We have been exclusively engaged by a global manufacturing and distribution organization to hire an Enterprise Master Data Governance Lead. The company has an established global ERP environment, regional data stewards, existing workflows, and governance practices already in use. Because ERP capabilities were implemented across regions over time, some standards, ownership models, and processes have developed differently. The opportunity is to build on that foundation and create a more consistent, scalable global governance model.

This is a visible individual-contributor leadership role for someone who can combine governance strategy, program ownership, stakeholder influence, and practical execution. The successful candidate will help determine what should be standardized globally, where legitimate regional differences should remain, and how the governance function should mature over the next several years.

The role is expected to be approximately 60 to 70 percent governance leadership, change management, stakeholder influence, and program ownership, with approximately 30 to 40 percent focused on process improvement, data-quality standards, workflow development, and hands-on support of governance initiatives.

This is a direct-hire position based in Horsham, PA, with onsite work required Tuesday through Thursday.

The Role You'll Play

The Enterprise Master Data Governance Lead will own and mature global master data governance across ERP-driven domains such as products, items, BOMs, vendors, customers, suppliers, finance data, and other critical enterprise master data.

This person will report into the Data and Analytics organization and work with business and IT stakeholders across the U.S., EMEA, APAC, Australia, and other global regions. There are no direct reports initially, but the role will lead through influence and partner closely with approximately 20 regional data stewards.

Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and mature the global master data governance roadmap, building on the policies, workflows, tools, and regional processes already in place.

• Establish clearer data ownership, stewardship responsibilities, decision rights, approval paths, escalation models, standards, and accountability across master data domains.

• Harmonize regional master data practices while recognizing legitimate regulatory, operational, and business differences.

• Partner with regional data stewards and business leaders to drive adoption through communication, influence, change management, and practical support.

• Improve master data request, validation, approval, maintenance, retirement, and audit-readiness processes across the ERP environment.

• Create practical governance documentation, including process flows, RACI models, ownership matrices, approval workflows, quality rules, operating procedures, and compliance requirements.

• Establish master data health metrics, dashboards, and reporting to measure request volume, quality, completeness, defects, cycle time, and governance effectiveness.

• Support current and upcoming business and technology initiatives that depend on consistent, trusted master data.

• Identify opportunities to improve or automate request intake, validation, approvals, quality checks, and ERP updates where practical.

• Present recommendations to leadership, gain support through the appropriate governance forums, and work with regional teams to execute approved improvements.

Background Profile

The ideal candidate has strong practical experience in master data governance, master data management, or ERP data governance within a manufacturing, distribution, industrial, chemical, CPG, or similar product-based business.

This could be a strong fit for someone who has helped build or mature governance within a larger organization and is ready for broader ownership, direct access to leadership, and more visible business impact. The person should be comfortable operating as a coach-player who can move between strategy, stakeholder conversations, process design, and hands-on problem-solving.

Required experience:

• 7 or more years of experience in master data management, master data governance, data quality, or enterprise data stewardship within an ERP-driven environment.

• Strong understanding of operational master data domains such as item master, product master, BOMs, vendors, customers, suppliers, finance data, and related ERP data.

• Experience governing master data across a global or multi-region ERP environment.

• Experience in manufacturing, distribution, industrial products, CPG, chemical manufacturing, or another product-based business.

• Strong communication, presentation, and influence skills, including the ability to drive adoption without relying on direct authority.

• Ability to assess established processes, identify gaps and priorities, and create a practical roadmap for continued governance maturity.

• Experience creating ownership models, process flows, approval workflows, data standards, quality rules, governance documentation, and operating procedures.

• Understanding of how business processes translate into ERP workflows and master data requirements.

• Strong project management, process improvement, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.

• Comfort working with regional stakeholders who may have different priorities, processes, and regulatory requirements.

Preferred experience:

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations or Dynamics AX experience.

• ERP master data governance experience with SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, Infor, or another major ERP platform may also be considered.

• Experience creating master data health dashboards, governance KPIs, or data-quality metrics.

• Familiarity with workflow automation, ticketing processes, data integration, MDM frameworks, or governance tools.

• Exposure to regulatory, audit, access-control, segregation-of-duties, SOX-style, ISO, or supply-chain traceability requirements.