Senior Director, Data Management & Governance

Summary

Join KIPP Public Schools as the Senior Director of Data Management & Governance and lead the development and execution of enterprise-wide data management and governance strategies. Oversee the entire data lifecycle, from creation to archiving, ensuring compliance with relevant policies. Manage a team of 10, collaborating with IT and program teams. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in K-12 data governance, student data privacy, and education technology. This role reports to the Chief Information Officer and requires strong collaboration and leadership skills. The position offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package. The role can be based in a KIPP Foundation office or remotely.

Requirements

• Mission and Student Focus: Demonstrates passion and commitment to KIPP’s mission and possesses the desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s core values (Focus on Excellent Results, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action)
• Achievement & Outcomes Orientation: Demonstrated record of setting ambitious goals and achieving them with consistency. Invests in developing teammates’ skills and mindsets to address gaps in achieving team growth; determines what quantitative and qualitative data are most relevant to their goals and supports the team in creating and monitoring systems for collecting, reviewing, and acting upon data to drive outcomes; able to monitor progress, communicating status to the right stakeholders and adjusting plans and use of time to ensure systems are yielding desired outcomes
• Effective Teaming & Stakeholder Management: Has the interpersonal, diplomatic, relationship building, and communications skills necessary to develop successful working relationships with diverse constituents to deliver results; evolves and adapts plans and approach with diverse stakeholders to drive results; excellent communication skills with an aptitude for translating complex information into a clear and persuasive narrative; convinces others by identifying benefits for all
• People Management & Development: Effective differentiating approaches to develop and coach teammates; skilled in setting managing both performance and development goals; provides timely and actionable feedback to drive teammate development and performance; strategically distributes work based on skill and capacity between self and teammates to ensure the work outcomes of the collective team; able to build a culture of accountability and productive discourse to help teammates achieve at the highest level
• Change Management & Communication: Effectively articulates case for change through clear and compelling presentations and translates this into actional plans. Effectively tailors communications and engagement approach for different audiences to deepen investment and drive actions and behavior change that would lead to org-wide goals; acts as a champion for change with cross-team stakeholders
• Data Acumen: Proficiency in qualitative data systems and tracking to ensure accurate data collection and dissemination for team use. Knowledge of reporting, analysis, data processing, data management, and quality assurance practices. Ability to build dashboards to share data with relevant stakeholders
• Technical Fluency: Demonstrated familiarity with proficiency in languages like Python, C++, and .Net to drive data architecture. Advance skills in SQL, NoSQL, Tableau, database architecture, and optimization
• Bachelor's degree in Data Management, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field or 8-10 years of relevant work experience
• 5+ years of experience in data management, governance, or education technology, while in a leadership role
• Strong knowledge of K-12 data governance frameworks, student data privacy regulations, and interoperability standards
• Experience overseeing data lifecycle management, ensuring data accuracy, integrity, and security
• Familiarity with data governance tools (e.g., Collibra, Informatica, Alation), student information systems (PowerSchool, Infinite Campus), and assessment platforms (I-Ready, mClass, Renaissance)
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive data management strategy aligned with KIPP’s mission and objectives
• Oversee the entire data lifecycle, ensuring data is accurate, accessible, and secure from intake to retirement
• Establish best practices for data collection, storage, integration, quality assurance, and reporting
• Implement and manage data governance tools and platforms to support KIPP’s data ecosystem
• Oversee the design, implementation, and maintenance of data infrastructure, ensuring it meets the needs of KIPP Foundation, and Regions
• Manage data warehouse platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Azure Fabric) to ensure efficient data storage, retrieval, and processing
• Implement data integration tools and ETL/ELT pipelines to streamline data movement across systems
• Ensure data architecture scalability, security, and performance, supporting the growing needs of KIPP’s education data ecosystem
• Collaborate with IT and engineering teams to optimize database performance, automate workflows, and enhance data accessibility
• Evaluate and implement business intelligence (BI) tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) to enable data-driven decision-making across KIPP Foundation and Regions
• Lead the design and enforcement of data governance policies to comply with education-specific regulations, such as
• FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
• COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act)
• State and district-specific student data privacy laws
• Ed-Fi, Common Education Data Standards (CEDS), and other K-12 data frameworks
• Partner with legal, compliance, and IT teams to mitigate risks related to student data privacy and security
• Define data ownership, stewardship, and accountability across KIPP Network
• Implement data quality standards and governance processes to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of data
• Oversee data stewardship programs that engage KIPP’s educators, administrators, and IT teams in responsible data management
• Monitor and report data quality metrics to key stakeholders to drive continuous improvement
• Partner with KIPP Foundation leadership, school regions, state education agencies, and IT teams to ensure timely access to high-quality data
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on student data governance, analytics, and compliance strategies
• Lead cross-functional working groups to improve data governance adoption across the KIPP network
• Evaluate and recommend data governance technologies, including data catalogs, data lineage tools, and metadata management platforms
• Guide the integration of AI, automation, and interoperability frameworks (Ed-Fi, CEDS, SIF, etc.) into KIPP’s data governance practices
• Stay informed about emerging K-12 education policies, technology standards, and data security threats
• Build and mentor a high-performing data governance and management team
• Foster a culture of data literacy and accountability across KIPP Foundation
• Provide training and professional development on data privacy laws, governance best practices, and ethical data usage

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with state education agencies (SEAs), school districts, or charter networks on data governance initiatives
• Background in cloud-based data management (AWS, Azure, GCP) for K-12 education
• Experience designing and managing data warehouse platforms and data governance strategies

Benefits

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+)
• 100% paid parental leave
• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans
• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program
• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts