Data Governance and information architecture manager

Summary

The Data Governance and Information Architecture Manager will oversee the governance, structuring, and optimization of the organization’s data assets to align with strategic objectives and business outcomes. This role entails both developing and overseeing the implementation of robust data governance frameworks while designing and maintaining enterprise information architectures. Serving as a key bridge between governance, architecture, and project teams, the Manager ensures responsible data stewardship, security, and effective utilization across the organization..

Given its transversal scope and responsibility, this role will also act as the right arm of the Head of Data, supporting strategic initiatives and ensuring alignment across data functions.

The role also supports interactions with factories, brands and external or group-level partners where data exchanges, GDPR, data protection, data ownership or data usage conditions need to be clarified. In this capacity, the Data Governance and Information Architecture Manager helps ensure that data-sharing initiatives are properly framed, documented and aligned with governance, privacy, security and information architecture principles.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define and communicate the vision, strategy, and roadmap for data governance and enterprise information architecture.
• Establish objectives, priorities, and KPIs for both governance and architecture initiatives.
• Align governance and architecture practices with the organization’s strategic goals and regulatory requirements.
• Support Strategic initiatives

Team Management :

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team dedicated to data governance and information architecture.
• Define roles, responsibilities, and career development paths for team members, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous learning.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to data stewards and data owners to ensure alignment with best practices and organizational objectives.
• Foster collaboration across data, IT, and business teams to embed governance and architecture principles into day-to-day operations.
• Promote an agile and adaptive approach to data management, enabling the team to respond effectively to evolving business needs and regulatory changes.

Data Governance Implementation

• Develop, document, and enforce policies, standards, and procedures for data governance.
• Define roles, responsibilities, and structures for data stewardship and accountability.
• Ensure compliance with data protection regulations and industry standards, such as GDPR.

Enterprise Information Architecture Development

• Design and maintain business information models, including conceptual and logical data models.
• Define mappings for critical business entities (e.g., Product, Customer, Partner) and contexts (e.g., Order Management, Pricing).
• Develop and manage a Unified (Conceptual) Information Model to guide data initiatives.
• Collaborate with other architecture domains to define information flows and integration between applications.
• Support project teams by defining data and information management requirements.
• Ensure alignment between data governance and broader enterprise architecture efforts.

Data Quality Management

• Set data quality standards, metrics, and monitoring mechanisms.
• Collaborate with data owners and stewards to address data quality issues and root causes.
• Drive initiatives to continuously improve data quality and reliability.

Metadata Management and Documentation

• Implement processes to capture and maintain data lineage, definitions, and dependencies.
• Promote the use of data dictionaries, glossaries, and cataloguing tools.
• Advocate for metadata standards and best practices organization-wide.

Risk and Value Assessment

• Assess the benefits and risks of information use in business contexts, such as new product launches or partnerships.
• Formulate recommendations on data access, security, retention, and ownership.
• Promote value creation by leveraging data resources and the external data ecosystem.

Interaction with Factories, Brands and Data Exchange Partners

Act as a key Data Office contact for factories, brands and other partners in discussions related to data exchanges, GDPR, data protection, data ownership and data usage conditions.

Support the clarification of business purpose, data scope, roles and responsibilities, access principles, retention expectations and information flows.

Collaborate with the Data Privacy Office, Legal, CISO, IT, Enterprise Architecture and business stakeholders to ensure that data exchanges are properly framed, documented and aligned with governance, privacy, security and enterprise information architecture principles.

Stakeholders Management

Collaborate with the Data Privacy Office and the CISO to ensure governance policies align with data protection regulations and security standards.

Work closely with Legal, IT, Enterprise Architecture, operational managers, factories, brands and business stakeholders to support data exchange discussions and ensure that governance principles are embedded in operational practices.

Ensure that the team works closely with the operational manager to implement governance frameworks.

Facilitate cross-functional discussions to drive data accountability and ensure governance initiatives are embedded in business operations.

Support discussions with factories and brands where data exchanges, GDPR, data protection, data ownership, data access or data usage conditions need to be clarified.

Advocate for a data-driven culture within the company.

Requirements

Skills and Competencies

• Strong conceptual thinking, pattern recognition, and problem-solving abilities.
• Proven ability to articulate the value of data governance and information architecture to diverse audiences.
• Rapid assessment of emerging technologies and their applicability to business needs.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Knowledge and Expertise

• Deep knowledge of data governance principles, frameworks, and best practices.
• Expertise in information modeling, data classification, and enterprise-level information architecture.
• Familiarity with metamodels, taxonomies, ontologies, and structured techniques for data management.
• Experience with Master Data Management (MDM) and Business Intelligence.
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements and data privacy/security standards.
• Proficiency in distributed data management and analytics in cloud and hybrid environments.
• Excellent knowledge of current regulations

Experience

• Minimum 8 years of experience in data governance, information architecture, or related fields.
• Experience in large-scale organizations, preferably including the automotive sector.
• Experience in Team management

Education and Certification

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Information Management, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Relevant certifications in data governance (e.g., DM-BOK, CDMP) and architecture (e.g., TOGAF).

Languages

• Fluent in English and one of Belgium’s national languages (Dutch or French).