Director, Master Data Strategy & Governance

Work Location:
Chicago

Due to the highly interactive and team-based nature of this role, in-person attendance for most of the workweek (i.e., 3 days or more) is essential for effective communication including during in-person meetings, strong supervision, real-time problem-solving, and participation in cross-functional initiatives.

Reporting directly to the VP, Data, Analytics & AI, the Director, Master Data Management (MDM) will serve as the cornerstone of Ferrara’s data foundation. As Ferrara accelerates its digital transformation agenda, this role will establish and lead the enterprise’s master data strategy, ensuring that our most critical data assets — customers, products, vendors, and materials — are accurate, consistent, and trusted across all business systems.

Successful candidates will have demonstrated success building MDM capabilities in complex, multi-ERP environments and will bring the business acumen to align data strategy with enterprise objectives. A background in CPG, food & beverage, or consumer goods is strongly preferred.

The Director, MDM is a pivotal role within Information Technology at Ferrara Candy Company. The scope of this position spans data governance, data quality, and the technical stewardship of master data across our ERP landscape (SAP S/4

HANA), commercial platforms, and supply chain systems. The Director will work closely with the CIO, IT leadership, and cross-functional business partners to build a high-integrity data environment that enables analytics, AI/ML readiness, and operational excellence.

• Define and execute the enterprise Master Data Management strategy, roadmap, and operating model in alignment with IT and business strategy.
• Establish governance frameworks, data ownership accountability, and stewardship processes for all master data domains (product, customer, vendor, material, finance).
• Lead the MDM Center of Excellence, setting standards, policies, and processes for data definition, creation, maintenance, and archiving.
• Partner with the IT and functional leadership to position MDM as a strategic enabler of business value and digital transformation.

• Define and operationalize data quality KPIs, including accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness metrics across all master data domains.
• Implement automated data quality monitoring, cleansing workflows, and enrichment processes to maintain high-integrity datasets.
• Drive root cause analysis on systemic data quality issues and implement sustainable corrective action programs.
• Establish a single source of truth for critical master data entities, reducing duplication and ambiguity across business systems.

• Own the SAP MDG platform, including data model, governance workflows, BRF+ rules, change request configuration, and integration with SAP S/4
  
  HANA to enable controlled creation, maintenance, and distribution of material, customer, vendor, and financial master data; lead implementation, enterprise adoption, and execution of the SAP MDG roadmap.
• Own master data strategy and execution within the SAP S/4
  
  HANA environment, including material master, vendor master, customer master, and financial master data.
• Collaborate with the IT applications and integration teams to ensure consistent master data flows across ERP, CRM, WMS, and analytics platforms.
• Govern master data processes during M&A integrations, ERP migrations, and other transformation initiatives, working closely with the IT PMO.

• Ensure master data readiness for AI/ML initiatives by establishing governance practices that support model training, inference, and deployment.
• Partner with data science and analytics teams to deliver well-governed, high-quality data products that accelerate business intelligence and decision-making.
• Drive data democratization efforts and promote data literacy across business units, enabling self-service analytics on trusted master data.

• Ensure master data practices comply with relevant regulatory frameworks (FDA, FSMA, GDPR, SOX) applicable to food manufacturing and CPG.
• Develop…