Data Governance Specialist

Job Title : Data Governance Specialist

Department: Data Analytics & Engineering

Role Purpose : We are seeking a Data Governance & Compliance Specialist to support the implementation and day-to-day operation of our enterprise data governance framework. This is a hands-on role at the intersection of data management, regulatory compliance, and risk — helping to ensure our data assets are accurate, protected, and handled in accordance with Saudi Arabian regulations. You will collaborate with data engineering, legal, cybersecurity, and business teams to embed governance practices into our data lifecycle, with a particular focus on compliance with frameworks mandated by the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) and the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA).

Key Activities:

• Support the development and maintenance of the enterprise data governance framework, including policies, standards, and procedures covering data quality, data lineage, metadata management, and data classification.
• Assist in defining and enforcing data ownership and stewardship models across business domains.
• Contribute to Data Governance Council meetings and help coordinate cross-functional working groups.
• Maintain the business glossary and support the upkeep of the enterprise data catalogue.
• Support compliance with the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) as overseen by SDAIA, including data subject rights management, consent frameworks, and cross-border data transfer controls.
• Assist in implementing controls aligned to the NCA's Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC) and Data Cybersecurity Controls (DCC) as they relate to data governance obligations.
• Conduct periodic gap analyses against SDAIA and NCA requirements and support the development of remediation plans.
• Coordinate responses to regulatory enquiries, data subject requests, and internal audit findings.
• Monitor updates to Saudi data and cybersecurity regulations and translate new requirements into actionable governance tasks.
• Support data risk assessments and help maintain the data risk register, escalating issues to senior stakeholders as appropriate.
• Partner with Legal, Privacy, and Cybersecurity teams to ensure governance controls are embedded across the data lifecycle.
• Assist in third-party data sharing assessments and vendor due diligence from a data governance perspective.
• Support the definition and monitoring of data quality dimensions (completeness, accuracy, timeliness, consistency) and associated KPIs.
• Work with data owners to investigate and remediate data quality issues identified through monitoring processes.
• Assist with master data management (MDM) activities to promote consistency of critical data entities.
• Provide guidance to business and technology teams on data governance policies and Saudi regulatory obligations.
• Support the delivery of data literacy and governance awareness programmes across the organisation.
• Prepare regular reporting on governance activities, compliance status, and data quality metrics for senior management.

Education and Certification Minimum Requirements:

• 2+ years of experience in data governance, data management, GRC, compliance, or a closely related discipline.
• Working knowledge of Saudi Arabian data regulations, in particular the PDPL and SDAIA guidelines.
• Awareness of the NCA's cybersecurity frameworks (ECC, DCC) and their intersection with data governance.
• Understanding of core data governance concepts including data quality, data classification, metadata management, and data lineage.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret regulatory requirements and translate them into practical controls.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic language skills are a strong advantage.