Data Governance Analyst / Steward

Data Governance Analyst (Contract)Hybrid Richmond VA - Must reside in Central Virginia and be able to come onsite on demand Long-term contractWe are looking for a Data Governance Analyst to support our Enterprise Data Management Program, with a focus on Data Governance practices and comprehensive data analysis. This role will partner with key stakeholders to curate enterprise metadata, manage business glossary terms, and ensure alignment between technical and business definitions. The right candidate will thrive in a cross-functional environment, bringing strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and excellent communication to drive data quality and governance initiatives across the organization. In this role, you will perform advanced data analysis, profiling, and cross-source validation to identify anomalies, support data quality rules and controls, and drive issue documentation and escalation. You will maintain governance artifacts and meeting records, investigate data issues to produce clear, actionable insights, and assist in setting up workshops and change management efforts that strengthen metadata management, data quality, and data literacy across the organization.To be successful in this role, you MUST possess:Several years in Data Governance, Data Management, Data Analysis, or related domainsAdvanced SQL proficiency; able to write complex joins, aggregation, and profiling queriesAdvanced Microsoft Excel skills, with expertise in handling analytical functions within the toolDemonstrated experience with metadata management and business glossariesStrong process documentation capabilities (procedures, processes, workflows)Excellent communication (written & verbal) and task management skills; comfortable with cross-functional business/IT engagementThe ideal candidate would also have experience in:Working experience in a DevOps development environment, preferably Microsoft-basedHands-on experience with an Enterprise Data Catalog tool (e.g., Alation, Collibra, Microsoft Purview)Experience with a Data Quality Scorecard/Rules Engine toolExposure to data lineage, reference data, and data stewardship modelsUnderstanding of data governance frameworks (policies, standards, controls) and regulatory drivers (e.g., privacy, risk, compliance)Experience facilitating data stewardship forums and familiarity with DevOps Boards (e.g., Azure DevOps) for backlog, tasks, and issue trackingAll qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.