Senior Data Governance Manager, Operations NA

Job description

About Vantage Data Centers Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands. Operations Department The Operational Excellence team establishes the systems, governance, and capabilities that enable Vantage to operate at scale across North America with reliability, consistency, and speed. We strengthen the scalability and performance of NA Operations: Solutions Engineering, Design Integration, Mission Critical Operations, and Customer Experience- by partnering with leaders and global functions to execute the Operations Plan of Record, standardize operating models, drive process excellence, enable data-informed decisions, and embed disciplined transformation and continuous improvement. Operational Excellence at Vantage is hands-on and outcome-driven . We combine portfolio governance, systems thinking, operational rigor, and human-centered enablement to reduce friction, increase predictability, and accelerate performance. Our team members lead high-impact initiatives, shape cross-functional execution, and directly influence how Vantage delivers on its growth, operational reliability, and customer commitments. Po sition Overview This role will be based in Denver, CO. Following our flexible work policy (3 days in-office, 2 days flexible). The Senior Manager, Operations Data Governance enables North America Operations to use data confidently and consistently to manage performance, identify risk, prioritize action, and improve operational outcomes. This individual contributor establishes and operationalizes the governance practices needed to ensure structured and unstructured Operations data is clearly defined, appropriately owned, reliable, traceable, and fit for purpose. The role works directly with Operations leaders, functions, data owners, and stewards to clarify accountability, standardize critical data and metric definitions, resolve quality issues, and embed governance into everyday business processes. It translates enterprise data standards into practical approaches that improve data trust and usability without creating unnecessary complexity for Operations. The role serves as a connective point across Operations, Operations Data & Intelligence, Global Data & AI, and technology teams, establishing feedback loops that translate operational needs, data issues, and user feedback into improvements to data definitions, controls, products, and source systems. The ideal candidate combines strong data-governance expertise with hands-on execution, business partnership, and the ability to drive cross-functional accountability and continuous improvement. Essential Job Functions Operations Data Governance Develop and maintain the Operations data-governance framework, roadmap, decision rights, and operating practices in alignment with enterprise standards. Operationalize data-owner and data-steward responsibilities across Operations functions, including clear expectations, governance forums, escalation paths, and accountability. Facilitate governance decisions and drive resolution of cross-functional data ownership, definition, quality, access, and usage issues. Data Quality, Observability, and Trust Partner with business and data teams to identify critical data elements and establish quality rules, validation criteria, thresholds, and controls. Monitor data-quality and trust indicators, identify root causes, and coordinate remediation with business owners, source-system owners, and data teams. Maintain visibility into governance risks, ownership gaps, unresolved data issues, and remediation progress. Definitions, Metadata, and Lineage Establish and maintain Operations business definitions, metric definitions, ownership records, approved sources, and domain metadata. Promote consistent use of governed definitions across data products, semantic models, dashboards, analytics, operational reporting, and AI-enabled solutions. Coordinate documentation of data lineage and partner with Global Data & AI to align Operations practices with enterprise catalog, metadata, master-data, and reference-data standards. Governance Technology and Automation Leverage approved AI-enabled, automation, and workflow tools to accelerate data discovery, metadata enrichment, definition development, issue triage, impact analysis, and steward support. Partner with data engineering and platform teams to translate governance requirements into automated quality tests, controls, alerts, workflow triggers, and deployment checkpoints. Evaluate emerging data- and AI-governance capabilities and recommend practical applications that improve governance effectiveness, adoption, and scalability. Data Product, Analytics, and AI Governance Embed governance requirements and checkpoints into the lifecycle of data products, analytics, and AI solutions, from intake and design through deployment, change, and retirement. Translate governance requirements into actionable acceptance criteria, documentation, controls, and remediation plans. Operationalize enterprise AI-governance requirements within Operations by documenting intended use, data sources, and provenance; supporting risk assessment; and establishing appropriate quality, access, human-oversight, and monitoring controls. Partner with business, data, technology, risk, and compliance teams to ensure solutions meet applicable requirements for security, privacy, transparency, and responsible use. Adoption and Continuous Improvement Develop practical playbooks, training, communications, and support resources for data owners, stewards, product teams, and data users. Establish feedback loops across Operations, Operations Data & Intelligence, Global Data & AI, and technology teams to identify recurring gaps, drive cross-functional resolution, and incorporate lessons learned into governance practices. Establish measures for ownership coverage, definition completeness, data quality, issue resolution, governance adoption, and maturity. Continuously improve governance workflows and tools to increase transparency, accountability, usability, and scalability. Analyze recurring data issues, user feedback, and governance metrics to identify root causes, emerging risks, and opportunities for automation and process improvement. Job Requirements Education: Bachelor’s degree in data management, information systems, computer science, engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Certifications: CDMP, DCAM/CDMC, or a relevant Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, data governance, or information-protection certification is preferred. Experience: Five or more years of experience in data governance, data management, analytics, data products, or a related discipline. Demonstrated experience implementing governance operating models, ownership and stewardship practices, business glossaries, data catalogs, and data-quality processes across the data and technology lifecycle. Experience using catalog, metadata, lineage, data-quality, observability, AI-enabled, and workflow-automation tools to scale governance and reduce manual effort. Hands-on experience with Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog and Data Map, or comparable platforms. Microsoft Purview experience is strongly preferred, along with working knowledge of Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and Power Platform. Experience governing data used by AI-enabled solutions, such as Microsoft Copilot or Fabric data agents, is preferred. Experience working across business, data, technology, risk, and compliance teams in a large, complex organization. Experience in operations, infrastructure, industrial, or another asset-intensive environment is preferred. Skills: Strong knowledge of data ownership, stewardship, metadata, lineage, data quality, observability, and data- and AI-governance lifecycle practices. Technical fluency in data models, semantic models, data flows, lineage, access controls, and information protection, including how these affect analytics and AI-enabled solutions. Ability to translate enterprise policies and technical requirements into practical processes and scalable, AI-assisted or automated governance workflows. Strong facilitation and influencing skills, including the ability to drive accountability without direct authority. Strong analytical judgment and ability to resolve ambiguous ownership, definition, and quality issues. Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex data concepts understandable and actionable. Highly organized, proactive, and comfortable independently advancing work within a developing capability. Travel: Travel required is expected to be up to 10%, but may increase over time as business evolves. Physical Demands and Special Requirements The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop or kneel; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Additional Details Salary Range: $170,000 -180,000 Base + Bonus (this range is based on Colorado market data and may vary in other locations) This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including your qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience and may fall outside of the range shown. #LI-AH #LI-Hybrid We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other’s strengths and respecting each other’s weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations. Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community. Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values. Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.