Data Governance Program Manager

Job Description:

Parsons is looking for a talented Data Governance Program Manager to join our team! In this role you will get to establish and mature our data governance capabilities, ensuring trusted, compliant, and well-managed data that enables secure, high‑value analytics and decision‑making across the organization. The Data Governance Program Manager is responsible for building and maintaining the enterprise data governance framework. This role ensures data governance is embedded throughout the organization, improving data quality, clarity of ownership, and compliance across master data domains and enterprise data architecture.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Data Governance Program Leadership: Own and lead Parsons’ data governance framework, policies, standards, and operating model. Work closely with cross-functional teams to define and implement data ownership, quality standards, and policies. Lead report governance, including standards for report definitions, certification, cataloging, lifecycle management, and deprecation.
  • Coordinate and run the Data Governance Council and related working groups, including agenda setting, decision documentation, and follow‑through on actions.
  • Partner with data domain owners to define and maintain data domain scope, critical data elements, ownership, and accountability models.
  • Engage, coach, and support data stewards across the organization to adopt governance standards, resolve data issues, and drive data quality improvements.
  • Communicate governance decisions, standards, and value clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, including senior leadership.
• Data Governance Strategy and Roadmap: Drive the evolution of Parsons data governance strategy and operating model, consulting with senior members of the business to manage ongoing processes and drive continuous issue remediation. Work in concert with the data platform team to build, implement and manage report governance and prioritization.
  • Own the multi‑year enterprise data governance roadmap, aligned with corporate strategy, major transformation programs, and technology roadmaps.
  • Define and maintain the enterprise data glossary, business taxonomy, and critical data elements for prioritized domains.
  • Ensure data and report governance practices support and align with federal, state, local, and foreign data regulations and contractual requirements.
  • Develop and maintain “data governance packages” (playbooks, templates, standards, and implementation guides) for projects, programs, and data domains.
  • Lead impact assessments and provide governance guidance for new initiatives, systems, integrations, and data-sharing arrangements.
• Technical Integration & Architecture: Collaborate with data engineering and architecture teams to ensure seamless integration of data governance tools within the broader data ecosystem.
  • Partner with Cybersecurity, Compliance, Legal, and IT to support and track compliance with CMMC and other relevant frameworks through effective data governance controls.
  • Design and oversee the technical implementation of data governance guardrails, including data classification, access controls, data usage policies, and metadata/lineage solutions.
  • Collaborate with data engineering, analytics, and application teams to embed governance and quality-by-design into pipelines, reports, and products.
• Data Quality and Issue Remediation: Lead data quality initiatives and oversee implementation of data quality metrics and dashboards to proactive track and manage progress.
  • Work with data stewards and owners to assign roles and responsibilities. Establish and maintain data dictionaries and repositories to support governance around key applications.
  • Establish and track key performance indicators and metrics to measure data governance effectiveness including data quality, issue resolution, and compliance measures.
  • Continuously refine and improve Parsons’ data governance practices, tools, and processes based on feedback, metrics, and emerging best practices.

What Required Skills You'll Bring:

• 7+ years of experience in data governance, data management, data policy, or closely related fields.
• Hands-on experience implementing data governance frameworks, including policies, standards, data ownership models, and stewardship processes.
• Working knowledge of regulatory and contractual compliance requirements impacting data, such as federal, state, local, and foreign data privacy/security obligations.
• Familiarity with report governance concepts, including certified reporting, business glossaries, and report lifecycle management.
• Experience working with data catalog, metadata management, or data lineage tools and integrating governance practices into technical platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross‑functional councils or working groups and drive decisions in a matrixed environment.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with executives, data owners, data stewards, and technical teams.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and documentation skills, with attention to detail and follow‑through.
• US person.

What Desired Skills You'll Bring:

• Experience designing and implementing technical data governance guardrails (e.g., role‑based access control, data classification and tagging, DLP, PII handling).
• Familiarity with modern data platforms and tools (e.g., Snowflake, Azure, Databricks, Microsoft Fabric, or similar) and how governance integrates with them.
• Knowledge of data management best practices and frameworks (e.g., DAMA DMBOK).
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Management, or a related field.

Security Clearance Requirement:

Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer tohttps://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.