Data Governance & Responsible AI Associate Manager

Accenture in South Africa; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Competitive rewards

Job summary

Accenture in South Africa is seeking an experienced CL8 Data Governance and Responsible AI leader to guide enterprise data governance and AI governance across programs. You will ensure data and AI solutions are scalable, compliant, and auditable, while mentoring teams and driving governance adoption aligned to business outcomes.

You will lead governance setup across domains, embed processes, and enforce privacy, security, and responsible AI practices to deliver value at scale across the

Qualifications

• Experience in enterprise data governance strategy, standards and stewardship.
• Experience applying Responsible AI governance concepts (risk, controls, documentation).
• Clear understanding of data privacy, security, and regulatory compliance in data/AI deployments.

Responsibilities

• Lead data governance strategy & operating model.
• Define governance principles, policies, standards, frameworks & controls.
• Align governance to business goals to enable a data-driven culture.
• Establish data stewardship & portfolio governance across domains.
• Provide leadership on governance setup across organizational boundaries.
• Embed governance processes to ensure consistent decision-making & escalation.
• Ensure data governance across lifecycle with privacy and security.
• Own enterprise Responsible AI governance (risk, controls, auditability).
• Mentor and develop governance teams and foster knowledge sharing.

Skills

Enterprise data governance

Responsible AI governance

Compliance, privacy & security

Leadership at portfolio/program level

Strategic delivery of governance

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

About Accenture

Accenture helps the world’s leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed for organizations across industries. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and lead in the safe, widespread adoption of AI, and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. We bring together the talent of our approximately 786,000 people with proprietary assets and platforms, deep process and industry expertise, and leading ecosystem relationships to deliver end-to-end solutions and measurable outcomes at scale. Through our Reinvention Services, we offer broad expertise across Cybersecurity, Digital Core, Finance, Industry and Enterprise, Song, Supply Chain and Engineering, and Talent, with advanced capabilities in AI and Data, Industry and Process, and Technology. We serve approximately 9,000 clients and generated approximately $70 billion in FY25 revenue. Visit us at accenture.com

About Accenture

Accenture helps the world’s leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed for organizations across industries. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and lead in the safe, widespread adoption of AI, and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. We bring together the talent of our approximately 786,000 people with proprietary assets and platforms, deep process and industry expertise, and leading ecosystem relationships to deliver end-to-end solutions and measurable outcomes at scale. Through our Reinvention Services, we offer broad expertise across Cybersecurity, Digital Core, Finance, Industry and Enterprise, Song, Supply Chain and Engineering, and Talent, with advanced capabilities in AI and Data, Industry and Process, and Technology. We serve approximately 9,000 clients and generated approximately $70 billion in FY25 revenue. Visit us at accenture.com

CL8 Data Governance and Responsible AI

As a CL8 Data Governance and Responsible AI leader, you will guide and operationalise enterprise data governance and AI governance across programs—ensuring that data and AI solutions are delivered at scale with strong data retention, classification, Ownership, data quality, compliance, privacy/security, and responsible AI practices. You’ll also lead and mentor teams and drive governance adoption aligned to business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead data governance strategy & operating model


• Define and drive data governance principles, policies, standards, frameworks and controls (including data quality expectations).


• Align governance to business goals and enable a “data-driven culture.”


• Establish and oversee data stewardship & portfolio governance


• Provide leadership on governance setup across domains (e.g., ownership, accountability, coordination).


• Embed and Oversee governance processes that ensure consistent decision-making and escalation.


• Ensure compliance, privacy, and security across the data & AI lifecycle


• Ensure data is sourced/handled/developed/deployed legally and ethically.


• Support privacy, security, and compliance requirements through governance and enforcement mechanisms.


• Own enterprise Responsible AI governance (risk, controls, auditability)


• Govern AI risk, compliance, privacy, and security using formal oversight.


• Ensure documentation, validation/controls, training, and continuous monitoring to keep AI systems safe, compliant, and audit-ready.


• Lead scalable solution delivery and data/AI architecture governance


• Influence architecture and delivery approaches so governance is embedded into platform and solution lifecycles.


• Ensure governance is practical and repeatable across programs.


• Enforce data governance practices into Business As Usual activities.


• Lead a data culture within different organizations


• Develop, curate, and deliver Data Governance training for data stewards, data custodians, and the broader data community.


• Develop reusable assets that strengthen and support the data governance capability.


• Lead the development of RFP responses


• Establish the response structure and define the proposed solution approach for each RFP.


• Coordinate and consolidate contributions from all relevant solution teams.


• Mobilise the appropriate subject-matter experts and delivery teams to support Data Governance RFP responses.


• Mentor and develop teams


• Coach specialists and leads; build capability through standards, guidance, and knowledge sharing.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Strong experience in enterprise data governance (strategy, standards, stewardship, data quality, policy enforcement).


• Proven ability to apply Responsible AI governance concepts (risk/control frameworks, documentation, monitoring).


• Deep understanding of compliance, privacy, and security considerations for data and AI deployments.


• Leadership capability: managing governance at portfolio/program level and influencing stakeholders.


• Ability to translate governance requirements into scalable delivery practices.


• Leading cross functional multinational teams

Typical background (examples—may vary by project)

• Leadership experience in data governance, data management, AI/ML governance, or enterprise risk/compliance for data & AI.


• Cross-functional experience with legal/privacy/security and delivery teams.

Why join us?

We offer a transparent, fast paced approach career progression, with a focus on your strengths and continuous coaching from senior colleagues You will benefit from working alongside Accenture experts who are solving some of the biggest industry challenges with innovative thinking and pioneering tools Flexible work arrangements and a range of benefits including competitive rewards You will have access to state-of-the-art technology that will give you the opportunity to deepen your existing skills even as you help create the latest business trends You will also have opportunities to make a difference to the communities in which we work and live