Data Governance and Modelling Lead

Eureka is the world’s largest public network consisting of 47 countries and the European Commission as members, empowering companies with funding for international cooperation in research, development, and innovation. Since 1985, the governments and public funding agencies within our network have supported the research and development of over 7,000 groundbreaking commercialized innovations, driving economic growth and enhancing industry competitiveness. Through the various Eureka programmes, we fund small, medium, and large companies, universities, and research organizations conducting international R&D projects for civilian purposes.

The Brussels-based Eureka Secretariat plays a pivotal role in supporting the network's strategic objectives, managing programme operations, developing and maintaining IT programme management platforms and databases, storing and analysing data, and promoting Eureka to a wide range of stakeholders and beneficiaries.

To support our mission of giving businesses a competitive edge through innovation, the Eureka Secretariat, based in Brussels (Etterbeek), is looking for a full time:

Data Governance and Modelling Lead

About the Role

Data is among our most significant assets. We are investing in modern data platforms and building the governance and design capability to ensure delivery of future proof, trustworthy, well-understood, well-owned data across the network and to all our stakeholders. The Data governance and modelling lead will take a central role in that objective. You will shape how data is governed and designed at Eureka: who owns it, where the authoritative version lives, how it is classified and described, how quality is defined and monitored, and how our data platform and data models should evolve. You will work across the organisation and with external partners, set direction on governance and design, and oversee the delivery work that turns that direction into practice, whether that delivery is done in-house or by external specialists.

It is a multi-facetted role. It is strategic and focused on governance and modelling, but it is not purely theoretical. You will be close enough to the delivery to guide it credibly, challenge technical choices, and keep the work connected to practical implementation.

This role will evolve over time. As the organisation’s data maturity grows and its governance framework becomes more established, the balance of responsibilities is expected to shift. The priorities described here reflect where the work starts; the emphasis will change over time, and the post-holder will help shape that change.

Duties and Responsibilities

Main Responsibilities

• Further the design and development of the operating model (how data governance is organised and run), including governance bodies, roles, clear accountability and responsibility mapping, and the data owner and steward framework.
• Contribute to the design of our data platform and data models and their roadmap, including the data lakehouse and the catalogue and metadata ecosystem, and how these fit with our wider systems.
• Guide and oversee implementation work, whether delivered by internal resources or external consultants, including writing clear specifications and reviewing delivery against them.
• Define data quality rules, KPIs and monitoring standards.
• Design and maintain taxonomy, classification schemes, controlled vocabularies and the business glossary.
• Translate regulatory and compliance requirements into practical governance policy, standards and design choices.
• Act as a central reference point and source of expertise on data governance and design for business, IT, legal and compliance colleagues.
• Bring together and support cross-functional working groups, and coordinate contributions from across the organisation and from external stakeholders.
• Document design decisions and their rationale on an ongoing basis, so that knowledge is retained and the work can be continued by others.

Education, Technical Skills and Experience

• A level of higher education that corresponds to completed post-secondary education of at least three years attested by a diploma and relevant professional experience of at least two years;’.
• Preferably, a level of higher education that corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma (Master’s degree) and relevant professional experience of at least three years.
• Strong practical knowledge of data governance frameworks (such as DAMA-DMBOK or DCAM), and experience putting them into practice rather than only in theory.
• Solid experience of data ownership and stewardship models, data quality, and metadata and catalogue concepts.
• A strong understanding of how modern data platforms are structured (lakehouse or warehouse, storage layers, data modellin