A Guide to Data Governance Roles

When you’re building out your Data Governance program, don’t get hung up on the names.  You need to think about the four core functions of the program. 

Support

The Data Governance program will need to be supported at the highest level of the organization.  This support comes by way of providing funding, enabling resources to participate, and resolving conflicts if they arise.  This is typically a role for senior leadership.   Luckily, in most organizations, this support function already exists.  Many times, we are asking senior leaders to expand the focus of their support. 

I am oftentimes asked where Data Governance should ‘live’.   My answer is that the program needs the support at a level with funding authority.  So the answer depends on the reach of the program.  At the enterprise level, that would mean someone in or very close to the C-suite.  At the department or line of business level, that would mean the department or division leader.

Oversight

Oversight comes in many forms with many different names.  I have seen it called the Data Governance Council, Data Governance Sub-Committee, Data Owner Team, Data Oversight Committee, Data Manager Team, and Data Governance Oversight Team.  More important than the name is the level within the organization of the individuals.  This is a decision-making body that has to the have the right level of organizational authority to be accountable to program outcomes.  Hence, the oversight.  This includes resource assignment, project authority, and some level of budget authority.  Why are there so many name options?   Because the name of the group needs to resonate with your organization.  

Operations

The two main operational groups in any program are going to be Data Stewardship and Data Management.  These are the people tasked with day-to-day operations of the program.  Data Stewardship operations tend to be in the development and monitoring of data policies, defining data and business rules, and acting as a conduit between business and IT stakeholders.  Data Management operations have a focus on implementing solutions that support compliance with the Data Governance policies.  This includes data discovery, data quality, metadata, and database development and maintenance. 

Facilitation

Lastly, the role of facilitation needs to be addressed.  The broader the scope of Data Governance, the more important this role becomes.  Facilitation ensures consistent communication and alignment within and across the different stakeholder groups.  In some organizations, this is a dedicated role.  In others, it might be an assigned project manager from a Project Management Office.  If an organization adds headcount to support Data Governance, this is typically the addition.

In Closing

I am not suggesting that you need to build out five groups or committees.  It means that the people who are slotted into roles understand what they need to do for the program and where they fit into the Data Governance ecosystem.   I have worked with organizations where the people in the support role were also providing oversight.  Another where an individual from operations provided program facilitation.  What will work best for your circumstances?  It is going to depend on the size of your organization and the expected reach of your Data Governance program.  The takeaway here is that each of the roles needs to be filled, even if by the same people.