Director of Data Governance

Job Title: Data Governance Director

Job Summary:

The Director of Data Governance is a senior leadership role that owns NVA’s enterprise data governance strategy, operating model, and framework, and is accountable for the quality, consistency, and integrity of data across the organization. Reporting to the VP, Data & Analytics, the Director sets governance direction for NVA’s nearly 1,000 veterinary hospitals and corporate functions—leading a team of Data Steward & Governance leads, a Data Literacy & Enablement lead, and a Manager of Data Support, and directing an enterprise-wide network of data stewards, data owners, and data product owners. As chair of NVA’s Data Governance Council, the Director holds decision rights over governance policy, data ownership, and enterprise data standards, and partners with senior leaders across Data & Analytics, Legal, Compliance, and the business to embed a culture of data accountability at scale. This role is central to NVA’s mission of delivering excellent, accessible veterinary care: it ensures that the data underpinning clinical, operational, and financial decisions—and the regulatory posture that protects the enterprise—meets the highest standards of trust and integrity.

Reports To: VP, Data & Analytics

About: National Veterinary Associates is one of the largest and most respected communities of veterinary hospitals in the world, operating nearly 1,000 hospitals in North America, including in all 50 states, and caring for 8,000,000+ animals annually. NVA is backed by JAB Holding, a leading private equity firm. Each person who joins NVA is motivated by our mission to provide excellent, accessible care to improve the lives of animals and the people who love them. NVA has been extremely successful over its 25+ year history and we’re very excited about our next chapter as we work toward our shared vision of revolutionizing the pet care experience to provide more fulfilling lives for pets, their companions, and our team.

What You’ll Be Doing (Key Responsibilities):

• Own and continuously mature NVA’s enterprise data governance framework—policies, standards, processes, and operating model—establishing the authoritative standards that govern how data is managed across all business domains.
• Build and lead an enterprise-wide network of data stewards and data owners across corporate functions and hospital operations, defining the roles, decision rights, and accountability structures that hold the organization responsible for data quality and governance adherence.
• Direct the integration of governance guardrails across the full data product lifecycle—from ingestion in the data lake through consumption in reporting and self-serve analytics—partnering with data product owners and the broader Data & Analytics organization.
• Establish enterprise standards for the business glossary, data dictionary, and metadata management, ensuring a single, authoritative understanding of critical data elements across the enterprise.
• Define and own the data quality metrics and KPIs that measure enterprise data health; set targets, monitor performance through Microsoft Purview and related tooling, and drive root-cause resolution with the appropriate data owners and engineering teams.
• Establish and chair NVA’s Data Governance Council, convening senior leaders and domain representatives to set governance priorities, adjudicate data ownership decisions, and drive enterprise-wide adoption of governance standards.
• Own the enterprise capabilities for data lineage, data cataloging, and master data management (MDM), ensuring traceability and integrity of critical data assets from source systems through to analytics and reporting layers.
• Ensure NVA’s data governance program meets applicable regulatory and privacy requirements, including CCPA and state privacy laws, and serve as the governance lead partnering with Legal and Compliance to manage enterprise data risk.
• Own the selection, implementation, and optimization of enterprise data governance tooling (Microsoft Purview), partnering with Data Engineering to implement DDM rules and governance controls on the engineering side.
• Lead data literacy, enablement, and change management across NVA through a dedicated Data Literacy & Enablement lead reporting to this role—accelerating data literacy, driving data product adoption, and enabling education on enterprise metrics to build a durable data culture and raise organizational awareness of governance expectations and best practices.
• Report on governance program health, data quality trends, and compliance posture to senior leadership and the Data Governance Council, and own the governance roadmap—continuously refining it against business needs and industry best practices.
• Lead the enterprise Data Support hub—a dedicated function resolving data questions and requests across NVA—with a Manager of Data Support reporting to this role. Set the strategy to automate high-volume, repeat questions through AI-driven responses, focusing the team on day-to-day data questions and ticket resolution while scaling support across the organization.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Qualifications):

• 10–15 years of progressive experience in data management, data governance, or related data disciplines, with 8+ years in a dedicated data governance leadership role within a complex, multi-site enterprise environment.
• Proven track record of building and scaling enterprise data governance programs, including standing up Data Governance Councils, stewardship programs, and governance operating models from the ground up.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise data governance and cataloging tools (e.g. Microsoft Purview, Collibra, Alation) and familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and data lake architectures (e.g., Azure Fabric, Snowflake).
• Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills, with demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, drive cross-functional alignment, and build a culture of data accountability across a large, distributed organization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to translate complex data governance concepts into practical, actionable plans for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Location: Remote-friendly. Must be able to collaborate across U.S. time zones.

Travel: Minimal. May be once a quarter for stakeholder meetings.

Compensation & Benefits: NVA offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including base salary, annual performance bonus, comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision), 401(k) with company match, generous PTO, and professional development opportunities.

Salary: $160,000 - $217,000

AIP: 20%

FSLA Status: Exempt