Data Governance Consultant

Location: Abudhabi, UAE
Experience: 5–7 Years
Employment Type: Contract - 6 Months (Extendable)

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Data Governance Consultant to lead and drive Data Governance initiatives across the organization. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in establishing and operationalizing Data Governance frameworks, facilitating business workshops, developing business glossaries, and promoting data governance adoption across business and technology teams.

The role requires strong stakeholder management skills, deep understanding of data governance principles, and the ability to bridge the gap between business and technical teams to ensure high-quality, trusted, and governed data assets.

Key Responsibilities

Data Governance Program Leadership

• Lead the activation and execution of the organization's Data Governance program.
• Drive governance initiatives to improve data quality, consistency, ownership, and accountability.
• Collaborate with business and technology stakeholders to establish governance operating models and processes.
• Support the implementation of enterprise-wide data governance practices and standards.

Business Glossary & Metadata Management

• Conduct workshops with business stakeholders to identify, define, and document critical business terms and data elements.
• Develop, maintain, and govern the enterprise Business Glossary.
• Facilitate alignment and agreement on data definitions across departments.
• Work closely with data stewards, business owners, and SMEs to ensure glossary accuracy and adoption.

Business & Technical Metadata Alignment

• Collaborate with data architects, data engineers, and technical teams to map business glossary terms to technical metadata.
• Ensure traceability between business definitions, data assets, and technical implementations.
• Support metadata management and data lineage initiatives.
• Promote consistency between business terminology and enterprise data assets.

Governance Framework & Policy Development

• Create, review, and enhance Data Governance Frameworks, standards, and operating procedures.
• Develop and maintain Data Governance Policies and supporting documentation.
• Define roles, responsibilities, ownership structures, and governance workflows.
• Ensure governance practices align with organizational objectives and regulatory requirements.

Training & Change Management

• Design and deliver Data Governance awareness sessions and training programs for business users and stakeholders.
• Drive adoption of governance processes and tools across the organization.
• Support change management activities to foster a data-driven culture.
• Develop governance communication materials, user guides, and best practice documentation.

Required Skills & Experience

• 5–7 years of experience in Data Governance, Data Management, Data Quality, or related disciplines.
• Proven experience leading Data Governance programs and initiatives.
• Strong experience facilitating business workshops and stakeholder engagement sessions.
• Hands-on experience developing and managing Business Glossaries and metadata repositories.
• Experience aligning business metadata with technical metadata and data assets.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Data Governance Frameworks
  • Data Governance Policies
  • Data Stewardship
  • Data Ownership Models
  • Metadata Management
  • Data Lineage
  • Data Quality Management
• Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience working with cross-functional business and technology teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Data Governance tools such as:
  • Collibra
  • Microsoft Purview
  • Informatica Data Governance
  • Alation
  • IBM Knowledge Catalog
• Familiarity with industry frameworks and standards:
  • DAMA-DMBOK
  • DCAM
  • COBIT
  • ISO 8000
• Experience within Banking, Financial Services, Government, Telecom, or large enterprise environments.
• Relevant certifications in Data Governance, Data Management, or Data Quality are highly desirable.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Management, Business Information Systems, or a related field.
• Relevant Data Governance certifications will be considered an advantage.