Location: Reading, PA
3-6 months Contract-to-Hire (must convert into an FTE role after the contract period ends)
US Citizen or Green Cards only
Hybrid role, 2-days onsite
Interview: 2 rounds (MS Teams video, then onsite)
Conversion base salary: 125K-140K plus bonus and benes

What the hiring manager is looking for in a candidate
Someone who can eventually become the leader of Penske's Data Governance function, but who will initially operate as a senior individual contributor.
This person will help build and mature the governance program while taking ownership of enterprise data stewardship and data catalog administration.

What the manager is NOT looking for
Not looking for a Data Engineer or BI Developer. He's looking for a future Data Governance leader who can own stewardship, metadata, governance processes, and enterprise adoption of the governance program.

Position Summary

The Lead Enterprise Data Steward is responsible for coordinating and operationalizing Penske's Enterprise Data Governance Program through stewardship leadership, business metadata management, governance process execution, enterprise data catalog administration, and data quality enablement.
This role serves as the primary liaison between Data Owners, Business Data Stewards, Technical Data Stewards, Data Engineering, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Architecture, Analytics, and Master Data Management teams. The Lead Enterprise Data Steward promotes the consistent definition, management, quality, protection, and governance of enterprise data assets while driving adoption of governance processes and technologies.
The role will serve as the primary administrator and champion of Penske's enterprise data catalog and metadata management capabilities and will partner closely with the MDM Platform Owner to support governance and stewardship requirements for enterprise master data domains including Location, Vehicle, Customer, and future master data initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Data Stewardship Leadership

• Coordinate enterprise data stewardship activities across business and technology domains.
• Establish and promote stewardship processes, responsibilities, and accountability models.
• Facilitate stewardship forums, working groups, and governance meetings.
• Partner with Data Owners and Data Stewards to maintain consistency in data definitions, ownership, and governance practices.
• Serve as an escalation point for stewardship and data definition disputes.
• Promote adoption of enterprise governance policies, standards, and procedures.

Metadata & Data Catalog Management

• Serve as primary administrator for Alation and related metadata management platforms.
• Manage business glossary content, data definitions, ownership assignments, certifications, and stewardship workflows.
• Coordinate metadata onboarding and catalog expansion initiatives.
• Support documentation and maintenance of data lineage, classifications, and metadata standards.
• Ensure metadata quality, completeness, and consistency across enterprise domains.
• Promote enterprise adoption and utilization of data catalog capabilities.

Governance Program Support

• Support implementation and operationalization of Penske's Data Governance Program.
• Facilitate governance working groups and stakeholder meetings.
• Track governance issues, remediation plans, and stewardship activities.
• Support development and maintenance of governance standards, procedures, and controls.
• Assist with governance maturity assessments and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Help embed governance requirements within projects, applications, and enterprise data initiatives.

Data Quality Management

• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to define data quality requirements, metrics, thresholds, and controls.
• Coordinate identification, prioritization, and resolution of enterprise data quality issues.
• Support root cause analysis and remediation activities.
• Monitor data quality metrics and stewardship performance measures.
• Promote accountability for quality management across governed data assets.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Data Engineering teams to support metadata integration, data lineage, and governance automation capabilities.
• Collaborate with the MDM Platform Owner to support governance requirements for master data domains.
• Partner with Security, Privacy, Risk, Compliance, and Legal teams to ensure governance practices support organizational and regulatory requirements.
• Facilitate alignment of governance practices across operational, analytical, and master data assets.
• Promote data ownership and accountability across business functions.

Governance Reporting & Metrics

• Develop governance scorecards and stewardship performance reporting.
• Track governance adoption, metadata completeness, stewardship participation, and data quality improvements.
• Produce executive reporting on governance activities and program progress.
• Monitor governance KPIs and recommend corrective actions as needed.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve governance effectiveness and stewardship efficiency.
• Research industry best practices related to Data Governance, Data Quality, Metadata Management, and Master Data Management.
• Recommend process improvements and governance automation opportunities.
• Support implementation of workflow-based governance capabilities and metadata-driven controls.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, Business Analytics, Data Management, Computer Science, or related field.

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in Data Governance, Data Management, Data Quality, Business Intelligence, Analytics, Master Data Management, or related disciplines.
• Experience facilitating collaboration between business and technical stakeholders.
• Experience working with metadata, data catalog, or governance technologies.
• Experience supporting cross-functional governance initiatives.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of:
  • Data Governance
  • Data Stewardship
  • Data Quality Management
  • Metadata Management
  • Business Glossaries
  • Data Lineage
  • Master Data concepts
• Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both business and technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience administering Alation.
• Experience supporting MDM implementations.
• Experience with Collibra, Purview, Informatica, or similar governance platforms.
• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) certification.
• Experience in transportation, logistics, supply chain, or fleet management environments.
• Experience developing governance metrics and stewardship programs.

Success Measures (First 12-18 Months)

• Stewardship operating model established and adopted.
• Data Owners and Data Stewards identified for critical data domains.
• Business glossary significantly expanded and standardized.
• Increased enterprise adoption of Alation.
• Governance and stewardship KPIs implemented.
• Data quality issue management process operationalized.
• Governance support successfully provided for Enterprise Location MDM implementation.
• Governance readiness established for future Vehicle and Customer MDM domains.
• Reduced reliance on MDM Architecture and Data Engineering teams for governance coordination and metadata administration.