Senior Data Governance Manager

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Job Family Group

Information Technology

Job Profile

Sr Manager, IT Governance

Management Level

Sr Manager - People Leader

Flexible Work Option

Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

Travel %

No

Work Shift

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $122,600.00 - $204,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Job Description

The Data Governance Senior Manager – Data Catalog Owner is the enterprise-wide steward and strategic driver of Cox Automotive’s data catalog program. This role provides Data Governance advice and support across the company, owning the governance models, data classification frameworks, data inventory standards, and end-to-end lineage strategy that power the catalog. The Senior Manager defines what enters the catalog, how it is curated, and how it is consumed across the enterprise – ensuring data is discoverable, trusted, and used responsibly. This leader drives governance project initiation through post-project review and drives adoption in partnership with data stewards, legal, platform engineering, and data governance teams, collaborating closely with Risk, Compliance, and Security teams to ensure catalog governance aligns with enterprise standards.

Responsibilities:

Catalog Governance Model & Enterprise Advisory

• Provide enterprise-wide Data Governance advice and support for data catalog policies, standards, and practices, serving as the authoritative subject matter expert across business and technology stakeholders

• Define and own the enterprise data catalog governance model, including roles, responsibilities, policies, and standards for catalog content and usage

• Conduct Data Governance assessments to recommend solutions for improved linkage between corporate data strategy, IT strategy, and catalog execution

• Lead internal reviews of data catalog policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring alignment with enterprise data governance expectations and the requirements of Risk, Compliance, and Security partners

• Develop catalog governance scorecards and metrics to measure program health, adoption, and business value, reporting progress to senior leadership

• Continuously improve catalog governance processes based on stakeholder feedback, emerging tools, and evolving organizational needs

Governance Project Lifecycle Leadership

• Lead and oversee catalog governance project initiation, team startup, execution, and post-project review across enterprise-wide catalog initiatives

• Drive the catalog governance roadmap in partnership with technology and data platform teams, balancing governance requirements with business enablement obligations

• Collaborate with Risk, Compliance, and Security teams to ensure catalog governance initiatives reflect enterprise standards and support broader organizational requirements

• Track and communicate catalog governance findings and action plans, partnering with appropriate teams on resolution and closure

Data Inventory & Coverage Strategy

• Own the enterprise data inventory strategy, defining standards and priorities for which data assets are catalogued, how they are documented, and what metadata is required

• Maintain a comprehensive, authoritative inventory of enterprise data assets including databases, tables, files, data products, reports, and APIs – documenting how data is created, obtained, used, and shared

• Define source connection priorities and coverage requirements, partnering with the technical catalog team to ensure critical systems are onboarded and metadata remains current

• Identify gaps in catalog coverage and develop prioritized plans to onboard uncatalogued data assets in coordination with data asset owners and the technical team

• Ensure metadata documentation standards are complete and enforced, including purpose, ownership, dependencies, usage restrictions, and system of record designations

Data Classification & Tagging

• Define enterprise data classification and tagging frameworks based on data sensitivity, criticality, regulatory scope, and business domain

• Define sensitivity tiers (e.g., public, internal, confidential, restricted) and establish standards for consistent application across all catalogued assets

• Partner with Legal, Privacy, and Security teams to align classification standards with data protection requirements, privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), and data contracts and contractual obligations

• Define requirements for automated classification capabilities, partnering with the technical catalog team on implementation to scale governance controls across high-volume data environments

• Maintain and evolve the enterprise business glossary, ensuring terms are standardized, approved, and linked to relevant data assets

Data Lineage

• Own the enterprise data lineage strategy, defining standards for capturing, publishing, and maintaining both technical and business lineage across the data estate

• Enable end-to-end lineage visibility from data origin through transformation to consumption, supporting impact analysis and root cause investigation

• Define lineage capture requirements for data pipelines, ETL processes, and reporting layers, partnering with the technical catalog team to ensure consistent instrumentation

• Surface lineage within the catalog to empower data consumers and stewards with trusted, contextual understanding of data flows and dependencies

• Leverage lineage data to support data quality initiatives, and provide lineage information to Risk, Compliance, and Audit partners as needed for reviews and assessments

