Enterprise Data Manager
County of Orange
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
OCERS is seeking an Enterprise Data Manager to lead enterprise data strategy, governance, quality, architecture, and analytics. The role partners with business units, IT, and external partners to ensure accurate, timely, and trusted pension-, member-, employer-, and financial-data across Horizon.
The incumbent will establish data standards, a formal stewardship program, and governance controls, building an organization-wide capability for data-driven decision making and superior member service.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Business Analytics, Information Systems, Statistics, or a closely related field.
- Five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in data analytics, business intelligence, data governance, data quality, or data engineering, including at least two (2) years in a management, lead, or supervisory capacity.
- Seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in data analytics, business intelligence, data governance, data quality, or data platform development, with a demonstrated record of independently leading enterprise-scale data initiatives, in lieu of the degree requirement.
Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain an enterprise data strategy and governance framework.
- Lead data migration, reconciliation, and business validation activities for Horizon across units.
- Develop Power BI dashboards and governed semantic models for leadership and staff.
- Establish formal data stewardship programs and data-literacy initiatives across departments.
- Ensure data platforms comply with privacy, records retention, and security requirements.
Education
Tools
Job description
Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until the needs of OCERS have been met.
The first round of application review will take place on Monday, November 23, 2026. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by this date to be included in the first review. Applications received after November 23 will be reviewed on an as-needed basis.
OCERS offers a competitive benefits package, a defined benefit pension plan which has reciprocity with the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), and a deferred compensation 457 plan. OCERS offers up to an annual $10,000 Educational and Professional Reimbursement, a $3,500 taxable optional benefit plan, annual leave, and a flexible/hybrid work schedule.
Established in 1945, the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) provides retirement, death, disability, and cost-of-living benefits to retirees of the County of Orange and certain County districts. Serving approximately 55,000 members, OCERS is governed by a ten-member Board of Retirement that is responsible for managing a $30 billion-dollar pension fund.
OCERS' mission is to provide secure retirement and disability benefits with the highest standards of excellence.
OCERS' vision is to be a trusted partner providing premier pension administration, distinguished by consistent, quality member experiences and prudent financial stewardship.
- Open and Transparent
- Commitment to Superior Service
- Engaged and Dedicated Workforce
- Reliable and Accurate
- Secure and Sustainable
OCERS is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of Enterprise Data Manager to lead OCERS' enterprise data strategy, governance, quality, architecture, and analytics capabilities. Reporting directly to the Director of Information Technology, this upper management position is accountable for building and governing OCERS' enterprise data estate and for ensuring that pension, member, employer, financial, and operational data is trusted, secure, accessible, and fit for business use.
The Enterprise Data Manager will partner closely with Member Services, Employer Services & QA, participating employers, Information Technology, project teams, and implementation partners to ensure the data supporting OCERS' Horizon Pension Administration System is accurate, timely, reconciled, and ready for pension administration. The position will establish standards and controls that improve data quality at its source, reduce downstream corrections and manual work, and support efficient, accurate service to OCERS members.
This position will also establish and lead a formal data stewardship program, partnering with business data owners and departmental stewards across OCERS to define data standards, maintain data quality, and build data literacy. The enterprise data estate and analytical tools are enabling capabilities; the primary outcome is trusted data that improves pension administration, operational performance, decision-making, and member service.
Under the general direction of the Director of Information Technology, the Enterprise Data Manager oversees the Data Analyst classification and may manage additional analytical staff, contractors, and specialized service providers. Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Develop and maintain an enterprise data strategy and prioritized roadmap aligned with OCERS' Strategic and Business Plans, the Horizon implementation, and member-service objectives.
- Develop and maintain OCERS' enterprise data governance framework, including ownership and stewardship, classification, access, retention, metadata, master and reference data, and data quality standards.
- Maintain a data catalog, business glossary, lineage, and authoritative-source designations so staff can discover, understand, and trust OCERS data.
- Lead OCERS' data readiness, migration, reconciliation, and business validation activities for Horizon in partnership with business units, IT, project teams, and implementation partners.
