Duration: 6 to 8 months
Positions: 1
Location: Dubai
Working Hours/Time Zone: 8 hrs/day, UAE time (following the UAE labour law)
Bill Rate: USD $19.45/hr (all inclusive)
Key Skills: Experience on Leading Data Governance for enterprise environments, Good communication
skill
Address: 3, Al Rigga road Al Muraqqabat, Deira, Dubai Level 7
Job Description:
Senior Manager / Lead Data Governance
Data & Analytics | AI Platform on Azure
Experience: 10-15 Years Enterprise Level
About The Role
We are seeking a highly experienced and driven Data Governance Lead / Senior Manager to join our Data
& Analytics team, operating on a modern Azure-based AI Platform. This is a critical role responsible for
defining, implementing, and sustaining enterprise-wide data governance across complex, multi-domain
data environments.
The ideal candidate will bring deep hands-on expertise in data governance frameworks — particularly
DAMA-DMBOK — and will have a proven track record of building governance programs from the ground
up in large-scale enterprise settings. You will work closely with data owners, stewards, platform
architects, compliance teams, and executive stakeholders to embed a culture of data trust, quality, and
accountability.
Key Responsibilities
- Data Governance Strategy & Framework
▸Design and implement an enterprise-wide Data Governance framework aligned to DAMA-DMBOK
standards and industry best practices.
▸Establish governance operating models including Data Domains, Ownership structures, Stewardship
councils, and Policy hierarchies.
▸Define governance charters, policies, standards, and procedures across the full data lifecycle — ingestion
through consumption.
▸Drive alignment between business strategy and data governance objectives to ensure measurable
business value.
Data Governance Lead Role - Dubai
- Azure Platform Governance
▸Lead data governance implementation on Microsoft Azure using tools such as Microsoft Purview, Azure
Policy, Unity Catalog, and Synapse Analytics.
▸Establish data cataloging, lineage tracking, classification, and sensitivity labeling across Azure Data Lake,
Synapse, and Databricks environments.
▸Define and enforce role-based access control (RBAC), data masking, and entitlement policies on the AI
and Analytics platform.
▸Partner with platform and cloud engineering teams to embed governance guardrails into CI/CD pipelines
and data product delivery.
- Data Quality & Metadata Management
▸Define and monitor data quality dimensions: Accuracy, Completeness, Consistency, Timeliness,
Uniqueness, and Validity.
▸Implement data quality rules, KPIs, and scorecards — driving continuous improvement across critical
data domains.
▸Own end-to-end metadata management strategy including business glossary, data dictionaries, and
technical metadata repositories.
▸Establish data lineage documentation and impact analysis processes for regulatory and operational
compliance.
- Compliance, Risk & Data Ethics
▸Ensure data governance policies align with regulatory requirements - GDPR, DPDP Act, SOX, HIPAA, or
applicable sectoral standards.
▸Collaborate with Legal, Risk, and Compliance teams to assess data-related risks and define mitigation
controls.
▸Lead data ethics principles across the AI platform - governing responsible AI data usage, bias mitigation,
and model explainability standards.
▸Support internal and external audits; maintain governance evidence and traceability documentation.
- Stakeholder Management & Data Culture
▸Establish and chair the Data Governance Council comprising business data owners, data stewards, IT,
and executive sponsors.
▸Champion a data-driven culture through training, awareness programs, and governance communication
strategies.
▸Define and manage the RACI model for data accountability across business units and data domains.
▸Act as the primary point of escalation for data governance issues, disputes, and policy exceptions.
- Governance Measurement & Reporting
▸Define governance maturity metrics and track progress using established models (e.g., CMMI, Gartner
Data Governance Maturity Model).
▸Publish governance dashboards and scorecards for executive leadership, including data quality trends
and compliance posture.
▸Conduct regular data governance health assessments and recommend corrective actions.
Data Governance Lead Role - Dubai
Required Skills & Qualifications
Mandatory Experience
▸5 to 10 years of hands-on experience in Data Governance, with at least 3 years in a leadership or
program ownership role.
▸Demonstrated experience setting up data governance programs from scratch in an enterprise
environment.
▸Deep knowledge of the DAMA-DMBOK framework and its practical application across data governance
domains.
▸Proven experience with Microsoft Purview or equivalent enterprise data catalog / governance tools.
▸Strong understanding of data architecture concepts: Data Lakes, Data Warehouses, Data Mesh,
Lakehouse.
Technical Competencies
▸Azure ecosystem: Microsoft Purview, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Lake Gen2, Azure Active
Directory, Azure Policy.
▸Data catalog and lineage tools: Apache Atlas, Collibra, Alation, or Informatica CDGC.
▸Data quality tools: Great Expectations, Informatica DQ, Azure Data Quality, or equivalent.
▸Proficiency in SQL for data profiling, lineage queries, and quality rule definition.
▸Familiarity with Databricks Unity Catalog for lakehouse governance.
▸Understanding of API-driven data governance integrations and metadata automation.
Governance & Regulatory Knowledge
▸In-depth knowledge of DAMA-DMBOK v2 knowledge areas: Data Quality, Metadata, Master Data, Data
Security, Data Architecture.
▸Awareness of DCAM, TOGAF, or COBIT frameworks as they relate to data governance.
▸Working knowledge of GDPR, India DPDP Act 2023, SOX, or sector-specific data regulations.
▸Experience governing AI/ML data pipelines and ensuring responsible data practices.
Leadership & Soft Skills
▸Exceptional stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
▸Ability to influence without authority - driving adoption across diverse business units.
▸Strong analytical thinking and the ability to translate complex governance concepts into actionable
outcomes.
▸Experience facilitating governance councils, working groups, and cross-functional data forums.
Data Governance Lead Role - Dubai
Preferred Qualifications
▸Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) — Associate or Practitioner level.
▸Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate or Azure Solutions Architect.
▸Experience with data mesh architecture and federated data governance models.
▸Prior exposure to AI platform governance — governing feature stores, model registries, or ML pipelines.
▸Experience in Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, or Telecom verticals with domain-specific data
regulatory requirements.
▸Familiarity with data contract frameworks and data product governance in modern data platforms
