Lead/Director, Data Governance & Analytics Architecture at Valtech

Why Valtech? We’re the experience innovation company - a trusted partner to the world’s most recognized brands. To our people we offer growth opportunities, a values-driven culture, international careers and the chance to shape the future of experience. The opportunity At Valtech, you’ll find an environment designed for continuous learning, meaningful impact, and professional growth. Whether you're pioneering new digital solutions, challenging conventional thinking or building the next generation of customer experiences, your work will help transform industries. We are proud of: • The work we do and the innovation we drive • Our values of share, care and dare • A workplace culture that fosters creativity, diversity and autonomy • Our borderless, global framework, which enables seamless collaboration The role We are seeking a senior, client‑facing data leader to serve as a strategic partner across data governance, analytics architecture, and governed data product definition. This role acts as a critical bridge between client business stakeholders and a hybrid client/engineering delivery team, ensuring that decisions remain aligned to a clear, cohesive data governance and analytics strategy. This leader will help define how the governance program operates, author and socialize architecture and process standards, translate business priorities into structured data and reporting requirements, and guide engineering teams toward durable, scalable target‑state solutions. The role is especially important in environments where governance rigor, reporting integrity, and analytics product clarity must be strengthened without requiring direct ownership of upstream data pipeline implementation. This is a capability‑led leadership role requiring a strong combination of governance direction, architectural judgment, structured stakeholder management, and practical guidance for engineering and analytics teams. It is not a narrow specialist position, nor is it primarily an execution‑only delivery management role. Role responsibilities Executive Stakeholder Leadership • Act as the primary liaison between senior client‑side business leaders, including executive sponsors and C‑suite stakeholders, and a hybrid client/engineering delivery team. • Facilitate structured decision‑making, feedback loops, and alignment forums that connect business priorities to delivery realities. • Translate ambiguous or evolving strategic objectives into clear governance, architecture, and analytics workstreams. Data governance program direction • Set the direction for operating the Data Governance program through ongoing advisory, process authorship, and operating-model refinement. • Connect engineering and business teams around a shared data governance strategy and target‑state roadmap, informed by structured feedback from client counterparts and executive stakeholders. • Drive governance clarity across metadata, standards, business definitions, and downstream reporting integrity. • Partner with client leadership to evolve governance practices using Microsoft Purview on Azure. Analytics architecture and specification leadership • Author gold-table specification documents that define target-state outputs for ETL pipelines within a medallion architecture. • Translate KPI, reporting, drill-down, and business decision needs into structured, engineering-ready specifications. • Guide architecture and semantic decisions that improve trust, reuse, and downstream analytical consistency. • Author and socialize architecture standards, patterns, and design decisions across teams. Portfolio rationalization • Lead portfolio rationalization as an explicit sprint activity using a defined retain / refactor / retire methodology. • Continuously refine the methodology, validate criteria with clientleadership, and identify the right business stakeholders for each rationalization decision. • Ensure portfolio decisions are business-aware, governance-aware, and realistically actionable for delivery teams. Analytics product definition • Review and contribute to analytics product definition and delivery planning, including use cases such as Scheduling Optimization. • Shape KPI definitions, phased roadmaps, drill-down structures, and supporting architecture decisions. • Help teams connect product value, business adoption, and governed data design. Standards and quality systems • Author and socialize data architecture standards that protect data quality and reporting integrity. • Example areas may include storage patterns for UTC timestamps, IANA time zones, and local timestamps in gold-layer data products. • Improve consistency in how governed analytical assets, documentation, and design decisions are created and maintained across teams. Leadership and team contribution • Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and structured guidance to practitioners working across engineering, architecture, and analytics-adjacent delivery. • Improve delivery quality by raising standards for documentation, design clarity, stakeholder communication, and cross-functional handoff quality. • Support staffing discussions and role-shape decisions for work that spans governance, architecture, analytics engineering, and business-facing delivery. • Category Creation: Define terminology, reference