- Establish data conversion governance, including source-to-target mappings, transformation rules, reconciliation methodologies, exception handling, audit evidence, and business acceptance criteria.
- Oversee data profiling, cleansing, mock conversions, parallel validation, cutover readiness, and post-production stabilization, and coordinate formal sign-off by data owners and subject matter experts.
- Partner with Member Services and Employer Services & QA to establish and improve employer reporting requirements, data standards, submission specifications, and validation rules.
- Work directly with participating employers and payroll providers to identify recurring data quality issues, determine root causes, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
- Drive controls as close to the source as practical to prevent errors that create downstream manual work, benefit-processing delays, or member-service impacts.
- Establish an enterprise data quality management program for critical pension, member, employer, financial, and operational data.
- Define critical data elements, business rules, quality thresholds, exception ownership, and escalation procedures, supported by transparent monitoring and remediation plans.
- Design, build, and manage OCERS' centralized enterprise data estate using Microsoft Fabric or an equivalent cloud-based platform.
- Develop and oversee data pipelines, ETL/ELT processes, APIs, and integration patterns connecting Horizon, legacy systems, financial and HR systems, and employer submissions.
- Monitor platform performance, capacity, reliability, and costs, and direct specialized architecture and engineering vendors when needed.
- Own the lifecycle and prioritization of OCERS' reporting and dashboard portfolio, from requirements and design through testing, certification, deployment, and adoption.
- Develop or oversee Power BI dashboards and governed semantic models for the Board of Retirement, executive leadership, department directors, employers, and operational staff.
- Enable governed self-service analytics through curated datasets, role-appropriate access, and training.
- Design, launch, and continuously improve a formal data stewardship program across OCERS departments, including role definitions, onboarding, training, and escalation pathways.
- Build data literacy so managers and staff can interpret, validate, and appropriately use data in daily work and decision-making.
- Ensure data platforms, integrations, and stewardship practices comply with applicable privacy, public records, records-retention, cybersecurity, audit, and OCERS Board policy requirements.
- Partner with Information Security, Legal, and Internal Audit to classify sensitive data, implement least-privilege access, and maintain audit-ready evidence.
- Manage enterprise data team members, including performance, workload, training, professional development, and succession planning.
- Manage vendors and service agreements related to data conversion, Fabric, integration, governance, and analytics, including deliverables, acceptance criteria, and knowledge transfer.
- Evaluate and responsibly apply AI, automation, and machine learning to improve data quality, anomaly detection, forecasting, and productivity.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
The ideal candidate will be an experienced data leader who connects data work to measurable outcomes, such as fewer exceptions, faster processing, reduced manual effort, improved accuracy, and better member service. They will bring hands-on depth in enterprise data platforms and analytics, along with the judgment to balance governance rigor with usability, adoption, and practical operational needs.
The successful candidate will build effective working relationships across OCERS, sustain accountability among stakeholders who do not report directly to the position, and work constructively with participating employers, payroll providers, consultants, and vendors.
The candidate must demonstrate experience and proficiency in the following key competencies:
- Enterprise data governance, stewardship, quality management, metadata, lineage, cataloging, and master and reference data practices.
- Ability to define measurable data quality standards and drive sustainable improvements at the source.
- Large-scale system migration and reconciliation, preferably involving pension, benefits, financial, payroll, or other regulated data.
- Ability to maintain traceability from source data through transformation, target loading, business validation, and formal acceptance.
- Microsoft Fabric or an equivalent enterprise data platform, such as Azure Synapse, Databricks, or Snowflake.
- Power BI, including semantic models, DAX, Power Query, workspace administration, security, and certified content deployment.
- SQL Server/T-SQL and relational database querying; ETL/ELT, API, and secure file-exchange patterns; and fit-for-purpose data modeling approaches.
- Ability to communicate complex technical and analytical concepts clearly to Board members, executives, managers, operational staff, employers, consultants, and vendors.
- Ability to translate member-service, employer-service, pension-administration, and executive needs into clear data priorities, controls, and analytical products.
- Ability to manage and develop staff, direct vendors, prioritize concurrent initiatives, exercise sound judgment, and maintain strict confidentiality and professionalism.