Regulatory & Audit Partnership

• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Security teams to ensure catalog governance policies, classification standards, and data inventory practices align with enterprise risk and regulatory requirements

• Serve as the primary data catalog subject matter expert for internal and external audit engagements, providing information, documentation, and responses to catalog-related audit inquiries

• Participate in the preparation and review of audit requests related to catalog governance, coordinating responses in partnership with Risk and Compliance teams

• Support the identification and communication of catalog-related data governance gaps to appropriate Risk and Compliance partners, contributing to remediation planning as needed

• Stay current with evolving regulatory requirements relevant to data governance and proactively assess their implications for catalog policies and practices

AI & Automation Enablement

• Identify and champion AI-powered catalog capabilities including automated metadata enrichment, intelligent asset recommendations, anomaly detection, and data quality signal generation

• Explore and pilot generative AI applications within the catalog for documentation generation, business glossary enrichment, and governance policy enforcement at scale

• Define governance guardrails for AI-assisted metadata management, ensuring AI-generated content meets accuracy, completeness, and auditability standards before publication

• Define requirements for automation initiatives that reduce manual governance tasks – including metadata tagging, lineage capture, and stewardship workflows – and partner with the technical team on delivery

• Evaluate emerging AI and automation capabilities in the catalog tooling market, providing recommendations on adoption to maximize governance effectiveness and efficiency

Catalog Adoption, Training & Change Management

• Define and drive the strategy for what goes into the catalog and how it is used – ensuring the catalog evolves from a passive inventory into an active, trusted data discovery platform

• Define requirements for self-service data discovery, including access request workflows, data marketplace capabilities, and business-user-friendly discovery experiences, partnering with the technical team on delivery

• Define standards for integrating catalog governance into development and data product workflows, partnering with product and engineering teams on adoption

• Drive enterprise-wide catalog adoption through training, communications, and change management programs targeting data stewards, analysts, engineers, and business users

• Develop procedures and training materials to ensure adequate understanding of data catalog governance practices and policies across the organization

• Provide consultation and guidance to data asset owners on catalog onboarding, metadata best practices, and governance requirements

• Build a community of practice around catalog stewardship, fostering a culture of data accountability and shared ownership

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 6 years’ experience; or 20 years’ experience in a related field

• Deep expertise in industry-leading enterprise data governance catalog tools and modern data governance tooling

• Strong understanding of data management principles including metadata management, data classification, data quality, business glossary management, and data lineage

• Demonstrated experience designing and executing enterprise data governance models including roles, policies, standards, control structures, and adoption programs

• Advanced analytical thinking skills with ability to analyze organizational issues, determine root causes, and recommend alternative solutions aligned to business interests

• Familiarity with risk management concepts and regulatory compliance requirements as they apply to data governance, with the ability to collaborate effectively with Risk, Compliance, and Security teams

• Understanding of internal controls frameworks sufficient to align catalog governance practices with enterprise standards and support audit engagements

• Familiarity with the data platform landscape including data warehouses, data lakes, lakehouses, and cloud-native platforms sufficient to define governance requirements and prioritize catalog coverage

• Strong understanding of data lineage concepts and the ability to define lineage standards and requirements across diverse data environments

• Excellent communication and influencing skills to drive consensus across senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams

• Strong project management with track record of delivering complex, enterprise-wide data initiatives from initiation through post-project review

• Demonstrated change management expertise including training, communications, and organizational adoption of new tools and processes

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with DAMA-DMBOK, DCAM, or similar data management frameworks

• Knowledge of privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and their operational application within catalog and classification programs

• Experience defining requirements for or evaluating AI-powered governance features within enterprise catalog platforms, including automated classification, metadata enrichment, or anomaly detection capabilities

• Familiarity with AI/ML governance requirements and the role of the data catalog in supporting responsible AI initiatives

• Background in automotive industry, marketplace platforms, or similarly complex multi-domain data environments

• Experience with data quality platforms and their integration with catalog tooling

• Relevant certifications such as Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) or equivalent platform-specific certifications in an industry-leading data governance catalog tool

Drug Testing

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

About Us

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.

EOE, including disability/vets

Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.