Associate Director, Data Governance

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Associate Director, Data Governance

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Associate Director, Data Governance

Finance Department

Hybrid

Full Time, Permanent

Level 11

Requisition Number: FIN-2026-003

Covenant House helps youth ignite their potential and reclaim their lives. As Canada’s largest agency serving youth who are homeless, trafficked or at risk, we offer the widest range of services to hundreds of young people every day.

More than a place to stay, we provide life-changing care with unconditional love and respect. We meet youth’s immediate needs and then we work together to achieve their future goals. We offer 24/7 crisis shelter transitional housing options on-site and, in the community, health and well-being support, training and skill development, and ongoing care once youth move into the community.

For over 40 years, Covenant House has been dedicated to its mission of serving youth on the street and to protect and safeguard all youth with absolute respect and unconditional love. Since 1982, Covenant House has supported more than 100,000 young people.

Overview:

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Director, Data Governance is responsible for designing, building, and operationalizing Covenant House Toronto's enterprise Data Governance capability and supporting the development of a modern, secure and scalable data ecosystem. This role is foundational to establishing data as a strategic organizational asset and enabling trusted, data-driven decision-making across the organization.

This is a build role, not an adoption role. The Director will create the governance framework, operating model, standards, stewardship structures, decision-making processes, and governance practices required to support an enterprise-wide data strategy. The role will establish the foundations necessary to ensure data is trusted, secure, accessible and effectively managed across Covenant House Toronto.

Acting as both the organization's Data Governance subject matter expert and a trusted business partner, this individual will work across Development & Communications, Programs, Human Resources, Information Systems, Finance and external partners to align stakeholders around common data definitions, ownership models, privacy requirements and governance standards.

The successful candidate will be highly collaborative and capable of leading through influence rather than authority. With no direct reports initially, this role will be responsible for bringing business partners along the governance journey, facilitating alignment across stakeholders, and establishing a federated governance model that balances enterprise standards with business-domain ownership and accountability.

The initial focus will be supporting the implementation and governance of Raiser's Edge NXT (RE NXT), Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Microsoft Fabric / Purview, and the Cloud Data Warehouse (CDW), while establishing the governance foundations required to support future integration with NetSuite, Payworks, Power BI and other enterprise platforms.

Working closely with internal business leaders and technology partners, the Director will ensure these platforms operate as a connected and governed ecosystem that supports fundraising, donor engagement, finance, human resources, program operations, analytics, reporting, and strategic decision-making.

While the role will initially operate through influence, facilitation, and governance authority, it is expected to evolve into leadership of Covenant House Toronto's centralized data function, including oversight of enterprise data governance, Cloud Data Warehouse administration, and future data and analytics resources.

As organizational maturity evolves, the role will expand governance capabilities across additional business domains and help departments leverage data products and analytics capabilities to enhance operational performance, service delivery, and organizational outcomes.

We are currently recruiting for 1 Full-time Permanent, Associate Director, Data Governance. This is a new position within the organization.

Responsibilities:

Enterprise Data Governance

• Design, build, and operationalize Covenant House Toronto's enterprise Data Governance framework, operating model, policies, standards and stewardship practices.
• Establish governance principles, decision-making processes and accountability structures that support a federated model balancing enterprise standards with business ownership.
• Develop governance capabilities that ensure data is trusted, secure accessible and effectively managed throughout its lifecycle.
• Establish governance metrics and monitor organizational progress toward increased data maturity.

Enterprise Data Ecosystem & Architecture Governance

• Partner with Information Systems, Data Services and external implementation partners to support the design of a governed enterprise data ecosystem.
• Define governance requirements related to data integration, ingestion, virtualization, retention, access management, privacy and lifecycle management.
• Support governance design for the Cloud Data Warehouse (CDW), Microsoft Fabric environment, Purview, Power BI reporting environment and enterprise integrations.
• Evaluate and recommend approaches that balance business value, privacy, security, scalability cost and operational sustainability.
• Ensure enterprise systems operate as a connected ecosystem that supports reporting, analytics and business decision-making.

Data Stewardship, Quality & Compliance

• Establish enterprise practices for data ownership, stewardship, metadata management, data quality and master/reference data governance.
• Develop and monitor data quality controls, audits, exception reporting, reconciliation processes and issue management practices that support trusted decision-making.
• Partner with Data Owners and Data Stewards to investigate and resolve data quality issues, identify root causes and implement sustainable improvements.
• Establish standards for business glossaries, metadata, critical data elements and consistent reporting definitions across the organization.
• Ensure governance practices align with PHIPA, PIPEDA, privacy requirements, security standards and organizational policies.

