MetLife

The Team You Will Join 

The Enterprise Data Governance and Responsible Use of Data and AI Department is part of the Data and Analytics Organization (DnA) within GTO. Our mission is to implement an enterprise-wide model for the governance of data at MetLife to ensure consistency of usage and a high level of confidence in data-driven analytics and decision-making capabilities. To achieve this, we are partnering with other Data and Analytics (DnA) teams, Technology, and our business and functional partners to build and deploy the next generation data capabilities for MetLife as we head into our New Frontier strategy!

The Opportunity 

The Data Governance Principal is a senior practitioner that provides program and operational oversight for the enterprise data governance function. This role supports the Director of Data Governance to manage day‑to‑day governance operations, drives structured change management across business and technical teams, and supports in coordinating strategy, communications, and delivery.

This position ensures that governance activities, policies, standards, and oversight processes operate smoothly, on time, and with clear alignment to the organization’s data strategy.

Success in this role requires strategic thinking, executive communication, and technical fluency across the data lifecycle. The Data Governance Principal is responsible for enabling policy strategy, leadership, collaborating closely with executives, auditors, and cross-business teams in an environment where every contribution is respected, and every perspective is heard.

How You’ll Help Us Build a Confident Future (Key Responsibilities)

• Partner closely with the Data Governance Director to support governance strategy, planning, and organizational alignment.
• Lead planning and execution of data governance projects, roadmaps, and workstreams.
• Prepare executive-ready presentations, dashboards, materials, and decision support content for leadership and councils.
• Coordinate recurring governance rituals (Data Governance Forum, Steward Community of Practice, policy review cycles).
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including Data Owners, Stewards, Platform, Security, Legal, Compliance, Architecture, and Analytics.
• Track progress on governance initiatives such as data governance improvements, metadata capture, framework documentation, catalog adoption, and policy implementation.
• Support intake and prioritization of governance requests, ensuring alignment with enterprise goals.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and proxy for the Director when appropriate in meetings, planning sessions, and communications.
• Develop and execute change management strategies for data governance initiatives, including stakeholder analysis, communication planning, training design, and reinforcement.
• Create clear, accessible communications that drive understanding and adoption.

What You Need to Succeed (Required Qualifications)

• 6-10 years of experience in project management, data governance, data management, business process improvement, or related fields.
• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Proficiency with reporting tools (examples include Power Point, Excel, SQL, Databricks, Azure, Alteryx, etc).
• Demonstrated leadership in enterprise policy development and cross-functional programs.
• Experience with organizational change management.
• Strong understanding of data governance concepts (DAMA-DMBOK, DCAM), metadata, lineage, quality, cataloging, risk/control methodologies, and/or stewardship models.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Skills

• Certifications such as PMP, Prosci, Scrum Master, ITIL, CDMP
• Prior experience leading audits, remediation programs, or regulatory responses.
• Technical fluency across data lifecycle, metadata, lineage, access, retention, and quality.