Who is the Data Governance Manager?

#19 Or how to find the rare pearl

Hello 😀

Happy new year ! 🎉 Let’s fill this year with interesting projects, nice colleagues and good food. Some of you are already or might want to become a Data Governance Manager this year…

Goal for 2025 : walk more. This was a 14km hike between St Jean de Luz and Hendaye, views were incredible.

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Let’s see who it is 👇

Agenda

1. The 5 legged sheep

2. Key skills & responsibilities

3. Who it could actually be

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The 5 legged sheep

A few weeks ago, I was giving a conference and then came the (terrible) Q&A moment.

Someone asked me this :

“Your method looks great. But everything comes at least at first from the Data Governance Manager.

Who is this person? I feel like we’re looking for the 5 legged sheep.”

Why does it feel impossible to find the right profile?

Because organizations expect the Data Governance Manager to possess a rare combination of :

• technical expertise,

• strategic thinking,

• strong communication skills,

• and deep knowledge of data compliance and governance frameworks.

It’s at the crossroad of Data, Business & IT.

🤯 But who can pretend they know really well all these 3 aspects?

Let’s take a step back for a moment : it’s a relatively new role in organizations. Just like the Data Scientist a few years ago.

I remember at the time, my friends interviewing for being a Data Scientist felt it was incredibly hard. Companies didn’t really know what they were looking for, so they looked for everything : candidates that would know all existing algorithms techniques, all technologies, all programming languages… We now know that all you need is pretty much SQL and Python 😅

There’s also sometimes a misunderstanding in the role. It’s expected that the Data Governance Manager creates the definitions and writes the data quality rules. It should not be the case.

👉 Such high expectations make the role feel unattainable or overwhelming, leaving many to wonder if the perfect candidate truly exists…

If you’re a bit lost, are just starting as Data Governance Manager or want to get up to speed for interviews, check out my online training :

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Key skills & responsibilities

A Data Governance Manager ensures that an organization's data is well-organized, secure, and used effectively to support business goals.

They establish the data governance framework including roles, policies, processes, and standards for managing data quality, compliance, and access across the organization.

The role includes :

• coordinating the definition of ownership and stewardship for data assets,

• monitoring adherence to the data governance framework defined,

• and driving the implementation of tools like data catalogs or lineage systems.

But really, what makes a great Data Governance Manager?

Here’s what you should look for :

💡 Strategic vision & leadership
A great data governance manager aligns data governance initiatives with business goals and have a strong ability to influence stakeholders.
🗣️ Communication & stakeholder engagement
From IT to Business teams, they collaborate effectively and translate complex data concepts into actionable business insights.
📊 Program & project management
They drive data governance initiatives with clear goals, timelines, and efficient resource allocation.

Which skills are required then?

Here’s an extract of a job description for a Data Governance manager role at a large FMCG company :

What’s striking here, is that the elements mentioned first are about strategy and leadership.

Let’s recap the skills required, soft skills first :

• Exceptional leadership, change mindset & business acumen, with the ability to engage and motivate cross-functional teams

• Excellent communication and presentation skills to effectively convey complex data concepts to non-technical stakeholders

• Proven ability to work collaboratively

• Ability to engage & influence stakeholders at all levels

And also for sure…

• Strong understanding of data governance frameworks

• Expertise in Data Management : knowledge of data quality, metadata, and emerging technologies like AI and cloud computing

• Basic knowledge (is enough) of information systems

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Who it could actually be

It all comes down to 3 possibilities when you look for good candidates.

1️⃣ The IT profile who has managed projects (systems implementation, cloud migration, etc.) with multiple stakeholders.

2️⃣ The Consulting profile who has experience in defining strategies and influencing.

3️⃣ The Business profile who has managed projects (new business process, performance analysis, new planning, etc.) with multiple stakeholders.

Here’s a recap of pros and cons of these 3 profiles to help you decide which one is best for your context and maturity :

In any case, what’s great with these 3 profiles is that they all know the stakes of leading a program : you need to convince to get budget, you need to allocate resources and make the right decisions.

See you soon,

Charlotte

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I'm Charlotte Ledoux, freelance in Data & AI Governance.

You can follow me on Linkedin !