Principal data governance lead

Principal data governance lead - Hybrid - Permanent

Salary:
Circa £45,000 per annum (negotiable based on experience) + comprehensive benefits package

Jisc grade:
TDA3
(internal use only)

Hours:
35 hours per week

Reports into:
Head of data and intelligence

Working style:
Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford.

Flexibility to travel and to meet with key stakeholders is essential for this role.

For 30 years Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used.

We are uniquely positioned to protect, promote and lead the sector in digital and data transformation, making a difference to students, communities and society. Together, we are

working to build a better digital future for education and research.

Raise your potential at Jisc through our culture of lifelong learning. At Jisc, we're all about growth, so embrace new challenges, sharpen your skills and shape a career that excites you.

The role:

We have an amazing opportunity at Jisc for a Principal Data Governance Lead. This is a new role in which you can develop your vision to really make a difference.

You will lead on the design, testing and implementation of a service and technical solutions to support better data management across licensing, and implement data governance policies, define data stewardship frameworks and provide operational oversight of data quality in Licensing.

In this pivotal role will work closely with Jisc's central data governance team as we roll out a federated model for data governance at Jisc. You will lead the ownership and stewardship of the Licensing governance subdomain including data assets metadata, glossary terms, key data elements, data products, data flows, and the remediation of data quality issues identified.

You will lead a forward-thinking team dedicated to meeting the evolving needs of both internal stakeholders at Jisc and external customers across the sector — driving innovation and delivering impactful solutions.

What you'll be doing:

A snapshot of your key responsibilities will be:

Delivering the right solutions –

• Responsible for strategic planning, development and ongoing delivery of a data management service, ensuring that it delivers quality-assured, standardised metadata to customers in a timely manner.
• Undertake a data governance and stewardship role to ensure principles, relevant data standards and policies are well understood and being adhered to, for example, leading a local data literacy programme and embedding data governance into existing frameworks and project design.

Empowering communities –

• Work with stakeholders to determine required data flows and implement processes (and where appropriate solutions) to support them and provide tools to do so, for example the continuous iteration of the Licensing Data Catalogue.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with stakeholders involved in the provision and use of data to improve the quality and quantity of data available, and the uses to which the data can be, and is, put both strategically and operationally by Jisc and its customers.

Be a force for good –

• Ensure we are working closely with data governance counterparts at Jisc and aligning our approaches, including Data Governance Managers.
• Responsible for embedding Jisc corporate and social responsibility policy within your operations to minimise the harm we do to our environment, and to support our customers to do the same.

What we are looking for:

• Practical experience of data and metadata management practice and principles, and of implementing data governance practices for data assets in a complex organisation.
• Experience in working with metadata standards, technical specifications, and an understanding of their application and use in the development of systems.
• Experience in data quality profiling, assessment and management as well as risk assessment and mitigation related to data handling.
• Experience of leading successful data projects and teams using agile methodologies.
• Ability to converse and negotiate with staff at all levels – internally and externally to the business – in both technical and non-technical communications & presentations, whilst remaining calm under pressure and maintaining a positive outlook.
• Ability to design and implement solutions that are aligned to business goals, to improve and adapt data management processes and practices in response to changing business requirements.

Don't meet every single requirement?

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can't tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles

Hybrid working:

Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Our Guiding Principles:

Jisc's culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future.

Discover the amazing benefits we provide Here's what you can look forward to:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
• Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
• Generous flexible pension schemes
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
• A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
• Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office
• Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion:

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Application process:

Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We're committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you.

Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it. However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls

We're really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality.

If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.

We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn.

Sponsorship:

Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.

No agencies please.