Lead Data Governance

Lead, Data Governance

Location: Doha, Qatar
Contract: Contract
Sector: Oil & Gas / Energy
Department: Data Management

The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Lead, Data Governance to take ownership of enterprise-wide data governance within a major energy organisation undergoing an ambitious digital transformation.
This is a senior leadership role responsible for driving the quality, consistency, accessibility and effective use of data across a complex organisation, spanning approximately 120 data domains and 870 data families.
You will lead the development and implementation of the organisation's data governance strategy, framework and roadmap, while embedding robust governance practices across AI, advanced analytics, digital use cases and data platform operations.
Working closely with senior leadership, business stakeholders, data owners, data stewards, digital teams and technology partners, you will play a key role in ensuring that trusted, well-governed data supports effective decision-making and delivers measurable business value.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation and ongoing evolution of the enterprise data governance framework, strategy and roadmap.
• Establish and mature data governance practices across AI, advanced analytics, digital products, use cases and data platform operations.
• Develop and maintain data governance policies, standards, procedures and guidelines, ensuring effective adoption across the organisation.
• Establish enterprise-wide approaches to data ownership, stewardship, metadata, business glossaries, data lineage and data quality.
• Drive improvements in organisational data literacy, developing programmes that increase awareness of the value, management and responsible use of data.
• Assess data governance maturity and establish annual improvement plans and measurable objectives.
• Provide expert advice to senior leadership on enterprise data governance opportunities, challenges, risks and solutions.
• Represent data management and data stewardship communities at senior leadership forums, steering committees and data governance councils.
• Work with digital and technology teams to ensure data governance requirements are embedded within new initiatives and technology solutions.
• Ensure data quality rules, metadata, lineage and business definitions are established and approved for digital use cases.
• Support the development and advancement of AI governance, including governance controls, operating boundaries, data quality assurance and responsible scaling of AI initiatives.
• Ensure data owners and stewards are effectively onboarded to data governance tools and processes.
• Lead the identification and configuration of data hierarchies, roles, catalogues, business glossaries and data quality capabilities within enterprise data governance platforms.
• Prioritise data quality controls and remediation activities, identifying risks and driving improvements across business functions.
• Ensure appropriate data certification and validation standards are applied to data migrations, integrations, application changes and digital initiatives.
• Identify business data challenges and develop practical solutions in collaboration with business and IT stakeholders.
• Monitor compliance with data governance policies, standards and best practices.
• Work closely with data operations to ensure governance requirements are incorporated into day-to-day data management activities.
• Develop and mentor team members and broader organisational stakeholders in data governance and management practices.
• Manage operational expenditure and data-related investments, with responsibility for an annual budget of approximately USD $2 million.

About You
We are looking for a strategic yet hands-on data governance professional with significant experience operating within complex Oil & Gas, Energy or similarly data-intensive environments.

• Bachelor's degree in Information Management, Engineering, Business or a related discipline.
• Strong experience in Data Management, ideally within Oil & Gas upstream/downstream operations and/or major capital projects.
• Prior experience in a management or senior leadership role, delivering enterprise data or information management initiatives.
• Strong practical experience developing and implementing data governance strategies, frameworks, roadmaps and operating models.
• Proven experience establishing data governance decision-making structures and onboarding Data Owners and Data Stewards.
• A strong track record implementing scalable data governance technology solutions covering areas such as business glossaries, data lineage, metadata and data quality.
• Good understanding of data management technologies and their application across BI and visualisation, data science, data warehouses/lakes, Master Data Management, data modelling and enterprise document management.
• Experience in change management, programme management and stakeholder management.
• Experience with data integration methodologies and enterprise data environments.
• Strong understanding of upstream and downstream data and information management requirements.
• Good knowledge of database technologies, enterprise document management systems and BI platforms.
• Good understanding of application architecture and information security principles.
• Excellent communication, influencing and presentation skills, with the ability to engage effectively from technical teams through to executive leadership.

People are our business worldwide
 
Orion Group was founded in 1987 and is now one of the largest, independent, international recruitment companies. We have a network of 200 employees working from 24 offices, delivering a range of services – Talent Acquisition, Recruitment Outsourcing Services, Retained Search, Global Workforce Solutions, Completions & Commissioning and Materials Management – across 68 countries. As a global leader in workforce solutions, we recruit personnel across the Engineering & Technical, Office & Commercial, Scientific and Skilled Trades disciplines, for sectors including Oil & Gas, Life Science, Power & Utilities, Constructions & Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Renewables.