Stakeholder Engagement & Organizational Adoption

• Serve as Covenant House Toronto's subject matter expert for Data Governance and enterprise data management practices.
• Facilitate governance councils, workshops, working groups and stakeholder engagement activities that drive alignment, accountability and adoption.
• Lead governance-related change management initiatives supporting innovative technologies, processes, roles and capabilities.
• Educate and support business leaders, Data Owners and Data Stewards in fulfilling governance responsibilities.
• Foster a culture of data literacy, accountability and evidence-based decision-making across the organization.

Analytics Enablement & Continuous Improvement

• Enable business leaders to leverage trusted enterprise data to improve reporting, performance measurement and decision-making.
• Support the development of trusted data products, dashboards and self-service analytics capabilities.
• Ensure governance standards support organizational reporting and analytics maturity.
• Monitor governance effectiveness and drive continuous improvement of data management practices and organizational capabilities.

Team Leadership, Development & Change Management

• Lead, mentor, coach, and develop database team members to become partners to our internal business stakeholders.
• Support employees through significant organizational, process, and technology change initiatives.
• Champion change management practices to ensure successful adoption of new systems, reporting tools, workflows, and controls.
• Promote continuous improvement by encouraging innovation, learning, and constructive challenge of existing practices.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education

• University degree in Information Management, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Business Administration, Finance, Information Systems or a related discipline.
• Master's degree in Data Management, Data Governance, Advanced Analytics, Data Science or a related field is considered an asset.
• Relevant certifications in Data Governance, Data Management, Analytics, Microsoft technologies, Privacy or Change Management are considered an asset.

Experience

• 8–12+ years of progressive experience in Data Governance, Data Management, Business Intelligence, Advanced Analytics, Enterprise Information Management, Data Science or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience building and implementing Data Governance programs, operating models, stewardship frameworks and governance processes from inception.
• Experience working within federated governance, data mesh or hybrid operating environments.
• Experience supporting enterprise technology initiatives involving CRM, ERP, fundraising, marketing automation, analytics, data warehouse and cloud platforms.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Purview, NetSuite, Raiser's Edge NXT, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Payworks or comparable enterprise platforms is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience supporting privacy, compliance, security and risk management initiatives involving sensitive information.
• Experience within not-for-profit, healthcare, social services, fundraising or other mission-driven organizations is considered a strong asset.

Skills & Competencies

• Deep expertise in Data Governance, Data Stewardship, Metadata Management and Data Quality Management.
• Strong understanding of federated governance models, modern data architecture principles and enterprise data ecosystems.
• Knowledge of data mesh, data warehouse and data product concepts.
• Strong understanding of enterprise application ecosystems including CRM, ERP, payroll, fundraising, marketing automation, analytics and data platforms.
• Strong working knowledge of PHIPA, PIPEDA, privacy management, information security and responsible data use practices.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, facilitation, consulting and consensus-building skills.
• Proven ability to lead through influence in highly collaborative environments.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical business solutions.
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to balance business objectives, privacy requirements, security considerations, technology constraints, and cost optimization.
• Strong organizational and project leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguous environments and successfully build new capabilities while simultaneously supporting organizational transformation.

What we Offer:

• Meaningful work.
• Competitive compensation.
• Benefits such as Health, Dental, Vision, Personal Days, Employee Assistance Program, Tuition Reimbursement and more.
• Employee perks which include discounts on gym membership, city bike rentals, auto & home insurance and more.

Interested candidates are welcome to apply directly to this posting on or by September 7, 2026.Only those selected to move forward in our recruitment process will be contacted. No agencies or phone calls please.

Use of AI and Technology in the Hiring Process

Covenant House Toronto does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to make or inform hiring decisions. However, we do use an external applicant tracking system (ATS) to help manage applications efficiently.

While our ATS may apply automated filters or sorting functions, all applications are reviewed and evaluated by human recruiters. No hiring decisions are made by AI.

Commitment to Equitable Recruitment

At Covenant House Toronto we believe in a workplace culture of inclusion that is welcoming, respectful and safe for all staff. It is critical to Covenant House Toronto success to eliminate barriers and promote the inclusion of equity groups. Equity groups have been, and continue to be, underrepresented and marginalized in the workforce, leadership roles, and in some specific occupations. Equity groups include but may not be limited to Indigenous persons, racialized people, gender diverse people, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities.

In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Covenant House Policy on Accommodation, a request for accommodation will be accepted as part of the Covenant House recruitment process.

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