Data Governance Lead

Closing Date: October 21st, 2026, or upon receipt of the first 50 applicants

Data Governance Lead

Office of Strategy, Budget, and Performance

Salary Pay Range: $79,268.80 - $118,913.60

Closing Date: October 21st, 2026, or upon receipt of the first 50 applicants

Job Summary - Milwaukee County is seeking a person who is passionate about business strategy and data-informed decision-making, with an emphasis on people and relationships, to lead our newly formed data governance program. As a Data Governance Lead, you will be responsible for having a deep understanding of the data needs across the business, as well as developing and implementing the organization's data governance framework to ensure data quality, consistency, and compliance through collaboration across departments. The overall goal of this effort is to optimize the value of the organization's data assets to help Milwaukee County be the healthiest county in Wisconsin by achieving racial equity.

As we mature into the data governance program, we'll focus on the various responsibilities listed below. First, we are starting with the data governance strategy and initial engagement of stakeholders to identify needs and the data governance steering committee to begin to address those organizational needs. This is the beginning of the journey, and you'll help shape the future of Milwaukee County through effectively delivering for the organization through this role and program.

Job Responsibilities:

Note: While we are building a program around people, process, and data architecture to work efficiently, you will need to understand the areas below but may not have experience in all of them.

Data Governance Strategy:

• Develop and articulate the organization's data governance vision, strategy, and roadmap.
• Define data governance objectives, priorities, and key performance indicators.
• Establish and lead governance structures, roles, and responsibilities to support effective data stewardship and accountability.
• Establish and lead the Data Governance Steering Committee operations and activities.

Policy and Process Development:

• Design, document, and implement data governance policies, standards, and procedures.
• Define data classification schemes, data ownership models, and data lifecycle management practices.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and best practices.

Data Quality Management:

• Establish data quality standards, metrics, and monitoring mechanisms.
• Collaborate with data owners and stewards to identify data quality issues and root causes.
• Implement data quality improvement initiatives and corrective actions, as needed.

Data Security and Privacy:

• Develop and enforce data security and privacy policies, controls, and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with data protection regulations (e.g. HIPAA) and industry standards.
• Work with IT security to monitor access controls, data encryption, and other security measures to mitigate risk.

Data Governance Education and Awareness:

• Provide training and guidance to employees on data governance principles, policies, and procedures.
• Raise awareness of data management best practices and their importance to business operations.
• Foster a culture of data stewardship, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Metadata Management and Documentation:

• Implement metadata management processes to capture and maintain data lineage, definitions, and dependencies.
• Establish data dictionaries, glossaries, and cataloging tools to facilitate metadata discovery and documentation.
• Promote metadata standards and best practices across the organization.

Governance Oversight and Reporting:

• Establish mechanisms for governance oversight, including regular reviews and audits.
• Monitor compliance with data governance policies and assess effectiveness of controls.
• Prepare and present data governance reports, dashboards, and metrics to senior leadership.

Minimum Requirements:

• Current resident of the State of Wisconsin.

• Associate's degree or higher in Information Management, Business Administration, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or related field.
• Three (3) or more years of experience in at least one of the areas below:
  • Data Governance/Management
  • Program/Strategy Development & Implementation
  • Data Architecture
  • Business Intelligence Reporting
• Three-Five (3-5) of experience in supervisory skills.

Additional Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Significant experience in data governance, data management, business analysis, or related roles.
• Strong understanding of or willingness to be educated on data governance principles, frameworks, and best practices.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and industry standards related to data privacy and security.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence and drive changes in a complex organizational environment.
• Certification in data governance or related areas (e.g., DM-BOK, CDMP, etc.).
• People and business strategy focused approach to work.

NOTE: This ORIGINAL APPLICATION is open to qualified residents of the State of Wisconsin at the time of application. Candidates need to submit a full account of their training and experience (i.e., by submitting an up-to-date resume or by fully completing the application) during the application process and may also be asked to take additional written or performance tests as part of the selection process.

APPLICANTS MUST POSSESS MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AT TIME OF FILING APPLICATION