Job Title: Data Stewardship & Governance Lead
Job Summary:
The Data Stewardship & Governance Lead is an individual contributor role and the operational backbone of NVA’s enterprise data governance program. Reporting to the Director, Data Governance, this person works closely with data stewards, data owners, and data product owners across the organization to ensure consistent application of data governance standards, policies, and best practices. The Lead owns NVA’s data catalog and data definitions in Microsoft Purview, champions data governance processes across departments, coordinates the Data Governance Committee, and serves as the day-to-day enforcer and advocate of a strong data culture throughout the enterprise. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented, organized, and credible data professional who thrives on driving accountability, clarity, and consistency in how data is defined, managed, and used across a large, multi-site organization.
Reports To: Director, Data Governance
About: National Veterinary Associates is one of the largest and most respected communities of veterinary hospitals in the world, operating nearly 1,000 hospitals in North America, including in all 50 states, and caring for 8,000,000+ animals annually. NVA is backed by JAB Holding, a leading private equity firm. Each person who joins NVA is motivated by our mission to provide excellent, accessible care to improve the lives of animals and the people who love them. NVA has been extremely successful over its 25+ year history and we’re very excited about our next chapter as we work toward our shared vision of revolutionizing the pet care experience to provide more fulfilling lives for pets, their companions, and our team.
What You’ll Be Doing (Key Responsibilities):
• Own and maintain NVA’s enterprise data catalog in Microsoft Purview, including data definitions, business glossary terms, data classifications, and metadata — ensuring entries are accurate, complete, and kept current as business needs and data assets evolve.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and day-to-day coordinator for data stewards and data owners across NVA departments, providing guidance on governance standards, resolving data definition conflicts, and tracking stewardship activity and accountability.
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate Data Governance Committee meetings alongside the Director, Data Governance — preparing agendas, capturing decisions and action items, tracking follow-through, and maintaining meeting cadence and documentation.
• Monitor and track changes to data definitions, data standards, and governance policies across departments; maintain a change log and ensure all impacted stakeholders are informed and aligned when definitions or standards are updated.
• Champion data governance practices, policies, and processes across NVA — acting as an internal advocate and “data cop,” holding departments accountable to agreed-upon standards and escalating non-compliance or data quality issues to the Director, Data Governance as appropriate.
• Support the Director, Data Governance in developing, refining, and communicating enterprise data governance policies, procedures, and frameworks to ensure consistent adoption across business units and hospital operations.
• Conduct data quality assessments and audits in partnership with data stewards and data owners; identify gaps between documented definitions and actual data usage and work with the appropriate teams to drive remediation.
• Develop and maintain governance training materials, onboarding guides, and reference documentation to help new and existing data stewards and data owners fulfill their roles effectively.
• Partner with the Data & Analytics team, Data Engineering, and IT to ensure Microsoft Purview is configured and optimized to support NVA’s governance needs, including data lineage, classification policies, and access controls.
• Track and report on governance program health — including stewardship coverage, data quality metrics, glossary completion rates, and committee action item closure — providing regular status updates to the Director, Data Governance.
Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Qualifications):
• 5+ years of experience in data governance, data management, data quality, or a related data discipline within a complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise environment.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Purview (or a comparable data catalog and governance platform such as Collibra or Alation), including managing business glossaries, data classifications, metadata, and data lineage.
• Solid working knowledge of data governance frameworks and best practices (e.g., DAMA-DMBOK), with demonstrated ability to apply governance standards in a practical, business-facing way across multiple departments or domains.
• Strong organizational and program coordination skills; experience facilitating cross-functional meetings, maintaining action item logs, and driving accountability across a distributed network of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate governance concepts into plain language for non-technical audiences and to influence behavior and buy-in across all levels of the organization.
• High attention to detail and a process-oriented mindset; comfortable managing change logs, version-controlled documentation, and governance registers across multiple concurrent workstreams.
Location: Remote-friendly / Hybrid. Must be able to collaborate across U.S. time zones.
Travel: Minimal. Once a quarter.
Compensation & Benefits: NVA offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including base salary, comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision), 401(k) with company match, generous PTO, and professional development opportunities.
Salary: $108,000 - $148,500
AIP: 10%
FSLA Status: Exempt
National Veterinary Associates (NVA) is a leading North American pet health care company with nearly 1,300 locations spanning general practice veterinary hospitals, Ethos emergency and specialty hospitals, and pet resorts and equine veterinary care. With approximately 40,000 team members, we care for pets and support pet families in communities across the United States and Canada. Our purpose is to give pets and the people who love them more quality years together, and our mission is to make care more personal, easy and accessible while advancing medicine and care across every stage of life. Across NVA, we support our teams with the resources, expertise and opportunities they need to deliver exceptional care and help shape the future of veterinary and pet care.
Purpose: Give pets and the people who love them more quality years together
Mission: Transform the pet family experience to be personal, easy and accessible, while advancing medicine and care across every stage of life.
Values: Care Deeply, Do What’s Right, One Team, Own It, Shape What’s Next
One NVA: Bringing General Practice & Ethos Together
NVA is built to make care personal, easy and accessible, while advancing medicine across every stage of a pet’s life.
At National Veterinary Associates, we want to make sure your experience connecting with us is seamless and straightforward. Here’s what to expect when interacting with us:
- We’ll always reach out via verified LinkedIn profiles or emails ending in @nva.com
- We may also contact you via text message from an identified NVA representative for recruiting-related communication
- All job opportunities and applications are hosted on our official careers site: careers.nva.com
- There is no cost or confidential information required to apply or be considered for a position
If you have any doubts about a communication, feel free to visit our careers page to verify authenticity or email us at hiringhub@nva.com. Thank you for exploring opportunities at NVA!
NVA offers a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, vision, a 401k with employer match, and paid time off (including sick time) for all eligible employees. The team can provide more information about compensation and benefits for your specific location during the process. For positions based in Colorado, NVA provides eligible employees with paid sick and safe leave and public health emergency leave in accordance with the requirements of Colorado's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act.
NVA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.
