Specialist, Data Governance

Plains Marketing; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Plains Marketing is seeking a Specialist, Data Governance to lead enterprise governance initiatives and translate strategy into practical standards and processes. The role spans the enterprise, aligning governance work with Data and AI priorities and the Data Governance Platform roadmap.

You will facilitate governance activities across architecture, engineering, analytics, security, and business teams, driving adoption and measurable outcomes through workshops and enablement resources.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in data governance, data management, or business transformation.
• Experience implementing cross-functional governance programs, operating models, and standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead engagement for governance initiatives with data owners, stewards, and executives.
• Identify ownership, quality, and reconciliation issues via workshops and sessions.
• Translate business problems into governance requirements and recommendations.
• Facilitate accountability for data owners and stewards; maintain records of ownership and escalation paths.
• Document governance considerations and route recommendations to authorities.
• Develop and improve governance processes within the operating model and support governance councils.

Skills

Executive communication

Facilitation

Change-adoption

Decision framing

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, information systems, finance, or related field

Tools

DAMA-DMBOK

Microsoft Purview

Microsoft Fabric

Databricks

Job description

Job Type:

Regular

Plains is an industry-leading transportation and midstream provider specializing in transportation, storage, processing and marketing solutions for crude oil. We own an extensive network of pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage and gathering assets in key oil producing basins and transportation corridors and at major market hubs in the United States and Canada. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

We're on the lookout for passionate self‑starters who thrive in fast‑moving, collaborative, and innovative environments.

The Specialist, Data Governance is a senior individual contributor who leads business engagement and implementation of enterprise data governance practices at Plains. Reporting to the Manager, Data Governance Platform, the Specialist converts approved strategy and priorities into practical standards, processes, stewardship activities, and measurable outcomes. The role works across the enterprise and leads through expertise, facilitation, credibility, and influence rather than direct authority. It aligns governance work with Data and AI priorities, the Data Governance Platform roadmap, enterprise architecture, and accountable business ownership.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead engagement for approved governance initiatives, building trusted relationships with subject matter experts, data owners, stewards, decision makers, and executive sponsors.
• Use workshops, surveys, and working sessions to identify unclear ownership, inconsistent definitions, quality concerns, duplicated effort, and manual reconciliation.
• Translate business problems into governance requirements and recommendations, advise leaders on decision needs, develop the steward community, and escal…
• Facilitate confirmation of accountable data owners and stewards for priority domains and maintain clear records of ownership, commitments, and escalation paths. Implement the approved governance role model and keep stewardship close to the people with business knowledge.
• Facilitate system-of-record, source-of-truth, survivorship, data-sharing, and hierarchy discussions, documenting business and architectural considerations and routing recommendations to the appropriate authorities.
• Develop, implement, maintain, and improve governance processes within the approved operating model. Support governance councils and working groups through decision framing, agendas, materials, action tracking, and decision records.
• Develop glossary, definition, certification, policy, standard, procedure, intake, issue‑management, and accountability practices.
• Assess new requests for value, risk, readiness, dependencies, and sequencing, and maintain reusable templates and guidance.
• Lead approved adoption and enablement activities, including workshops, communications, learning materials, and practical resources. Help owners and stewards incorporate governance into existing workflows, monitor participation and adoption, recommend corrective actions, and communicate responsibilities and expected outcomes.
• Contribute to the governance strategy, multi-year roadmap, maturity model, business cases, funding support, and executive decision materials.
• Execute approved initiatives using a pilot-first approach where appropriate, reporting progress, risks, dependencies, decisions, and outcomes.
• Partner with architecture, engineering, analytics, AI, information management, security, privacy, platform, and business teams so governance decisions are reflected in relevant catalog, master data, data quality, semantic, and platform capabilities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, information systems, finance, data management, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least ten years of relevant experience, including substantial work in data governance, data management, information management, or business transformation.
• Demonstrated experience implementing cross‑functional governance programs, operating models, ownership and stewardship practices, standards, metadata, data quality, certification, or master data capabilities.
• Strong executive communication, facilitation, change‑adoption, and decision‑framing skills are required, along with working knowledge of DAMA‑DMBOK, federated governance, data architecture and integration, privacy and security, analytics governance, and AI governance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in midstream energy, pipelines, or another asset‑intensive regulated industry is preferred.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Purview, master data platforms, Microsoft Fabric, Databricks, or comparable technologies is an asset, as is experience supporting analytics and responsible AI governance.
• Cleared criminal history (background) and satisfactory reference checks
• Compliance with the Company's drug and alcohol policy including pre‑employment D&A testing.
• This position is not eligible for employment‑based visa sponsorship. Applicants must b