Data Governance Lead – Public Health Data Modernization

Role: Data Governance Lead – Public Health Data Modernization

Location: Boston, MA (Open to Relocation) [HYBRID]

Type: Long-Term Contract

About VLink: Started in 2006 and headquartered in Connecticut, VLink is one of the fastest growing digital technology services and consulting companies. Since its inception, our innovative team members have been solving the most complex business, and IT challenges of our global clients.

Role Overview

The Data Governance Lead provides strategic and operational leadership for data governance across enterprise public health data modernization initiatives. This role is responsible for defining and enforcing governance frameworks, standards, and stewardship models that ensure data across the organization is accurate, secure, interoperable, and trusted for policy, surveillance, analytics, and program decision‑making.

Unlike a traditional project manager role, this position does not focus on delivery timelines or resource management. Instead, it owns how data is defined, managed, protected, and used across cloud data platforms, analytic tools, and downstream reporting. The role works cross‑functionally with program leadership, epidemiology, analytics, IT, legal/privacy, and external partners.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, health informatics, information systems, data management, public administration, or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of experience in data governance, data management, public-sector data, or regulated enterprise data roles
• Demonstrated experience establishing or leading data governance programs in government or highly regulated environments
• Strong understanding of data lifecycle management, metadata, and data quality practices
• Ability to work effectively across organizational, technical, and programmatic boundaries
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including policy and standards documentation
• Proven change management and stakeholder influence skills

Preferred / Bonus Qualifications

• Master’s degree (MPH, Health Informatics, or related field)
• Experience supporting state or federal public health data modernization initiatives
• Familiarity with CDC Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) principles and funding requirements
• Hands‑on experience with metadata management tools, data catalogs, or governance platforms
• Exposure to Medicaid, surveillance, registries, laboratory, or vital records data
• Experience supporting grant‑funded programs, audits, or performance reporting

Key Responsibilities

Data Governance Leadership

• Establish and maintain enterprise data governance frameworks, policies, and operating procedures covering:
• Data quality
• Metadata and documentation standards
• Access and entitlement management
• Privacy, retention, and lifecycle management
• Define foundational requirements for all datasets in the Enterprise Data Platform (EDP), including:
• Required metadata attributes
• Codebooks and business definitions
• Data lineage and source documentation
• Refresh cadence and data quality expectations
• Specify standards for how data work is performed within the EDP, including:
• Naming conventions
• Version control practices
• Reusable transformations and reference data
• Serve as a technical and governance advisor in data governance forums, providing guidance on platform capabilities, constraints, and best practices
• Ensuring governance is embedded into cloud data platforms, pipelines, and analytics tools, not treated as a post‑delivery activity
• Enable data standardization through shared reference data, mappings, and reusable assets
• Partner with data quality and informatics teams to define quality metrics, monitoring processes, and remediation workflows
• Support health equity initiatives by promoting complete, standardized, and accurate demographic data

Privacy, Security & Compliance

• Collaborate with legal, privacy, and security teams to ensure governance policies align with:
• HIPAA
• State privacy regulations
• Data use and sharing agreements
• Support appropriate data access, transparency, and sharing while protecting sensitive public health information
• Ensure governance practices support audit readiness and regulatory reporting

Stakeholder Engagement & Change Management

• Act as a liaison between public health programs, IT, epidemiology, analytics teams, vendors, and external partners
• Translate governance principles into practical, actionable guidance for both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Drive organizational adoption of governance standards through documentation, training, and communication
• Track governance decisions, follow‑ups, and implementation progress across teams
• Represent the organization in cross‑agency, federal, or interstate data governance discussions as needed

Employment Practices:
EEO, ADA, FMLA Compliant
VLink is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Applicant information will be handled in accordance with VLink''''s privacy policy.