MDM & Reference Data team lead

Role Purpose 

MDM & Reference Data team lead is accountable for the day‑to‑day leadership, coordination, and quality of delivery of the MDM Functional Analyst team. The role ensures that master & reference data requirements, standards, and lifecycle processes are executed correctly & timely. The primary purpose of the team is to maintain MDM and Reference data for the business, managing workflows, ensuring technical process run as expected, managing incidents, issues and testing new functionality.  

Acting as a senior functional authority within the MDM area, you would bridge MDM Functional Managers, business stakeholders, data governance, and technical teams. The role combines people leadership, functional process ownership, and hands‑on contribution where required 

Key responsibilities:  

Master Data Requirements & Analysis 

• Working with MDM Functional Managers, elicit, analyse, and document business requirements related to master data domains (e.g. Product, Customer, Supplier). 

• Support the translation of business needs into clear functional specifications, including data attributes, hierarchies, business rules, and lifecycle requirements. 

• Support the prioritisation and refinement of MDM requirements in alignment with business and regulatory needs. 

Process & Lifecycle Support 

• Support the design and documentation of end‑to‑end master data lifecycle processes, including creation, change, approval, and retirement. 

• Assist in defining stewardship workflows, approvals, and exception handling processes. 

• Help ensure processes are practical, auditable, and consistently followed. 

Team Leadership & Capability Management 

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of MDM Functional Analysts, setting clear objectives, priorities, and expectations. 

• Allocate work, manage capacity, and ensure timely delivery of functional MDM outputs. 

• Provide functional guidance, quality assurance, and mentoring across requirements analysis, standards definition, and process design. 

• Support performance management, skills development, and succession planning within the team 

Stakeholder Management & Engagement 

• Act as the primary escalation point for master & reference data issues. 

• Partner with MDM Functional Managers, Data Stewards, and Governance teams to align priorities and resolve issues. 

• Ensure stakeholder expectations are managed and delivery commitments are transparent and achievable. 

• Represent the functional MDM team in forums, governance sessions, and delivery reviews. 

• Ensure functional testing and user acceptance testing is supported and where required deliver by the team 

Delivery Management & Continuous Improvement 

• Manage delivery across initiatives, BAU change, and operational requests. 

• Identify opportunities to improve processes, reduce friction, and increase reuse and standardisation. 

• Contribute to the maturity of the MDM and Data Governance operating model. 

• Support change, adoption, and communication of master data standards and processes. 

Qualifications & Skills: 

We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals.  

• Strong expertise in Master Data Management concepts, domains, and lifecycle processes.  

• Solid understanding of data governance and data quality principles.  

• Proven people leadership experience, with the ability to coach, prioritise, and quality‑assure team output.  

• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, able to influence across business and technical audiences.  

• Structured problem‑solving skills and a pragmatic, delivery‑focused mindset.  

• Ability to operate effectively in a global, matrix organisation with competing priorities 

Experience Required: 

• 10+ years of experience in a data, MDM, data governance, or business analysis role, preferably within a large or regulated organisation.  

• Familiarity with MDM platforms (e.g. Informatica MDM, Stibo, or similar).  

• Experience working with enterprise data standards, business rules, and process documentation is preferred. 

• Demonstrated experience leading or coordinating functional teams or workstreams.