Job Details

Executive Director, Data Governance and Data Strategy

Position Number: 6699293
Location: New York, NY
Position Type: Executive - Other Executive

Executive Director, Data Governance and Data Strategy

Fordham University

About Fordham
Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering an exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to more than 16,000 students in its nine colleges and schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in West Harrison, N.Y., the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y., and the London Centre in the United Kingdom.The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement plans; life insurance; short and long-term disability; employee assistance program (EAP); tuition remission; and generous time off.Successful candidates should have a knowledge of and commitment to the goals of Jesuit Education.

Department: DevOps - Planning

Campus/Location:

Position Summary
Reporting to the Associate VP of DevOps, the Executive Director of Data Governance and Strategy serves as the university's senior leader responsible for shaping and executing a forward-looking data strategy that enables institutional excellence, informed decision-making, and innovation across academic and administrative domains.

This role aligns the university's data platform and governance initiatives to ensure data is accessible, actionable, scalable, secure, and strategically aligned with institutional priorities. The Executive Director collaborates across colleges, departments, and leadership levels to leverage data as a transformative asset that advances teaching, research, and operational effectiveness.

As a trusted advisor and thought leader, the Executive Director oversees all aspects of data governance, architecture, analytics, and data integrations while leading the transition toward a cloud-first or hybrid data architecture. The Executive Director fosters a data-driven culture and establishes a sustainable framework for the ethical, innovative, and compliant use of information resources.

Essential Functions
Develops and implements a comprehensive university-wide data strategy that supports institutional goals in research, teaching, student success, and operational excellence.

Partners with senior academic, administrative, and technology leaders to align data initiatives with the university's mission and strategic plan; serves as a strategic partner and advisor to deans, vice presidents, and department heads on data strategy, analytics, and governance.

Establishes and articulates the vision for the next-generation enterprise data platform, ensuring it supports advanced analytics, AI/ML, and real-time insights.

Drives innovation through the integration of ML and generative AI within the university's data ecosystem.

Designs and oversees a robust data governance framework that ensures quality, consistency, and compliance across all university data assets; Implements clear policies for data access, lineage, metadata management, and security in alignment with regulatory and ethical standards; Creates and manages a multi-year roadmap for implementing the university's data strategy, including measurable milestones and key performance indicators.

Promotes data stewardship practices that balance accessibility with privacy, fostering trust across the academic and administrative community.

Leads the modernization and migration of legacy systems to cloud-native or hybrid data architectures, enabling scalability and performance.

Oversees the design and management of enterprise data warehouses and data lakes, supporting both structured and unstructured data.

This list is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
The University may assign additional related duties as necessary.

Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in data science, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.

Minimum 10 years of progressive experience leading enterprise data strategy and governance in a complex university or similarly structured organization.

Demonstrated success in developing and implementing large-scale data platforms and enterprise data warehouse solutions.

Deep understanding of data governance frameworks, compliance standards (FERPA, GDPR, HIPAA, etc.), and data ethics.

Proven experience integrating analytics and predictive modeling into institutional decision-making and operations.

Expertise in cloud-native database platforms (e.g., AWS Redshift, Snowflake, Azure Synapse), relational databases (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server), and NoSQL databases.

Visionary and pragmatic leader who can bridge strategy with execution.

Exceptional communicator, capable of translating complex technical concepts into actionable insights for diverse audiences.

Preferred Qualifications
Master's degree in data science, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field

Familiarity with data modeling, API-based integration, and scalable architecture design.

Proficiency in metadata management, data lineage tools, and modern analytics environments.

Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and build strong cross-functional relationships.

Commitment to advancing data literacy, equity, and ethical innovation within the academic community.

Special Instructions

To apply, please visit: https://careers.fordham.edu/postings/10204

Fordham University is committed to excellence through diversity and welcomes candidates of all backgrounds.

Fordham is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Veterans/Disabled and other protected categories