Business Analyst - Chicago

Position Summary

We are seeking a Senior Business Analyst – Data Governance to drive enterprise-wide data governance initiatives and support the development and execution of the organization's long-term data governance strategy. This role will partner with business stakeholders, data owners, architects, developers, and third-party vendors to improve data quality, data management processes, governance standards, and regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate will possess strong analytical skills, hands-on data governance experience, and the ability to translate business requirements into actionable governance solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Support the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the enterprise Data Governance framework, policies, standards, and procedures.

Analyze data governance challenges, identify root causes, and recommend effective solutions to improve data quality, integrity, consistency, and usability.

Partner with business stakeholders, data owners, and subject matter experts to gather, document, and prioritize data governance requirements.

Facilitate governance-related projects and initiatives, ensuring successful delivery through collaboration with business teams, IT teams, vendors, and clients.

Utilize data management and information governance tools to assess data quality issues and uncover governance gaps.

Create and maintain data governance baselines, supporting periodic governance reviews, audits, and compliance assessments.

Define data governance requirements for critical data elements, including business definitions, ownership, stewardship, quality rules, and usage standards.

Collaborate with Data Architects, Data Engineers, and ETL teams to incorporate governance controls, validations, and quality checks into data sourcing and integration processes.

Develop business requirements, process flows, data dictionaries, governance documentation, and user stories related to data governance initiatives.

Communicate the value and benefits of data governance programs to business users, vendors, clients, and leadership stakeholders.

Identify opportunities to enhance data management processes, governance controls, metadata management, and data quality practices.

Support Data Governance Councils and Steering Committees through meeting coordination, reporting, action tracking, and governance communications.

Define, monitor, and report on key governance metrics, KPIs, and data quality measures.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams and third-party vendors to implement data governance solutions and best practices.

Ensure governance processes align with regulatory, security, and organizational data management requirements.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or a related field.

10+ years of experience as a Business Analyst, with at least 5+ years focused on Data Governance, Data Quality, or Data Management initiatives.

Strong understanding of Data Governance frameworks, Data Stewardship, Metadata Management, Master Data Management (MDM), and Data Quality concepts.

Experience gathering and documenting business requirements, functional specifications, and process documentation.

Proficiency in data analysis, issue identification, root cause analysis, and solution recommendation.

Experience working with data governance and data catalog tools.

Strong stakeholder management and communication skills with the ability to influence business and technical teams.

Experience working in Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid project environments.

Advanced knowledge of SQL and data analysis techniques is preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with data governance platforms such as Collibra, Informatica, Alation, Microsoft Purview, or similar tools.

Familiarity with ETL processes, data warehousing, and cloud data platforms.

Knowledge of industry regulations related to data privacy, security, and compliance.

Certification in CBAP, CCBA, CDMP, or related disciplines is a plus.

Compensation, Benefits and Duration

Minimum Compensation: USD 37,000

Maximum Compensation: USD 132,000

Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.

Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full-time employees.

This position is available for independent contractors

No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post