Data Governance Program Manager

About the Role

We are seeking a Data Governance Program Manager to build and operationalize a data governance function within our firm. This individual will define the frameworks, standards, policies, and processes that ensure data transparency, quality, compliance, and usability across the organization. This role sits at the intersection of data strategy, operations, risk, and technology, and will drive cross-functional alignment and adoption.

This is a unique opportunity to build a greenfield data governance program within a Private Equity environment, supporting investment operations, portfolio management, regulatory requirements, and reporting excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and implement a firmwide data governance strategy including policies, procedures, standards, workflows, and data lifecycle management.
• Partner with Investment, Finance, Operations, Legal, and Technology teams to identify critical data assets and owners, define roles, and drive governance accountability.
• Develop and maintain data dictionaries, data catalogs, and metadata standards to improve discoverability and consistent usage.
• Implement data classification, lineage, and quality control frameworks for enterprise and portfolio data.
• Work with technology teams to assess data platforms, tooling, and architectural needs required to support governance programs.
• Lead data quality remediation efforts and ensure alignment with regulatory, audit, and reporting requirements.
• Drive change management, communications, and training to promote governance adoption across the firm.
• Establish program measurement including KPIs, dashboards, and reporting to senior leadership.
• Support integration of data from portfolio companies, third-party vendors, and market data sources into firm systems.
• Stay ahead of evolving regulatory requirements (SEC, GDPR/state-level privacy, etc.) and ensure data policies remain compliant.

Qualifications

• 5 10+ years of experience in data governance, data management, or data program leadership.
• Demonstrated success building governance or data management capabilities from the ground up.
• Experience within Private Equity, Asset Management, Financial Services, or related data-intensive industries strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of data lineage, metadata, master data, data cataloging, and data quality frameworks.
• Familiarity with enterprise data platforms and tools (e.g., Collibra, Alation, Informatica, Atlan, Snowflake, cloud platforms).
• Proven ability to navigate and partner across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and change management skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and comfort operating in environments with limited structure.