Data Governance Lead - Programme Advance

Smiths Group
Birmingham
1 day ago
Create job alert

The Data Governance Lead will be pivotal to the success of Programme Advance, the HCM and Payroll transformation initiative—by ensuring that the foundation of all transformation activities is built on high-quality, trusted, and compliant data. As the organization transitions to new operating models and technologies, the Data Governance Lead will establish and enforce data governance frameworks that guarantee the accuracy, integrity, and security of employee and payroll data across all business units. This role will drive the development and implementation of policies, standards, and processes that support seamless data integration, master data management, and regulatory compliance. By collaborating with HR, Payroll, IT, and business stakeholders, the Data Governance Lead will enable the organization to unlock the full potential of its HCM and Payroll systems, facilitating efficient onboarding, payroll processing, workforce planning, and strategic decision-making. Through proactive stewardship and continuous improvement, the Data Governance Lead will help mitigate risks, address data-related pain points, and foster a culture of data-driven innovation. Ultimately, this leadership will ensure that Programme Advance delivers sustainable value, supports business objectives, and empowers employees with reliable information throughout the transformation journey. You will lead the establishment, management, and continuous improvement of the company’s data governance framework. Support senior management in developing and executing the organization’s strategic plan for data quality, compliance, and stewardship. Oversee the development and enforcement of data policies, standards, and processes to ensure the integrity, security, and effective use of data across Smiths Group and its divisions.


Responsibilities

  • Develop, implement, and maintain data governance policies, standards, and procedures to ensure high-quality, trusted data across the organization.
  • Establish and govern master/reference data, data quality management, data cataloguing, data lineage, and traceability as foundational pillars for all business units.
  • Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to define data ownership, stewardship, and accountability models.
  • Lead initiatives to improve data quality, resolve data issues, and drive adoption of data governance best practices.
  • Oversee compliance with legal, regulatory (GDPR), and company requirements for data privacy, security, and usage.
  • Facilitate the creation and maintenance of business glossaries, data dictionaries, and metadata management tools.
  • Provide guidance and training to data stewards, business users, and technical teams on data governance principles and practices.
  • Monitor and report on data governance metrics, including data quality KPIs, policy adherence, and remediation progress.
  • Support the integration of data governance into project delivery, change management, and business-as-usual activities.
  • Act as a subject matter expert and escalation point for complex data governance queries and issues.
  • Foster a culture of data stewardship and continuous improvement across the organization.
  • Develop and design approval processes using workflows for master data.
  • Define data quality metrics and drive continuous system and data improvement.

Qualifications

  • Educated to degree level or equivalent.
  • Strong understanding of data governance frameworks (e.g. DAMA‑DMBOK), data management principles, and industry best practices.
  • Strong experience with data quality management, data cataloguing, metadata management, and data lineage tools.
  • Familiarity with data privacy regulations (e.g. GDPR) and compliance requirements.
  • Proficiency in data management platforms (e.g. Azure Data Lake, Databricks) and BI tools (e.g. PowerBI).
  • Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and organisational skills.
  • Experience working with both onshore and offshore teams.
  • Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to interact at all levels of the organization.
  • Experience in developing and delivering training and documentation for data governance initiatives.
  • Passion for data, technology, and continuous improvement.

Diversity & Inclusion

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support and embrace diversity.


At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Group, or any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our careers website (Careers – Smiths Group plc).


Data Governance Lead • Birmingham, England, United Kingdom


#J-18808-Ljbffr

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Data Governance Lead

Data Governance Lead

Data Governance Lead...

Data Governance Lead

Data Governance Lead

Data Governance Lead

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

How to Write a Data Science Job Ad That Attracts the Right People

Data science plays a critical role in how organisations across the UK make decisions, build products and gain competitive advantage. From forecasting and personalisation to risk modelling and experimentation, data scientists help translate data into insight and action. Yet many employers struggle to attract the right data science candidates. Job adverts often generate high volumes of applications, but few applicants have the mix of analytical skill, business understanding and communication ability the role actually requires. At the same time, experienced data scientists skip over adverts that feel vague, inflated or misaligned with real data science work. In most cases, the issue is not a lack of talent — it is the quality and clarity of the job advert. Data scientists are analytical, sceptical of hype and highly selective. A poorly written job ad signals unclear expectations and immature data practices. A well-written one signals credibility, focus and serious intent. This guide explains how to write a data science job ad that attracts the right people, improves applicant quality and positions your organisation as a strong data employer.

Maths for Data Science Jobs: The Only Topics You Actually Need (& How to Learn Them)

If you are applying for data science jobs in the UK, the maths can feel like a moving target. Job descriptions say “strong statistical knowledge” or “solid ML fundamentals” but they rarely tell you which topics you will actually use day to day. Here’s the truth: most UK data science roles do not require advanced pure maths. What they do require is confidence with a tight set of practical topics that come up repeatedly in modelling, experimentation, forecasting, evaluation, stakeholder comms & decision-making. This guide focuses on the only maths most data scientists keep using: Statistics for decision making (confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, power, uncertainty) Probability for real-world data (base rates, noise, sampling, Bayesian intuition) Linear algebra essentials (vectors, matrices, projections, PCA intuition) Calculus & gradients (enough to understand optimisation & backprop) Optimisation & model evaluation (loss functions, cross-validation, metrics, thresholds) You’ll also get a 6-week plan, portfolio projects & a resources section you can follow without getting pulled into unnecessary theory.

Neurodiversity in Data Science Careers: Turning Different Thinking into a Superpower

Data science is all about turning messy, real-world information into decisions, products & insights. It sits at the crossroads of maths, coding, business & communication – which means it needs people who see patterns, ask unusual questions & challenge assumptions. That makes data science a natural fit for many neurodivergent people, including those with ADHD, autism & dyslexia. If you’re neurodivergent & thinking about a data science career, you might have heard comments like “you’re too distracted for complex analysis”, “too literal for stakeholder work” or “too disorganised for large projects”. In reality, the same traits that can make traditional environments difficult often line up beautifully with data science work. This guide is written for data science job seekers in the UK. We’ll explore: What neurodiversity means in a data science context How ADHD, autism & dyslexia strengths map to common data science roles Practical workplace adjustments you can request under UK law How to talk about your neurodivergence in applications & interviews By the end, you’ll have a clearer sense of where you might thrive in data science – & how to turn “different thinking” into a real career advantage.