Executive Director, Data Governance and Data Strategy

DevOps – Planning, Rose Hill, Lincoln Center

Fordham University

Fordham University has an excellent reputation as a dynamic institution located in New York City.  Founded in 1841, Fordham enrolls more than 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students in its 9 Colleges and Schools. 

• Fordham University offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package to its employees, which includes medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• We offer tuition remission for employees and their dependents 
• A generous employer match towards a 403(b) retirement plan.
• As a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Fordham is considered a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, a federal program designed to forgive student loan debt for employees of certain public and certain nonprofit employers.
• As part of its work-life balance program, the University provides generous PTO including 15 vacation days, 12 sick days, 4 personal days, 6 summer Fridays, and holidays that include paid time off between Christmas and New year.  
• University employees have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP provides no-cost, professional, and confidential services, to help employees and family members address a variety of personal, family, life, and work-related issues.

Why Join Us

This is a rare opportunity to shape the data future of one of New York City's most distinguished universities-an institution where innovation meets tradition. The Executive Director will play a pivotal role in fostering a modern, intelligent, and inclusive data environment that empowers discovery, learning, and transformation.

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.

Essential Functions Note

This list is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

The University may assign additional related duties as necessary.

Management Responsibilities  

Provides strategic leadership and supervises others who supervise. Responsible for hiring, training, developing, managing performance, administering corrective action, makes compensation decisions and for managing strategic views at a high level.

Additional Functions      

• Collaborates with Information Security, IT Infrastructure, and Research Computing teams to ensure seamless integration of cloud and on-premises solutions.
• Fosters a collaborative culture that emphasizes transparency, shared accountability, and data-informed decision-making.
• Builds capacity across the university by mentoring teams, championing best practices, and nurturing a community of data and analytics professionals.
• Oversees data integration solutions that enable cross-functional analytics, business intelligence, and institutional research.
• Ensures continuous improvement through benchmarking, performance monitoring, and the adoption of emerging data technologies.

Required Qualifications: Education and Experience        

• 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.

Required Qualifications: Knowledge and Skills     

• 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.
• Successful candidates should have a knowledge of and commitment to the goals of Jesuit Education.

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.

Minimum Starting Salary: $160,000

Maximum Starting Salary: $210,000

Note: Salary is commensurate with qualifications, experience, and skills.

START DATE: ASAP

APPLY HERE: https://careers.fordham.edu/postings/10189

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 9 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. 

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