Director - Data Management

How will this role impact First Command?

The Leader of Data Management will guide First Command’s enterprise-wide efforts to ensure all data is governed, documented, and effectively managed. This role is critical to realizing the vision of high-quality, trusted data assets that support decision-making, compliance, and innovation. The leader will oversee a team of Data Architects and Data Stewards, driving excellence in data modeling, governance, stewardship, and quality.

This role requires a strategic mindset, strong leadership capabilities, and exceptional communication skills to advocate for data management excellence across business and technology teams.

What will the employee do in this role?

Team Leadership & Strategy

• Lead, inspire, and mentor Data Architects and Data Stewards, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Define team goals and KPIs aligned with enterprise data strategy, supporting career development and mentorship for team members.
• Demonstrate a commitment to developing data literacy across the organization, ensuring data is collected and managed to support analytics and AI strategies.

Vision & Strategic Influence

• Articulate and champion a compelling vision for how data management, including architecture, stewardship, and governance, enables the broader enterprise strategy.
• Evangelize the role of data management in driving operational efficiency and establish a robust foundation for AI adoption.
• Partner with other departments to align data management initiatives with cross-functional business objectives, fostering collaboration across the Enterprise Data & AI team.

Communication & Advocacy

• Exhibit exceptional communication skills, tailoring messaging to diverse audiences from senior executives to technical developers and architects.
• Translate complex data concepts into clear, actionable insights for business stakeholders, ensuring both strategic alignment and operational clarity.
• Present governance strategies and outcomes to executive leadership, facilitating workshops and training to promote data literacy and stewardship.

Data Architecture Oversight

• Ensure enterprise data models are created and maintained across all domains, enforcing best practices in data architecture, including metadata standards, naming conventions, and integration patterns.
• Collaborate with enterprise architects and product teams to embed data architecture into solution design.

Data Stewardship & Governance

• Oversee domain ownership and stewardship assignments, driving creation and maintenance of data catalogs and lineage documentation.
• Champion data quality initiatives, including profiling, monitoring, and remediation, partnering with business stakeholders to define and enforce data quality rules.

Technology Project Support & Data Management Advocacy

• Collaborate with technology project teams to ensure data management principles are embedded throughout the project lifecycle.
• Provide expert guidance and oversight for data modeling, data cataloging, data integration, and related activities within technology initiatives.
• Assess project requirements and allocate appropriate data management resources to support successful delivery.
• Establish and enforce standards for data management best practices across all technology projects, ensuring consistency and quality.
• Act as a key partner to IT, analytics, and business teams, proactively identifying opportunities to improve data architecture and integration in support of enterprise objectives.
• Monitor project progress to ensure compliance with data governance policies and recommend corrective actions when necessary.

Strategic Planning & Operational Excellence

• Lead the development of long-term data management strategies aligned with enterprise goals, continuously assessing and improving data workflows.
• Identify opportunities for automation and efficiency gains, monitor and report on data management KPIs, and support audits and compliance efforts related to data governance and privacy.
• Ensure alignment with regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOX).

What skills/qualifications do you need?

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Data Management, or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in data management, architecture, or governance.
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing technical and business-facing data teams.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, metadata management, and data lineage.
• Experience with governance platforms (e.g., Collibra, Informatica, Azure Purview).
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Preferred

• Master’s degree or certifications (e.g., CDMP, DGSP, PMP, ITIL, Lean/Six Sigma).
• Experience in financial services or regulated industries.
• Familiarity with cloud-native platforms (Azure, Snowflake, Databricks).
• Exposure to enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, Zachman).

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