Enterprise Data Governance Program Manager

Special Instructions to Applicants:
All interested applicants should attach a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice:
Boasting a 300-acre, tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system that supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.

Position Summary:
The Enterprise Data Governance Program Manager serves as a strategic and collaborative leader advancing the university’s vision for trusted, accessible, and data-informed decision-making across the institution. This role leads the development and continuous evolution of the university’s enterprise data governance framework, promoting strong data stewardship, quality, integrity, security, and regulatory compliance in alignment with FERPA, HIPAA, GDPR, and institutional standards. Working closely with academic, administrative, research, legal, and technology partners, the Program Manager helps foster a culture of transparency, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement while serving as a trusted advisor to stakeholders across the university community.

In addition to leading governance initiatives, the Program Manager plays a key role in strengthening institutional analytics and business intelligence by coordinating projects, engaging stakeholders, and advancing data literacy. The position oversees the design and delivery of training programs focused on Tableau, Power BI, data visualization, institutional business rules, and best practices for data utilization, helping translate complex technical concepts into practical and meaningful guidance for diverse audiences. The ideal candidate brings strong analytical and communication skills, experience navigating complex organizations, and a passion for empowering others through data, collaboration, innovation, and service in support of the university’s mission and long-term strategic goals.

Ideal Candidate Statement:
The ideal candidate for the Enterprise Data Governance Program Manager is a thoughtful, collaborative, and strategically minded professional passionate about advancing data-informed decision-making in a complex higher education environment. This individual brings a strong foundation in enterprise data governance, business intelligence, analytics enablement, and project coordination, along with the ability to build trusted partnerships across academic, administrative, research, legal, and technology communities. The successful candidate demonstrates both technical fluency and strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex data concepts into practical, actionable guidance that empowers stakeholders at all levels of the institution.
The ideal candidate is equally comfortable leading governance initiatives, managing projects across enterprise data and business intelligence portfolios, facilitating cross-functional collaboration, and delivering engaging training programs related to Tableau, Power BI, data literacy, and institutional business rules. They possess excellent communication, analytical, and critical thinking skills, along with sound judgment and a commitment to service, transparency, and continuous improvement. Experience working in higher education or similarly complex organizations is highly valued, particularly in environments that require balancing governance, innovation, compliance, stakeholder engagement, and portfolio-level project management. Above all, the ideal candidate is a trusted partner and servant leade