Section Head – Data Governance Unit

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Section Head – Data Governance Unit to lead the establishment, implementation, and continuous enhancement of the Bank's Enterprise Data Governance function.

This leadership role will be responsible for driving data governance across the organization, ensuring high data quality standards, regulatory compliance, effective data stewardship, and strong accountability for data assets. The successful candidate will play a critical role in supporting the Bank's digital transformation, analytics, and AI initiatives while fostering a data-driven culture across business and technology functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish, implement, and mature the Bank's Enterprise Data Governance framework, operating model, policies, standards, and controls.
• Drive Data Governance adoption across Business, IT, Risk, Compliance, and other functions.
• Define and implement Data Ownership and Data Stewardship models, including roles, responsibilities, and accountability structures.
• Develop and maintain governance forums, councils, and escalation mechanisms to support enterprise-wide data management.
• Lead initiatives focused on Data Quality, Metadata Management, Data Lineage, Data Cataloging, and Critical Data Elements (CDEs).
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and support internal and external audit activities.
• Oversee the implementation and optimization of Data Governance tools and platforms.
• Drive Master Data Governance and establish a trusted source of enterprise data.
• Align Data Governance initiatives with the Bank's Digital Transformation, Data Analytics, and AI strategies.
• Lead and develop a specialist Data Governance team while promoting a data-driven culture across the Bank.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of experience in Data Management, Data Governance, or related disciplines within Banking or Financial Services.
• Proven experience establishing and operationalizing an Enterprise Data Governance function from the ground up.
• Strong hands-on experience implementing Data Governance programs, not limited to policy development.
• Demonstrated experience defining and implementing Data Ownership and Data Stewardship frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of Data Quality, Metadata Management, Data Lineage, Data Catalogs, and Critical Data Elements (CDEs).
• Experience leading cross-functional stakeholder engagement across Business, IT, Risk, Compliance, and Audit functions.
• Experience managing Data Governance teams and driving organizational change.
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements, governance controls, and data-related risk management.
• Professional certifications such as CDMP, DCAM, DAMA, or similar are highly desirable.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a leader who has successfully built, implemented, and operationalized Data Governance from the ground up, established governance structures and accountability models, and driven organization-wide adoption of data governance practices within a complex banking environment.