Technology Governance Lead

Technology Governance Lead

Location: Kansas City, MO

Onsite Flexibility: Hybrid

Contract Details

• Position Type: Contract
• Contract Duration: 12 months
• Start: March 23, 2026
• Pay Rate: $79.00 $89.00 / Hour (USD)
• Work Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Job Summary

This position is responsible for leading the design, implementation, and operation of enterprise technology and data governance within the security function. The leader will partner with the individual serving in the CISO role, the Chief Digital Technology Officer (CDTO), and key business stakeholders to ensure technology and data policies, decision rights, and controls align with business outcomes and risk appetite. This role owns program-level activities including technology and data inventory and mapping, classification and minimization, stewardship model, data access controls, data risk assessment, and governance metrics to support compliance, security, and AI readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Governance: Establish the rules, policies, and structures that direct how the technology and Business Enablement organization operates, ensuring accountability and strategic alignment
• Risk Management: Guide enterprise cyber risk management practices and alignment with business risk tolerance
• Compliance Oversight: Monitor adherence to external laws (e.g., GDPR) and internal policies to identify compliance gaps
• Stakeholder Communication: Partner with Executive Leaders and senior stakeholders to deliver meaningful insights into the organization's risk posture and compliance status
• Program Implementation: Lead the selection and deployment of GRC software (e.g., Vanta, MetricStream) to automate controls and reporting
• Define and maintain the technology and data governance charter, scope, and decision-rights model (RASCI) in collaboration with business and organizational stakeholders
• Develop and operationalize technology and data classification, minimization, and retention policies with business, privacy, and security partners
• Oversee the development of a prioritized inventory of technology and data assets to enable discovery, classification, lineage tracking, and risk analysis
• Lead stewardship program design and placement (centralized, federated, or hybrid), assign data owners and stewards, and embed stewardship into operational workflows
• Design and run Data Risk Assessments (DRA / FinDRA) to prioritize datasets by business impact and to inform security investment decisions
• Serve as a primary liaison for external audits, regulatory reviews, and client-facing assessments to provide assurance and evidence for compliance activities
• Specify controls and access governance (PBAC/Purpose/role-based) and coordinate with IAM, DSPM/DLP, and SIEM/SOC as needed
• Select and oversee integration of governance tooling (catalog, lineage, DSPM, DQ, MDM, observability)
• Implement metrics, dashboards, and reporting that link governance activities to business KPIs and risk metrics for executive stakeholders
• All other duties as assigned

Required Skills

• Capability to define policy, decision rights (RASCI), and steward models (centralized/federated/hybrid)
• Demonstrated ability to engage Executive Leadership, advance data literacy, convene steering committees, and translate risks into business and financial terms for senior leaders
• Proven experience leading technology or data governance programs and working cross functionally to operationalize classification, stewardship, access controls, risk assessments, exception management, and continuous improvement
• Experience conducting risk assessments and working with security, privacy, legal, audit, and business teams to translate risks into prioritized remediation and investment needs
• Technical knowledge of metadata, data cataloging, lineage, MDM, data quality, DSPM/DLP, DataOps/Data observability concepts, and governance platform integrations with data architectures
• Applied experience in project management principles and methods
• One or more professional cybersecurity certifications (e.g., Security , CISA, CRISC, CISSP)
• Hands-on experience building or designing data governance programs (prefer someone who has built governance in environments without existing rigid frameworks)
• Strong leadership and influence skills (even without formal authority)
• Entrepreneurial mindset ability to create structure where it doesn't exist
• Collaborative approach should partner with the business to drive this forward relatively quickly
• Experience with DLP tools (specific tool experience not required, just experience using one or more DLP tools)
• Strong social and interpersonal skills comfortable engaging senior leaders as peers, reads resistance early and adapts messaging, builds credibility through listening and empathy
• High energy and evangelist mindset naturally persuasive and visible, enjoys being a spokesperson and change champion, willing to repeat the vision often and enthusiastically
• Proven influence without authority has built programs where participation was voluntary, knows how to create coalitions and champions, comfortable operating in ambiguity
• Executive-level communication translates governance into business value and outcomes, avoids risk- or compliance-heavy language unless necessary

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity with governance frameworks and tooling
• Exposure to security, privacy, data, or risk domains
• Knowledge of data classification, stewardship, or access models

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field required
• 8 years of information security experience required (applicable years of experience may be substituted for degree requirement)

Required Experience

• 8 years of information security experience (or applicable experience substituted for degree requirement)
• Proven experience leading technology or data governance programs in federated organizations
• Experience building or designing data governance programs, preferably in environments without existing rigid frameworks
• Experience leading enterprise-wide initiatives without direct ownership or enforcement power
• Experience serving as a connector between business, technology, data, and security
• Experience where success depended on persuasion, not mandates

Nice-to-Have Experience

• Background in federated organizational governance models
• Experience as a transformation or operating model leader, governance or strategy consultant, or enterprise program lead
• Comfort with less top-down control and more influence-based change

Work Environment / Physical Requirements

• Role has no direct reports
• Must be comfortable with federated, influence-based change environments candidates used to heavily regulated environments (PCI, HIPAA, etc.) with top-down governance structures may find this role a significant adjustment
• Must be fully committed to converting to full time
• Target conversion window: Q3 Q4
• Interview process: First round with hiring manager and a member of the team (preferably in person; Teams if needed); second round in-person interview with Director

Benefits

• Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance Plans
• 401k Retirement Fund

About the Client

Infrastructure engineering firm designing and building essential city infrastructure since 1898.

About GTT

GTT is a minority-owned staffing firm and a subsidiary of Chenega Corporation, a Native American-owned company in Alaska. We highly value diverse and inclusive workplaces and support Fortune 500 organizations across banking, financial services, technology, life sciences, biotech, utilities, and retail sectors throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Job Number: 26-02223

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