architectures, and maturity models that differentiate Valtech in Data & AI. Must have qualifications To be considered for this role, you must meet the following essential qualifications: • Significant experience leading data governance, data architecture, analytics architecture, or governed data product work in client-facing environments. • Strong executive stakeholder management experience, including the ability to work directly with business leaders, steering committees, and senior cross-functional stakeholders. • Experience translating business needs into structured target-state requirements for engineering teams. • Strong understanding of: • data governance operating models • metadata and data catalog approaches • medallion architecture concepts • semantic and reporting integrity considerations • KPI and analytics product design • Experience authoring standards, frameworks, methodology documents, and reusable delivery artifacts. • Ability to lead across architecture, engineering, and business conversations without needing to own every hands-on implementation detail. Nice to have qualifications • Experience with Microsoft Purview on Azure. • Familiarity with dbt and modern analytics engineering patterns. • Familiarity with Snowflake-based ecosystems in a stakeholder or dependency-aware capacity, even if not directly building in Snowflake. • Consulting or hybrid client-service delivery experience. • Experience working in programs that require strong alignment between governance, reporting, and executive decision-making. If you do not meet all the listed qualifications or have gaps in your experience, we still encourage you to apply. At Valtech, we recognize that talent comes in many forms, and we value diverse perspectives and a willingness to learn. Commitment to reaching all kinds of people We design experiences that work for all kinds of people - and that starts with our own teams. At Valtech, we’re intentional about building an inclusive culture where everyone feels supported to grow, thrive and achieve their goals. No matter your background, you belong here. Explore our Diversity & Inclusion site to see how we’re creating a more equitable Valtech for all. The benefits This is a full time position based in Canada. The offered salary range is $150,000-$200,000 annually, depending on experience and location. Beyond a competitive compensation package, we offer: • A comprehensive insurance plan, where you can choose the module that best suits your needs—Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The employer may contribute up to 80% of your coverage depending on the selected module. This plan includes short- and long-term disability coverage. • Dialogue via Sun Life provides virtual healthcare services, allowing you to consult with a healthcare professional for emergencies, prescription renewals, and more. You also have access to the Employee and Family Assistance Program, as well as a complete mental health support program. • A $500 Personal Spending Account, which can be used for healthcare reimbursements, gym memberships, public transit passes, office supplies, or contributions to your RRSP through Valtech. • A retirement plan where Valtech will match 100% of your RRSP contributions through a Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP), up to a maximum of 4%. You can start contributing to your RRSP immediately, and to the DPSP after 3 months. The vesting of the DPSP will be after a 24 months of service. • Access to a flexible vacation under Valtech's policy to support your work-life balance, with 5 days available during your probation period and a prorated amount calculated for the remainder of the year. • Personal Technology Reimbursement – $30/month for every employee-offered on day 1. • We close during the winter holidays and offer flexible scheduling throughout the year, so you can enjoy those sunny Friday afternoons—provided your weekly hours are completed. Your application process Once you apply, our Talent Acquisition team will review your application. If your skills and experience align with the role, we’ll reach out for next steps. Your CV should cover key information on relevant experiences and expertise. We do not require information such as age, gender, marital status, or a headshot in your application. We review all candidates based on skills, experience, and potential. ⚠️ Beware of recruitment fraud: Only engage with official Valtech email addresses. We are committed to inclusion and accessibility. If you need reasonable accommodations during the interview process, please either indicate it in your application or let your Talent Partner know. About Valtech Valtech is the experience innovation company that exists to unlock a better way to experience the world. By blending crafts, categories, and cultures, we help brands unlock new value in an increasingly digital world. At the intersection of data, AI, creativity, and technology, we drive transformation for leading organizations, including L’Oréal, Mars, Audi, P&G, Volkswagen Dolby, and more. At Valtech, we don’t just talk about transformation. We make it happen. Our people are the heart of our success, and we foster a workplace where everyone has the support to thrive, grow and innovate. Are you ready to create what’s next? 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