Data Governance Lead

About COFRA Holding AG

COFRA Holding AG is a family-owned group, headquartered in Switzerland, with operations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. COFRA has a diverse portfolio of investment businesses in private equity (Bregal Investments), real estate (Redevco) and asset management (Anthos Fund & Asset Management). Businesses and investments are also held in retail, clean energy and sustainable food. Through business, COFRA strives to be a force for good in the world - a mission that began over 180 years ago. Today, we actively direct our expertise, energy and capital into businesses and investments that we believe have the potential to create superior value.

Think about Data Governance differently and make a real impact

A welcoming and supportive setting where you can develop and make a real difference in the world - that’s what you’ll find at COFRA. We’re a family business, geared to creating lasting value and united by an ambition to change industries and society for the better. Aspiration and entrepreneurism are encouraged and rewarded with opportunity. Teams are diverse yet close-knit. Relationships matter. People matter.

What we can achieve together

One of our greatest strengths is our people: talented, dedicated professionals who are true experts in their field, committed to the pursuit of excellence and open to new opportunities and ways of capturing them.

We're looking for an experienced Data Governance Lead to join our COFRA team in Porto. You will join a multi-generational family business with a commitment to achieve systemic change across Liveable Cities, Responsible Capital, Clean Energy and Sustainable Food together with our management teams and mission-aligned external partners.

About the role

The Data Governance Lead is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Group’s data governance framework, ensuring master data quality, consistency, and control across all entities and systems. The incumbent will be focused on building a unified data foundation by defining standards, enforcing governance, and partnering with Data Owners/SMEs to ensure end-to-end data integrity. It acts as the central authority for data definitions, lineage, stewardship, and quality monitoring.

Key responsibilities include:

• Define, implement, and maintain the Group’s Data Governance framework, ensuring alignment with organisational and regulatory standards.
• Own key master data domains (e.g., Finance, Vendor, Customer, Organisational Structure), establishing policies, standards, quality rules, and approval workflows, while setting up governance forums, stewardship roles, and operating procedures to ensure clear data ownership and accountability.
• Collaborate closely with the Digital Application Owner to align data structures across enterprise applications and BI/analytics platforms.
• Monitor data quality KPIs, drive remediation initiatives, and maintain data lineage and metadata documentation. Partner with Group IT, Security, and application teams to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, data protection standards, and audit expectations.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of master data, including creation, enrichment, validation, change control, and deactivation. Lead cross-entity data cleansing and harmonisation initiatives supporting consolidation, investment reporting, and digital integration.
• Identify and resolve data inconsistencies across systems, acting as the final escalation point for master data issues, and maintain group-wide data catalogues, business glossaries, and reference data sets.
• Coordinate with external partners to execute data quality processes, perform bulk updates, automate data pipelines, and support governance initiatives, ensuring adherence to governance standards, security principles, and operating model expectations.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration with Finance, Investment teams, BI, and local data stewards, ensuring alignment between governance design and operational execution. Train stakeholders on processes, quality expectations, and governance rules, and support entities in adopting standardised data models and reporting hierarchies.
• Promote a strong culture of data accountability, quality, and stewardship across the organisation.
• The role requires strong capability in translating complex business and IT requirements into enterprise solutions, advanced knowledge of enterprise data management, data governance, and data visualisation, as well as robust analytical skills. It also demands solid experience in agile and waterfall project management, strong project delivery capabilities, and the ability to conduct risk assessments, identify vulnerabilities, and implement effective mitigation strategies.
• Demonstrates strong leadership by driving impact, aligning team goals with strategic priorities, fostering collaboration and accountability, supporting continuous learning and adaptability, and promoting an inclusive and high-performing team environment.

What You Bring

• 6-10 years of relevant experience in data governance, master data management, or enterprise data management.
• Proven experience establishing Data Governance frameworks within international organisations.
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field.
• Strong expertise in data governance, master data management, and data quality frameworks.
• Ability to translate complex business and IT requirements into scalable data solutions. 
• Solid analytical skills with a structured, problem-solving mindset.
• Experience working in cross-functional environments, collaborating with business and technology stakeholders.
• Strong project management capabilities, with exposure to both agile and waterfall methodologies.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to foster collaboration, accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of data protection, regulatory compliance, and risk management practices is highly valued.
• English (required).

What we offer you in return

The opportunity itself is a great way to have a direct impact on the Group and realize potential across a multitude of areas.

COFRA offers notable benefits. Also, training and development is provided to all COFRA employees.

COFRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin or disability. None of this gets in the way of hiring and retaining the best people.