This position will be located at our Corporate Office: 2355 W Pinnacle Peak Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85027
The Data Governance Strategist is responsible for independently leading, developing, maintaining, and continuously improving the Credit Union's enterprise data governance program. As the sole contributor dedicated to data governance, this role serves as the primary program owner and business partner for departments across the Credit Union, driving adoption of data governance standards, strengthening data stewardship practices, and promoting a culture of data quality, compliance, privacy, and responsible data use that best serves our members and associates.
Essential Functions
- Serves as the sole dedicated contributor and accountable owner for the enterprise data governance program, independently managing program priorities, deliverables, documentation, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing maturity efforts.
- Develops, maintains, and refines data governance policies, standards, procedures, templates, and program documentation to align with business needs, regulatory expectations, and enterprise risk priorities.
- Maintains the enterprise data inventory, data glossary, ownership records, stewardship assignments, data lineage documentation, and related governance artifacts to support transparency and accountability.
- Leads cross-functional coordination for data governance priorities, strategic initiatives, and enterprise data-related projects, ensuring stakeholders understand objectives, decisions, dependencies, and required actions.
- Evaluates data governance roadmaps, identifies risks, dependencies, and implementation challenges, and develops practical mitigation plans to keep enterprise data governance priorities on track.
- Manages data governance priorities, stakeholder expectations, timelines, and competing deliverables, adjusting plans as needed to support program objectives and enterprise business needs.
- Leads identification, documentation, and escalation of data quality improvement opportunities, anomalies, and recurring issues to strengthen governance controls, reporting reliability, and decision-making.
- Partners with Data and Analytics teams and business units to identify governance-related reporting, data quality, and business intelligence use cases that improve transparency, accountability, and responsible use of enterprise data.
- Advises management and business partners on data governance best practices, program benchmarks, stewardship expectations, and practical improvements to strengthen enterprise data management practices.
- Represents the data governance program on cross-functional projects involving business intelligence, reporting tools, system enhancements, integrations, and enterprise data management changes.
- Leads strategic data governance communications with system owners, Information Technology, data owners, stewards, and other stakeholders to support transparency, adoption, and timely issue resolution.
- Creates, updates, maintains, and reviews data governance artifacts, including business process models, data flows, data requirements, use cases, and testing documentation needed to support data quality, control, and reporting objectives.
- Assesses cross-divisional system, process, and data impacts of change to help business partners understand downstream effects on data quality, reporting, controls, and governance requirements.
- Identifies, documents, and monitors data quality issues, governance risks, control gaps, and remediation actions in partnership with data owners, stewards, Information Technology, Business Intelligence, Compliance, Risk Management, and other business areas.
- Coordinates review of external data sources to identify redundancy, control concerns, ownership gaps, and cost-efficiency opportunities in partnership with business areas, vendor management, and Information Technology.
- Facilitates effective business-area discovery by asking targeted questions, documenting known and unknown requirements, and translating stakeholder input into clear data governance needs, decisions, and action items.
- Establishes and performs quality assessment practices for data, reports, and data-driven decisions to support reliable reporting, accountable ownership, and effective governance oversight.
- Performs and coordinates data quality checks, reviews results with appropriate stakeholders, and supports remediation of data accuracy concerns through documented governance processes.
What You Bring
- High School Diploma or GED Required
- Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Accounting, Business, Computer Science, Information Science, or related field Preferred
- 5-8 years similar or related experience in data governance, data management, business analytics, operations analytics, data analytics, reporting, information systems, or related disciplines, including responsibility for enterprise data standards, stakeholder coordination, or governance-related program execution required.
- 3-5 years similar or related experience leading enterprise programs, managing cross-functional initiatives, influencing stakeholders, or serving as a subject matter expert for data governance, data management, risk, compliance, or related disciplines required. Or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Knowledge of data warehousing methodologies and how data structures, reporting environments, and source-system dependencies affect data governance, data quality, and enterprise reporting reliability.
- Outstanding skills in finding resolutions to complicated problems while performing independently in a multifaceted environment.
- Knowledge of continuous process improvement or change management practices.
- Knowledge of data governance practices, business and technology issues related to management of enterprise information assets and approaches related to data protection.
- Ability to influence, educate, and guide data owners, stewards, and business partners without direct supervisory authority.
- Strong program management, organization, prioritization, and time management skills, including the ability to manage cross-functional deliverables, competing priorities, and enterprise data governance timelines independently.
- Strong verbal and written communication, interpersonal, emotional intelligence, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to translate governance expectations into clear, practical guidance for business and technical stakeholders.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills related to data quality, data controls, governance risk identification, and issue resolution.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, make practical decisions, and escalate governance risks or unresolved issues appropriately with minimal supervision.
- Certifications in Business Analysis, Data Analytics, or Data Governance preferred
Compensation & Benefits
- Generous paid time off: paid holidays, floating holidays, personal days, vacation days, plus sick time, Low-cost Medical, Dental & Vision plans
- Paid childcare assistance
- Award-winning 401K
- Gym fee reimbursement
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Student loan repayment
- ...and much more. Explore all the details in our comprehensive Benefits Booklet
- Target hiring range $84,149.19 - $105,186.49 (Depending on experience and prior to any incentives this position is eligible for)
