Data & AI Governance Lead

Shape the future of trusted data and responsible AI at Damen  Data is transforming the way we design, build and support vessels across the globe. As  Data & AI Governance Lead , you will play a pivotal role in helping Damen unlock the full value of data and AI while ensuring trust, quality, security and compliance remain at the core of everything we do.
This is your opportunity to build and lead a capability that enables smarter decisions, stronger business performance and responsible innovation across an international maritime organization.

Location:

Gorinchem
Time type:
Full time

The Role:

Build Damen’s Data & AI Foundation
Within  Damen Data Services , we help the organization become more  Human-Led and Data-Powered . We create value from data by improving how data is governed, managed, shared and used across the company.
As  Data & AI Governance Lead , you will lead the development of Damen’s data and AI governance capability. You will create the trusted foundation that enables reporting, analytics, automation and AI to deliver real business value.
This is not a role focused solely on policies or frameworks. You will combine strategic leadership with practical execution, ensuring governance becomes embedded in the daily way of working across Damen.
Your Impact:
Lead & Inspire
Lead and develop Damen’s Data & AI Governance capability.
Manage a team of Data Stewards, the Product Owner MDM, Project Manager and AI agent(s).
Create an environment where ownership, accountability and continuous improvement thrive.
Govern & Enable
Further develop Damen’s data and AI governance framework, including roles, responsibilities, decision-making structures and standards.
Strengthen Data Ownership and Data Stewardship across the organization, ensuring governance is practical, clear and effective.
Drive adoption through communication, coaching, stakeholder engagement and change management.
Improve Data Quality
Increase visibility of data quality issues and prioritize improvements based on business impact.
Establish sustainable processes that continuously improve critical data domains.
Ensure trusted data is available for business operations, reporting and analytics.
Collaborate Across the Organization
Partner closely with business stakeholders, IT, Security, Privacy, Analytics and AI teams.
Govern critical master data domains together with the Data Shared Services Center.
Build strong relationships that connect strategy, governance and business value.
Shape the Data & AI Ecosystem
Work alongside Data & AI Architecture teams to align governance with data models, metadata, lineage, definitions and data products.
Support the implementation of governance principles within modern data platforms and business systems.
Help establish scalable ways of working that support future growth.
Drive Responsible & AI-Ready Data
Ensure data is classified, governed, secured and trusted for AI use cases.
Strengthen data lineage, ownership, access control and source reliability.
Help shape responsible AI governance with a focus on transparency, compliance, security and human oversight.
Who We’re Looking For:
We’re looking for a pragmatic leader who combines vision with execution and understands that effective governance should enable business success rather than create bureaucracy.
You bring:
Strong experience in Data Governance, Master Data Management, Enterprise Data Management or a related discipline.
A solid understanding of data ownership, stewardship, data quality, metadata, data definitions and lifecycle management.
Experience building governance capabilities within complex organizations.
The ability to connect business, IT, architecture, security, analytics and operational teams.
Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at…