Associate Director

Job description

Data Governance Consultant Location: [Noida/ Pan India] | Practice: Data Governance CoE | Experience: [12+ years] About the Role We are looking for a Data Governance Consultant to drive core data governance engagements for our clients. This role combines hands-on governance program design with client-facing consulting and pre-sales responsibilities, working closely with business and IT stakeholders to stand up sustainable governance operating models. Key Responsibilities Data Governance Program Delivery • Define and own the data governance charter, including scope, guiding principles, roles responsibilities, and success metrics • Partner with business and IT teams to design and implement escalation matrices for data issues, policy exceptions, and change requests • Establish and facilitate the Data Governance Council, including cadence, decision rights, and reporting structures • Formulate, document, and maintain SOPs covering data quality, stewardship, issue resolution, and data ownership processes • Define data ownership and stewardship models (data owners, stewards, custodians) across business domains • Design and roll out data policies, standards, and metrics/KPIs to track governance maturity and adoption Tools Technical Fluency • Demonstrate working proficiency in leading data governance/catalog platforms such as Collibra, Atlan, and Alation • Support tool evaluation, configuration recommendations, and policy/workflow design within these platforms • Collaborate with data engineering and analytics teams to align governance policies with underlying data platforms Client Engagement Business Development • Lead or support client discovery sessions, workshops, and governance maturity assessments • Own or contribute to RFP/RFI responses, including solutioning, effort estimation, and proposal narrative • Build client-facing deliverables (decks, SOPs, charters, maturity frameworks) and present to senior stakeholders • Act as a trusted advisor to client governance leads, balancing pragmatic delivery with long-term governance maturity Stakeholder Project Management • Drive cross-functional alignment between business, IT, compliance, and data teams • Manage timelines, risks, and dependencies for governance workstreams within larger data management programs • Mentor junior consultants and contribute to CoE assets and reusable governance frameworks Required Qualifications • 12+ years of experience in data governance or related consulting roles • Proven experience defining data governance charters, councils, and operating models in a real client/enterprise setting • Hands-on exposure to at least one major data governance/catalog tool (Collibra, Atlan, or Alation); familiarity with multiple is a plus • Experience responding to RFPs/RFIs and supporting pre-sales or proposal development • Strong understanding of data governance frameworks (e.g., DAMA-DMBOK) and concepts such as data lineage, data quality, and stewardship • Excellent stakeholder management and facilitation skills, with experience engaging both business and IT audiences • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience building executive-ready presentations Preferred Qualifications • Experience in life sciences/pharma or other regulated data environments • Prior consulting/CoE experience with both offshore and onshore delivery models • Relevant certifications (DAMA CDMP, Collibra/Alation/Atlan certifications)