Location: US:PA: Hershey
Work Type: Full Time
FTE: 1.00
Shift: Day
Hours: 8 hours
SUMMARY OF POSITION:The Senior Director of Data Governance, Management, and Artificial Intelligence is a pivotal enterprise leadership role within Penn State Health's Information Services department. This leadership position is responsible for developing and operationalizing a comprehensive strategy that spans three integrated disciplines: data governance, enterprise data management, and artificial intelligence. The Senior Director will drive a culture of data stewardship across the health system, ensuring that clinical, operational, and financial data assets are accurate, accessible, secure, and aligned with regulatory obligations including HIPAA and HITECH.
Working closely with clinical, operational, legal, compliance, and technology leaders, this role champions responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption-from model governance and ethical use frameworks to real-world clinical decision-support implementation. The Senior Director will build and lead a high-performing team, manage governance committees, oversee enterprise data platforms and data quality programs, and serve as the health system's voice on data-driven innovation. This position reports directly to the VP/Chief Application Officer of Information Services.
Responsibilities
Data Governance Strategy & Execution Develop, maintain, and execute a comprehensive enterprise data governance framework aligned with Penn State Health's strategic goals, mission, and regulatory requirements.
- Establish and lead Data Governance and AI Governance Committees and sub-committees, including defining charters, membership, decision rights, and escalation pathways.
- Define and enforce data policies, standards, definitions, and lineage protocols across all clinical and administrative data domains (clinical, claims, financial, workforce, research).
- Ensure audit-readiness through continuous documentation, controls monitoring, and evidence management for internal audits and regulatory reviews.
- Develop KPIs and dashboards that provide real-time visibility into data health, governance maturity, and policy compliance across the enterprise.
- Partner with Legal, Compliance, Privacy, and Security teams to manage data rights, usage controls, and consent frameworks governing patient and workforce data.
Enterprise Data Management
- Lead end-to-end enterprise data management including data architecture, data quality, master data management (MDM), metadata management, and data cataloging.
- Collaborate with Systems IS Application Directors for integration of core healthcare data domains-EHR (Epic), claims, revenue cycle, enterprise resource management, imaging, and research-into centralized enterprise data platforms and data warehouses.
- Drive cloud data platform strategy, including data ingestion pipelines, Extract Transform Load and Extract Load Transform (ETL/ELT) processes, and analytics enablement using modern data stack technologies.
- Establish data quality standards and stewardship models; implement automated monitoring and remediation workflows to maintain data integrity across source systems.
- Define and implement data lifecycle management policies covering data retention, archival, and disposition in compliance with healthcare regulatory standards. •
- Collaborate with IS, Epic implementation teams, and clinical and finance operations to ensure data consistency and interoperability across the health system's application ecosystem.
Artificial Intelligence Strategy & Governance
- Lead the health system's AI governance framework, including model registration, risk tiering, bias evaluation, and ongoing model performance monitoring.
- Partner with clinical, operational, and research stakeholders to evaluate, pilot, and scale AI and Machine Learning (ML) use cases that improve patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and financial performance.
- Establish transparent AI deployment protocols ensuring compliance with emerging federal and state AI regulations as well as accreditation standards.
- Oversee responsible AI practices including fairness assessments, transparency requirements, and review processes for clinical decision-support applications.
- Build and maintain an AI model inventory with associated documentation of validation results, training data provenance, intended use, and monitoring schedules.
- Champion AI literacy and change management initiatives across clinical and administrative teams to accelerate adoption and informed use of data-driven tools.
Leadership & Team Management
- Build, develop, and retain a high-performing team of data governance professionals, data stewards, data engineers, and analysts.
- Establish clear performance expectations, foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement within the team.
- Mentor and develop emerging talent; create career pathways and professional development opportunities aligned with evolving healthcare data and AI disciplines.
- Lead cross-functional working groups and collaborative initiatives with IS application and technology teams, research computing, and enterprise analytics.
- Represent IS Data &AI Governance in leadership briefings and external stakeholder engagements as a subject matter expert
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION(S):- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Healthcare Administration or a related field required.
- Minimum ten (10) years of progressive experience in data governance, data management, or healthcare informatics, with at least 7 (seven) years in a senior leadership role.
- Demonstrated experience developing and operationalizing enterprise data governance frameworks within a complex healthcare or health system environment.
- Proven track record leading AI/ML strategy, governance programs, or data science functions, including responsible AI practices in clinical or regulated settings.
- Experience working with Epic EHR or equivalent large-scale clinical information systems in a governance, analytics, or data integration capacity.
- Hands-on experience with enterprise data platforms, cloud data warehousing (Azure Synapse, Databricks, Snowflake, or equivalent), and modern data stack tooling.
- Track record of successfully building, leading, and developing high-performing cross-functional teams of 10+ staff.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATION(S):- Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), Data Science, Healthcare Administration or a related discipline are strongly preferred.
- Relevant certifications preferred: CDMP (Certified Data Management Professional), CIPP/US, CIPT, CHDA or equivalent AI/data governance credentials
Penn State Health offers an exceptional benefits package including medical, dental and vision with no waiting period as well as a Total Rewards Program that highlights a few of the many additional offerings below:- Be Well with Employee Wellness Programs, and Fitness Discounts (University Fitness Center, Peloton).
- Be Balanced with Generous Paid Time Off, Personal Time, and Paid Parental Leave.
- Be Secured with Retirement, Extended Illness Bank, Life Insurance, and Identity Theft Protection.
- Be Rewarded with Competitive Pay, Tuition Reimbursement, and PAWS UP employee recognition program.
- Be Supported by the HR Solution Center, Learning and Organizational Development and Virtual Benefits Orientation, Employee Exclusive Concierge Service for scheduling.
Union: Non Bargained
