Data Governance Manager

Compensation Range:

Position Summary

As part of the NU Data Governance team, the Data Governance Manager plays a pivotal role in strengthening data trust, transparency, and operational excellence. This role is responsible for coordinating business glossary term development, enhancing metadata in the data catalog, and managing the release of Power BI reports using deployment pipelines. The Lead works closely with subject matter experts, data stewards, and report developers to ensure our data assets are well-defined, well-documented, and responsibly deployed. This role also supports the successful rollout of governance initiatives by developing training materials, internal documentation, and enablement resources. The Data Governance Manager will ensure adherence to governance framework for data practices, policies, and standards both at a technical and functional level. The ideal candidate will be a meticulous and organized individual, possess strong administrative skills, excellent communication abilities, and a passion for data management principles.

Essential Functions:  

Business Glossary & Metadata Management

• Facilitate the development of glossary terms by partnering with subject matter experts and data stewards.
• Curate and maintain the NU Business Glossary, ensuring terminology is accurate, consistent, and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Attend various meetings with key stakeholder groups to understand their areas and responsibilities, identifying new terms for inclusion in the business glossary approval workflow.
• Participate in collaboration, attend various meetings; listen and support when new terms need to be defined.
• Guide proposed terminology through the governance process, including cross-functional Data Steward Group review and final presentation to the Data Council.
• Enrich and maintain metadata in the enterprise data catalog, ensuring consistency, clarity, and alignment with governance standards.
• Support the setup and ongoing configuration of the data governance platform infrastructure, including taxonomy design, metadata integration, and access controls.
• Promote metadata best practices and foster good documentation habits across reporting teams.

Power BI Release Management

• Oversee the deployment of Power BI reports using Service pipelines across Development, UAT, and Production environments.
• Coordinate governance reviews during the release process to confirm adherence to naming conventions, data quality expectations, and audience readiness.
• Troubleshoot deployment or data access issues in collaboration with developers and platform administrators.
• Maintain documentation of releases and provide reporting on pipeline activity and metrics.
• Maintain and communicate a release calendar, ensuring transparency and coordination across teams.
• Host regular office hours to support report developers and business users with Power BI deployment best practices and troubleshooting.
• Provide weekly reporting on release status, including metrics on deployments, blockers, and upcoming changes.
• Play a key role in weekly prioritization planning by coordinating with stakeholders, surfacing dependencies, and ensuring alignment with business and governance priorities.
• Troubleshoot common Power BI deployment issues, including: Dataset refresh failures, Broken report visuals, Workspace access conflicts, Pipeline configuration errors
• Ensure Row-Level Security (RLS) and Object-Level Security (OLS) are properly implemented and tested for reports containing sensitive or restricted data, in alignment with data governance and compliance standards.

Collaboration, Enablement & Training

• Partner closely with the Director of Data & Insights, Governance to operationalize governance strategies and support ongoing program development.
• Create and maintain training collateral and internal documentation to support the adoption of governance practices, including how-to guides, onboarding materials, and reference documentation.
• Contribute to governance education efforts by supporting office hours, workshops, or demos.
• Participate in governance forums, including the Data Steward Group and Data Council, as needed.

Data Policy and Definition Evangelist

• Work closely with highly engaged stakeholders seeking to improve data management practices.
• Advocate for the adoption of consistent data policies and definitions as part of the merger of two universities.
• Serve as a champion for data governance principles, fostering alignment and understanding among stakeholders.

Supervisory Responsibilities: N/A  

Requirements: 

Education & Experience:  

• BA/BS degree required, master’s degree preferred - in Data Governance, Data Analytics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or BA/BS Degree and 6+ years’ experience combination of education and experience.  
• Minimum of Six (6) years of experience in a role focused on Power BI administration and development, with demonstrated expertise in Power BI Service, deployment pipelines, workspace management, and security (RLS/OLS).
• Experience using core higher education technology, including SIS, LMS, and CRM preferred.
• Familiarity with data catalog and business glossary platforms (e.g., data.world, Collibra, Alation) preferred
• Working knowledge of data governance principles, especially around metadata, glossary standards, and release processes.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills, with experience developing user-facing training or onboarding materials.
• Higher education or mission-driven organization experience is a plus.

Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills:  

• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize tasks effectively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with acute attention to detail.
• Experience with Power BI Service, including deployment pipelines and workspace structure required.
• MS Suite (advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, and graphs required).
• Proficient in SQL Query writing
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and engage effectively with stakeholders across the university.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with a proven ability to build relationships and consensus with individuals at all levels of an organization.
• Experience using a source control system like Git for managing BI artifacts is a plus.
• Experience with scripting languages (e.g., PowerShell, Python) for process automation.
• Knowledge of modern cloud data platforms such as Microsoft Fabric or Azure Synapse Analytics is beneficial.
• Experience working within a project management framework such as Agile, Scrum, or Kanban.
• Able to navigate ambiguity and work under tight timelines and changing priorities.
• Self-starter with a passion for problem solving.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment leveraging agile methodologies.

Location: Remote, USA  

Travel: N/A 

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Candidate receiving offers will be offered a salary/pay rate commensurate with experience that vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and competencies.  Absent exceptional circumstances, candidates will be offered a salary within this range for this position. The minimum salary will be offered based on the minimum exemption threshold based on state of residency. Base pay is one component of National University’s total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the “whole you” with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family.  For full details about our benefit plan offerings, please visit benefits.nu.edu. For Part-time benefits, please click here.

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 4,500 faculty and staff and serves over 45,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University.