Product Data Governance Manager

Description

Job Summary: NEFCO is seeking a disciplined, systems-oriented Product Data Governance Manager to own and operate the enterprise-wide product data governance framework. This role is the conduit between NEFCO’s Acquisition, Enrichment, and Category functions, ensuring that product data decisions are consistent, accountable, and enforceable across all systems and channels.

In addition to governance oversight, this role drives NEFCO’s product data enrichment program, including enrichment strategy, quality standards, third-party vendor coordination, and prioritization across categories. Enrichment execution is carried out by a combination of internal and external resources, including Product Category Managers and Product Data Stewards, and third-party resources

Job Duties:

Governance Framework Ownership

• Assist with the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of NEFCO’s product data governance framework, including decision rights, escalation paths, policies, and standards.
• Maintain and publish governing policy documentation, attribute standards, taxonomy guidelines, and lifecycle rules that define how NEFCO manages product data.

Enrichment Program Oversight

• Drives NEFCO’s product data enrichment program, defining enrichment standards, attribute models, and completeness thresholds for both ERP and Digital channels.
• Coordinate enrichment prioritization, ensuring alignment with commercial priorities, M&A timelines, and digital readiness goals.
• Manage relationships with third-party enrichment partners, including scope, quality review, and performance against SLAs.
• Monitor enrichment coverage and quality metrics across the catalog, identifying gaps and driving remediation through the appropriate stewardship team.
• Maintain enrichment templates, style guides, and category-specific content standards used by the Data Steward team.

Data Quality & Compliance

• Define and own NEFCO’s product data quality scoring model, establishing thresholds for ERP readiness, Digital readiness, and enrichment completeness.
• Risk Identification and Mitigation: Oversee the identification of data-related risks in product lifecycles, and lead the team in developing mitigation strategies. Ensure adherence to data policies and conduct audits to maintain governance standards.
• Monitor data quality KPIs across the catalog and drive corrective action plans when standards are not met.
• Ensure adherence to item creation, lifecycle management, and enrichment workflows by all contributing roles.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with the leads of Procurement, IT, Inside Sales, Operations, Marketing, and various Data Stewards to align upstream data needs and downstream quality standands.
• Collaborate with IT and ERP teams to enforce governance controls within Eclipse and future PIM/MDM platforms.
• Serve as the central point of escalation for product data disputes, conflicts, or exceptions across departments.

M&A & Onboarding Integration

• Own the product data governance playbook for M&A integrations, ensuring acquired catalog data is assessed, normalized, and onboarded to NEFCO standards.
• Define and maintain supplier onboarding data requirements and the intake process in partnership with the Acquisition team.

Policy, Training & Change Management

• Develop training materials and onboarding documentation to educate stakeholders on governance policies and their roles within the framework.
• Drive change management efforts to shift NEFCO’s culture towards treating product data as a strategic, managed asset.
• Partner with leadership to communicate governance outcomes, progress against KPIs, and roadmap priorities.

Leadership & Team Building

• Team Building and Recruitment: Work with NEFCO’s Recruitment Director to hire and onboard a team of product data analysts, including defining role requirements, conducting interviews, and selecting candidates with expertise in data governance, analysis tools, and product domain knowledge. Establish team structure and ensure diversity in skills and perspectives.
• Performance Management and Mentoring: Provide day-to-day supervision, conduct regular performance reviews, and set individual development plans for team members. Mentor analysts on best practices in data governance, fostering skill growth in areas like data quality assurance, metadata management, and regulatory compliance.
• Innovation and Process Improvement: Encourage a culture of continuous improvement by leading initiatives to adopt new data technologies or methodologies. Promote innovative approaches to data analysis that enhance product decision-making, while ensuring the team remains agile in a dynamic environment.
• Reporting and Communication: Prepare and present reports on team performance, governance metrics, and insights to senior leadership. Communicate complex data concepts clearly to non-technical audiences, building buy-in for governance efforts.

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• Experience in data governance, master data management, or product information management, ideally in distribution, manufacturing, or industrial products.
• Familiarity with ERP systems (Epicor Eclipse preferred), PIM platforms, data quality tooling, and content enrichment practices including attribute modeling, taxonomy, and digital asset standards.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with the ability to manage complexity across multiple teams and systems.
• Exceptional communication and facilitation skills; comfortable presenting to executives and holding peers accountable for standards.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Management, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• Experience with M&A data integration or catalog onboarding is a strong plus.
• Proven ability to build, mentor, and develop high-performing small teams in a hands-on environment.
• Track record of driving change, implementing governance programs, and delivering measurable improvements in data quality, trust, or usability.

Success Metrics:

• % of catalog meeting defined ERP and Digital readiness thresholds.
• Enrichment coverage rate across priority catalog categories (ERP and Digital).
• Governance Board cadence maintained and issues resolved within defined SLAs.
• Third-party enrichment partner performance against scope, quality, and timeline commitments.
• Reduction in item creation errors, duplicate SKUs, and data exceptions.
• Time-to-onboard acquired data following M&A events.
• Steward and stakeholder adoption of governance policies and workflows.
• Data quality score improvement quarter-over-quarter across priority categories.