Chief Data Officer

Function and Scope:

ACC’s Data Strategy and Governance Lead is a strategic and influential leader responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive data governance framework and strategy. This role will oversee the management, quality, and use of data across the organization, ensuring that data is accurate, accessible, secure, and leveraged to drive strategic decision-making and innovation. The Data Lead will collaborate with the ACC leadership team, IT, Digital Strategy, and all the business lines to establish data as a strategic enterprise asset. This role requires the ability to galvanize cross-functional support and action to elevate data as a core institutional asset.

Major Duties and Responsibilities: 

1. Data Governance Leadership & Strategy

• Chair the Data Governance Council and oversee cross-functional data stewardship initiatives.

• Lead the development and implementation of enterprise-wide data governance policies, standards, and guiding principles.

• Provide strategic guidance on data strategy, modern data architecture, and governance best practices.

• Serve as a thought leader and advisor on data governance, privacy, and compliance issues, positioning the College as a forward-thinking, data-driven organization.

2. Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Champion data governance across the College, ensuring broad organizational alignment, and promoting awareness and adoption across business lines and operational units.

• Serve as liaison between business units and technical teams to align data solutions with organizational needs.

• Facilitate collaboration among stakeholder groups (e.g., EDS Scrum Team, CCI Department, Membership Division) and gather feedback for continuous improvement.

• Communicate regularly with senior leadership on project progress, risks, and outcomes.

3. Data Quality, Standards & Stewardship

• Develop and enforce enterprise data standards, definitions, retention policies, and quality controls.

• Ensure enterprise data is consistently modeled, named, and defined to support strategic alignment and interoperability.

• Implement proactive data quality monitoring and exception reporting.

• Align and maintain data ecosystems (e.g., Salesforce instances, Oracle, Corporate Data Repository, Oasis, Google Analytics, Big Query, etc.) for seamless integration and reporting accuracy.

4. Operational Efficiency & Risk Mitigation

• Improve operational efficiency across divisions such as Finance and Membership.

• Mitigate risks to financial reporting, data integrity, and Board-level reporting.

• Ensure accuracy and consistency of member-facing data and define key data elements for integration.

• Develop and execute strategies to resolve data-related issues and enhance data-driven decision-making.

• Partner with the IT Security Team to ensure data assets are properly secured, archived as appropriate, and meet all compliance requirements.

5. Documentation & Data Clarity

• Maintain a comprehensive Business Glossary and Data Dictionary.

• Document data definitions, sources, and reporting logic to establish a single source of truth.

• Update and maintain a relational data model reflecting the College’s data ecosystem.

6. Training & Enablement

• Develop training programs for staff on data management, reporting tools (e.g., Salesforce, Power BI), and self-service analytics.

• Identify and address training needs to support data literacy and adoption.

• Partner with IT and business line SMEs to promote data literacy and lifecycle management practices.

7. Future-Readiness & Innovation

• Prepare enterprise data for AI, automation, and advanced analytics initiatives.

• Collaborate with the CTO and other teams to develop use cases for an enterprise-wide Data Lake.

• Prioritize data initiatives that support strategic dashboards and decision-making capabilities.

Required Qualificatio