Senior Director Head of Data Governance & Strategy

Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status. EEO/AA/M/F/Disabled/Vets

Job Description :

Job Title: Head of Data Governance & Strategy
Reporting To: Chief Data Officer (CDO)
Role Overview:

The Head of Data Governance & Strategy will be a strategic leader within the office of the Chief Data Officer, shaping the direction of our data roadmap and guiding its adoption across multiple businesses and subsidiaries. This role is not only about setting direction for data architecture, governance (including AI governance), and advanced analytics—equally critical is ensuring buy-in, understanding, and collaboration with diverse stakeholders throughout the wider global organization. You will work closely with business leaders to understand their unique data challenges, align their needs with the corporate data strategy, and ensure that data initiatives are well-received, integrated, and effectively utilized at the business unit level.

While implementation teams within the CDO organization will execute on data mesh, governance frameworks, and other operational elements, you will focus on stakeholder alignment, strategic planning, and ensuring that the broader data vision resonates across the enterprise. Your success will be measured by how effectively the businesses embrace and leverage data-driven insights, leading to more informed decisions, operational efficiencies, and new growth opportunities.

Key Responsibilities:
Data Strategy & Road mapping:

1. Collaborate with the CDO and executive stakeholders to define and refine the enterprise data strategy, ensuring it aligns with overall business objectives.
2. Develop and maintain a multi-year roadmap that clearly communicates priorities, initiatives, and expected outcomes to business units and subsidiaries.

Stakeholder Alignment & Change Management:

1. Engage deeply with business unit stakeholders to understand their data-related needs, challenges, and perspectives.
2. Translate these insights into actionable plans and influence the central data roadmap to ensure it delivers practical, value-adding solutions at the local level.
3. Lead the change management efforts for new data initiatives, communicating benefits, setting expectations, and building trust to drive broad acceptance and adoption.

Data Governance & Privacy (Oversight and Alignment):

1. Work closely with the data governance and privacy teams within the CDOs organization to ensure their policies, frameworks, and compliance measures are communicated effectively to business leaders.
2. Serve as a liaison between governance experts and business units, making sure each side understands the others requirements and constraints, and helping to embed governance practices into everyday operations.
3. Specific ownership of AI Governance & Oversight as a key leader in the AI Steering Committee. Focusing on enabling News Corps strategic goals through AI in a safe, responsible and ethical manner.

Data Mesh & Architectural Alignment (Strategic Guidance):

1. Collaborate with the architectural and analytics engineering teams implementing the data mesh architecture to ensure alignment with business stakeholder requirements.
2. Articulate the benefits and rationale of data mesh initiatives to business leaders, reinforcing the value of decentralized data ownership and improved data interoperability.

Generative AI & Emerging Technologies (Strategic Evaluation):

1. Partner with internal AI specialists and innovation teams to evaluate and prioritize Gen AI proof-of-concepts (PoCs) and vendor solutions.
2. Communicate the potential business impact of Gen AI initiatives, manage stakeholder expectations around risk, governance, and ethical considerations, and ensure that projects are aligned with business unit needs and readiness.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Culture Building:

1. Foster a data-driven culture by promoting data literacy, self-service analytics, and responsible data usage across the conglomerate.
2. Act as a connector and facilitator, breaking down silos and bridging gaps between technical teams, operational teams, and business stakeholders, ensuring a shared understanding of goals and outcomes.

Qualifications & Experience:

1. Education: Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Data Science, Information Systems, or related field; Masters degree preferred.
2. Experience:
   1. 10+ years in data strategy, data management, or related fields.
   2. Demonstrable success in leading large-scale, enterprise-level data initiatives and collaborating with diverse, decentralized stakeholders.
   3. Strong track record of driving change management and building consensus across complex organizational structures.
3. Technical & Business Acumen:
   1. Understanding of modern data architectures (e.g., data mesh, data lakehouse) and governance frameworks, even if not directly implementing them.
   2. Familiarity with emerging AI/ML and Gen AI technologies and their strategic business applications.
4. Leadership & Soft Skills:
   1. Exceptional communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills; adept at translating technical concepts into business value.
   2. Strategic thinker with the ability to manage ambiguity and influence without direct authority.
   3. Skilled at balancing long-term vision with short-term deliverables and benefits.

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