A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Data Science, Computer Science, Business Analytics, Information Systems, Statistics, or a closely related field;
AND
Five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in data analytics, business intelligence, data governance, data quality, or data engineering, including at least two (2) years in a management, lead, or supervisory capacity responsible for a team or significant enterprise data initiative.
OR
Seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in data analytics, business intelligence, data governance, data quality, or data platform development, with a demonstrated record of independently leading enterprise-scale data initiatives, in lieu of the degree requirement.
- A valid California Class C driver's license or the ability to arrange necessary and timely transportation for field travel; use of a personal vehicle may be required.
- A complete background investigation is required; a felony or misdemeanor conviction may be a disqualifying factor from employment.
Please click here for details on the Enterprise Data Manager classification.
- Experience with defined-benefit pension administration, retirement benefits, public-sector payroll or employer reporting, or a similarly regulated financial-services environment.
- Demonstrated leadership of data migration, reconciliation, business validation, and cutover for a large-scale system implementation.
- Experience working with external data providers, employers, or payroll vendors to improve upstream data quality and implement sustainable data exchanges.
- Experience designing and operating formal data governance, stewardship, and data quality programs with measurable outcomes.
- Production experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure Synapse, Databricks, or comparable platforms.
- Relevant certifications such as CDMP, Microsoft Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate, Power BI Data Analyst Associate, Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure Solutions Architect, PMP, or equivalent.
- Speak and hear well enough to communicate clearly and understandably in person, by telephone, and in small or large groups.
- Manual dexterity sufficient to operate standard office equipment and use a keyboard and mouse for prolonged periods.
- Mental stamina to interact professionally with Board members, department directors, participating employers, peers, consultants, vendors, and retirement system members.
- Vision sufficient to read fine print and computer screens; ability to sit for prolonged periods and lift or carry up to 15 pounds.
Primary work is performed in an office environment using standard office equipment. The position operates in an environment involving elected and non-elected officials, government agencies, community interest groups, participating employers, vendors, and the public. Local or out-of-area travel may be required for employer meetings, project activities, training, and professional conferences.
The OCERS Human Resources Department will screen applications and supplemental information to identify candidates who meet the minimum qualifications. Applications submitted without completed supplemental questions or other required application materials may be disqualified from further consideration.
Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be evaluated through the recruitment process outlined below. All candidates will be notified of their status via email.
Applications and supplemental questionnaire responses will be reviewed by subject matter experts to identify the candidates whose education, experience, and qualifications best match the needs of the position. The most qualified candidates will be referred to the next phase of the selection process.
Referred candidates will be required to complete a one-way pre-screening interview on the Spark Hire video interview platform. In this process, candidates record their responses to a set of structured questions. Subject matter experts will then evaluate these video interviews to determine if candidates qualify for the next phase of the selection process.
Candidates advancing to this phase will be interviewed and evaluated by a panel of subject matter experts. Each candidate's rating will be based on responses to structured questions designed to assess their technical expertise, data governance and leadership experience, communication skills, and suitability for the position. Top candidates may be invited to a second interview.
Based on OCERS' needs and the number of applications received, the selection procedures listed above may be modified. All affected candidates will be notified of applicable changes.
After completion of the applicable examination and selection procedures, OCERS Human Resources will establish an eligible list of qualified candidates. The list may be used to fill the current vacancy in the Information Technology & Security Department and future vacancies, subject to OCERS' operational needs and applicable recruitment rules.
Email is the primary form of communication during the recruitment process. Please ensure your correct email address is included in your application and use only one email account.
NOTE: User accounts are established for one person only and should not be shared with another person. Multiple applications submitted using different accounts may jeopardize your status in the recruitment process for any positions for which you apply.
Candidates will be notified of their status as the recruitment proceeds through the GovernmentJobs.com site. Please check your email folders, including spam and junk folders, and consider allowing emails ending in "governmentjobs.com" and "ocgov.com." If your email address changes, please update your profile at www.governmentjobs.com.
Click here for additional Frequently Asked Questions.
OCERS, as an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.
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