Data Governance Lead

Job Summary

Westfield is executing a modern, AI-enabled data governance program that directly shapes how a leading P&C insurance carrier understands its risk, serves its customers, and competes in the market. As Data Governance Lead, you'll own the strategy and drive the execution. You'll work at the intersection of data, technology, and the business - translating governance principles into tangible outcomes that people actually care about: trusted data for underwriting, clean feeds to the general ledger, AI that works because the data underneath it is governed. This is a high visibility role with direct impact on Westfield's data platform modernization and AI enablement agenda. If you've built governance programs before and know the difference between governance that delivers value and governance that collects dust - this is the role for you.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without employer sponsorship.

Job Responsibilities

• Own the enterprise data governance program - lead strategy, execution, and continuous maturation of governance capabilities across business segments
• Define and enforce standards - develop and maintain data governance policies, standards, and procedures aligned to regulatory requirements, industry best practices, and Westfield's strategic priorities
• Govern critical data - identify, document, and manage the data elements that carry the most business, financial, and regulatory weight; establish quality rules, ownership, and monitoring around them
• Drive data quality - establish quality frameworks, conduct assessments, identify root causes, and lead improvement initiatives that make data trustworthy at the source
• Build the metadata and intelligence foundation - lead the development of a governed metadata environment - data dictionary, business glossary, lineage, and semantic layer - that enables self-service analytics and AI capabilities
• Manage data lifecycle and compliance - ensure data classification, access controls, retention, and privacy obligations are embedded in platform operations and audit-ready
• Engage and align stakeholders - communicate governance concepts credibly to technical and business audiences; earn sign-off, build trust across segments, and represent governance value at CDO and CIO level
• Establish governance operations - create the operational infrastructure - intake, tracking, reporting cadence - that gives the program a heartbeat and keeps delivery visible to leadership
• Lead through change - build organizational capability and momentum in an environment where governance is nascent; demonstrate value early and transition ownership to the business progressively
  

Job Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years of experience in data governance, data management, or enterprise data program leadership
• Demonstrated experience defining and executing governance frameworks - CDEs, data classification, data quality, data/metadata management
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional programs with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities
• Strong executive communication skills - you can communicate governance value to business leaders
• Experience driving organizational change in environments where governance is nascent or inconsistent
• Demonstrated experience with modern data platforms and governance tooling (cloud-native data platforms, metadata management, data quality tools)
• Execution-oriented - able to deliver tangible outcomes in a program-building environment
• Demonstrated people leadership - proven ability to assess team capability, close skill gaps through active coaching and development, and hold individuals accountable to a performance standard

Preferred

• P&C or broader insurance industry experience - understanding of underwriting, claims, reserving, or regulatory filing data is a significant advantage
• Experience with Snowflake, dbt, Purview, Profisee, or Erwin
• Familiarity with NAIC guidelines, state insurance data regulations, and financial/actuarial data standards
• Experience building governance programs that support AI or advanced analytics enablement
• Background in data stewardship operating model design - hub and spoke, federated, or hybrid models
  

Location

Hybrid- defined as working three or more days per week in the office if the employee's residence is within 50 miles of Westfield Center, OH or Remote-if the employee resides more than 50 miles from Westfield Center, OH.

Behavioral Competencies

• Directs work
• Collaborates
• Develops talent
• Strategic mindset
• Customer focus
• Communicates effectively
• Ensures accountability
• Drives vision and purpose
• Decision quality
• Business insight
• Nimble learning
• Builds effective teams
• Manages complexity

Technical Skills

• Process Improvement
• Disaster Recovery
• Stakeholder Management
• Technical Support
• Budgeting
• IT Strategy & Framework
• Project Management
• Operating Systems
• Workflow Management
• IT Regulatory Compliance

This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed in this role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, skills, responsibilities, knowledge, etc. These may be subject to change and additional functions may be assigned as needed by management.