VP, Head of Data Governance and Data Quality

Description and Requirements
The Team You Will Join
At MetLife, data isn't just a tool - it is a catalyst for growth. As part of our Data & Analytics organization, you'll unlock trusted insights that drive bold decisions, power personalized customer experiences, and deliver lasting business impact. We're building the future of data - one that's governed responsibly, engineered for scalability, and designed for growth. When you join us, you're not just supporting the business - you're empowering it. Let's transform insight into impact and data into action, together.
The Opportunity
The Vice President, Data Governance & Data Quality is responsible for establishing and leading the enterprise strategy, governance framework, and operating model that ensures data is effectively managed, secured, trusted, and optimized as a strategic business asset across MetLife. This role plays a critical part in driving data integrity, quality, and accountability, enabling informed decision-making, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and innovation across the enterprise.
This is an exciting opportunity to shape MetLife's data-driven future by building a culture that values trusted data, influencing enterprise-wide data practices, and ensuring data serves as a catalyst for growth, efficiency, risk management, and business transformation.
Key Responsibilities

• Set the enterprise vision, strategy, operating model, and multi-year roadmap for Data Governance and Data Quality at enterprise level, ensuring alignment to business priorities, regulatory expectations, enterprise risk objectives, and technology transformation.
• Establish enterprise-wide governance authority for data governance, data quality, and responsible AI practices by defining policies, standards, controls, decision rights, and reusable frameworks that drive consistent execution across business and corporate functions.
• Lead the maturation of enterprise data management capabilities by sponsoring common tools, methods, roles, and governance routines that enable data to be managed as a trusted, protected, and value-generating corporate asset.
• Drive enterprise accountability for data quality outcomes by defining measurement standards, remediation expectations, prioritization routines, and escalation paths across critical data domains and business processes.
• Chair or steward senior-level data governance, data quality, and AI forums to enable executive decision-making, resolve cross-functional issues, accelerate adoption, and reinforce ownership and accountability across the enterprise.
• Influence and enable senior business, technology, and functional leaders to embed data governance and quality expectations into local operating plans, change agendas, and performance routines.
• Partner with senior leaders across Privacy, Information Security, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Technology, and business functions across regions and countries to integrate data protection, regulatory, AI, and non-financial risk requirements into enterprise data practices.
• Define and oversee enterprise scorecards, executive reporting, and performance routines that measure policy adherence, data quality health, responsible AI considerations, audit readiness, remediation progress, and adoption outcomes.
• Champion an enterprise data culture by sponsoring communications, training, communities of practice, and executive engagement that build organizational capability and reinforce responsible, trusted, and effective data use.
• Own enterprise standards for data definitions, ownership, stewardship, lineage, metadata, controls, and quality expectations to promote consistency, transparency, accountability, and regulatory readiness.
• Assess enterprise maturity, identify systemic governance and quality gaps, prioritize investment and remediation opportunities, and advise senior leadership on actions needed to strengthen sustainable adoption and reduce enterprise data risk.

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in data governance, data quality, data management, information risk, or related fields, including senior leadership experience in a large, complex, regulated organization.
• Experience building or leading an enterprise Center of Excellence, including operating model design, standards, frameworks, adoption routines, and measurable outcomes.
• Deep expertise in data governance, data quality, metadata, lineage, ownership, stewardship, Critical Data Elements, issue management, controls, privacy, information security, compliance, audit readiness, and responsible AI.
• Strong executive presence and influence, with experience advising senior leaders, leading governance forums, resolving cross-functional issues, and driving enterprise accountability through scorecards, metrics, and performance routines.
• Proven ability to lead high-performing teams, develop enterprise data talent, communicate complex topics clearly, and drive change across business, technology, risk, and functional stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within insurance, financial services, or other highly regulated industries, with a strong understanding of data-related regulatory, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Experience leading enterprise-scale data governance and data quality transformation programs across large, complex, matrixed organizations.
• Experience implementing modern data management and AI governance capabilities, including metadata, lineage, data quality, master data management (MDM), and Responsible AI frameworks.

Location Expectation: This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office.
The expected salary range for this position is 230,000 - 290,000 . This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more! For more information regarding MetLife's U.S. benefits, please click here .
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We're looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
This posting is for a current vacancy and is anticipated to remain open for at least 90 days from the listed posting date.
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