• Develop governance training materials and documentation.

Skills

Data governance

Data management

Data quality

Communication

Cross-functional teamwork

Organizational skills

Microsoft Purview

Collibra

Alation

Tools

Microsoft Purview

Collibra

Alation

Job description

Job Title: Data Stewardship & Governance Lead

Job Summary

The Data Stewardship & Governance Lead is an individual contributor role and the operational backbone of NVA’s enterprise data governance program. Reporting to the Director, Data Governance, this person works closely with data stewards, data owners, and data product owners across the organization to ensure consistent application of data governance standards, policies, and best practices. The Lead owns NVA’s data catalog and data definitions in Microsoft Purview, champions data governance processes across departments, coordinates the Data Governance Committee, and serves as the day-to-day enforcer and advocate of a strong data culture throughout the enterprise. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented, organized, and credible data professional who thrives on driving accountability, clarity, and consistency in how data is defined, managed, and used across a large, multi-site organization.

Reports To: Director, Data Governance

About

National Veterinary Associates is one of the largest and most respected communities of veterinary hospitals in the world, operating nearly 1,000 hospitals in North America, including in all 50 states, and caring for 8,000,000+ animals annually. NVA is backed by JAB Holding, a leading private equity firm. Each person who joins NVA is motivated by our mission to provide excellent, accessible care to improve the lives of animals and the people who love them. NVA has been extremely successful over its 25+ year history and we’re very excited about our next chapter as we work toward our shared vision of revolutionizing the pet care experience to provide more fulfilling lives for pets, their companions, and our team.

What You’ll Be Doing (Key Responsibilities)

• Own and maintain NVA’s enterprise data catalog in Microsoft Purview, including data definitions, business glossary terms, data classifications, and metadata — ensuring entries are accurate, complete, and kept current as business needs and data assets evolve.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and day-to-day coordinator for data stewards and data owners across NVA departments, providing guidance on governance standards, resolving data definition conflicts, and tracking stewardship activity and accountability.
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate Data Governance Committee meetings alongside the Director, Data Governance — preparing agendas, capturing decisions and action items, tracking follow-through, and maintaining meeting cadence and documentation.
• Monitor and track changes to data definitions, data standards, and governance policies across departments; maintain a change log and ensure all impacted stakeholders are informed and aligned when definitions or standards are updated.
• Champion data governance practices, policies, and processes across NVA — acting as an internal advocate and “data cop,” holding departments accountable to agreed-upon standards and escalating non-compliance or data quality issues to the Director, Data Governance as appropriate.
• Support the Director, Data Governance in developing, refining, and communicating enterprise data governance policies, procedures, and frameworks to ensure consistent adoption across business units and hospital operations.
• Conduct data quality assessments and audits in partnership with data stewards and data owners; identify gaps between documented definitions and actual data usage and work with the appropriate teams to drive remediation.
• Develop and maintain governance training materials, onboarding guides, and reference documentation to help new and existing data stewards and data owners fulfill their roles effectively.
• Partner with the Data & Analytics team, Data Engineering, and IT to ensure Microsoft Purview is configured and optimized to support NVA’s governance needs, including data lineage, classification policies, and access controls.
• Track and report on governance program health — including stewardship coverage, data quality metrics, glossary completion rates, and committee action item closure — providing regular status updates to the Director, Data Governance.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Qualifications)

• 5+ years of experience in data governance, data management, data quality, or a related data discipline within a complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise environment.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Purview (or a comparable data catalog and governance platform such as Collibra or Alation), including managing business glossaries, data classifications, metadata, and data lineage.
• Solid working knowledge of data governance frameworks and best practices (e.g., DAMA-DMBOK), with demonstrated ability to apply governance standards in a practical, business-facing way across multiple departments or domains.
• Strong organizational and program coordination skills; experience facilitating cross-functional meetings, maintaining action item logs, and driving accountability across a distributed network of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate governance concepts into plain language for non-technical audiences and to influence behavior and buy-in across all levels of the organization.
• High attention to detail and a process-oriented mindset; comfortable managing change logs, version-controlled documentation, and governance registers across multiple concurrent workstreams.

Location: Remote-friendly / Hybrid. Must be able to collaborate across U.S. time zones.

Compensation & Benefits

NVA offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including base salary, comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision), 401(k) with company match, generous PTO, and professional development opportunities.