Data Governance and Management Specialist

Role Summary

We are looking for a skilled Data Governance and Management Specialist with over 6 years of experience to design, establish, and oversee enterprise-wide data governance strategies. This position is based in Riyadh and requires a full-time, onsite commitment. The specialist will work to enhance data reliability, regulatory compliance, accessibility, and extract maximum business value by implementing robust data governance frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and enforce enterprise data governance frameworks that align with industry benchmarks and business goals.
• Formulate policies, standards, processes, and operational models related to data governance.
• Define roles concerning data ownership and stewardship across business and technical units.
• Develop and maintain data quality management systems to ensure data accuracy, completeness, and reliability.
• Oversee metadata management initiatives such as data cataloging, lineage, and glossary creation.
• Support and execute Master Data Management (MDM) practices.
• Implement data classification schemes and privacy protection frameworks.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, including data owners, security, and technology teams, to promote governance best practices.
• Track governance performance indicators, data quality metrics, and compliance adherence.
• Champion the adoption of governance protocols across data-centric projects.
• Ensure compliance with relevant data protection regulations and standards.

Technical and Functional Expertise

• Proficient in data governance frameworks such as DAMA-DMBOK or NDMO.
• Experienced in defining and implementing enterprise governance models including stewardship and ownership policies.
• Hands-on with data governance platforms like Collibra or Alation for catalog management, metadata, business glossaries, lineage tracking, and workflow governance.
• Skilled in using data quality tools such as Informatica Data Quality (DQ), including data profiling and remediation.
• Knowledgeable in Master Data Management frameworks covering master domains, golden records, and synchronization.
• Competent in data classification and privacy frameworks along with compliance knowledge.
• Strong grasp of data protection, regulatory compliance, and enterprise privacy practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Data Management, Business Analytics, or related disciplines.
• 6 to 12+ years of relevant experience in data governance, quality, or enterprise data management.
• Good understanding of enterprise data architecture principles and governance methodologies.
• Effective communicator with strong stakeholder management and teamwork capabilities.

Preferred Skills

• Exposure to large-scale data transformation projects.
• Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and modern data technology stacks.
• Understanding of data security, risk assessment, and compliance frameworks.
• Experience in setting up data governance centers of excellence.
• Professional certifications such as CDMP, DAMA, or data privacy credentials are advantageous.