Data Governance Lead

Kids Planet is an independent, family run group of nurseries providing the highest standard of nursery care across the UK.

Reporting to Chief Technology Officer
Salary £50,000 per annum
Location Hybrid - Head Office Altrincham / Remote
Contract Permanent, Full-Time

Kids Planet Day Nurseries is seeking an experienced Data Governance Lead to design, implement, and embed a robust data governance framework across the organisation. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this role is the dedicated owner of all matters relating to how data is classified, handled, retained, and protected throughout its lifecycle.

This is a newly defined role created to address identified gaps in data governance capability - distinct from IT Security, which is owned by the Head of IT. The Data Governance Lead will work collaboratively across nursery operations, People, finance, and digital teams to ensure every member of staff understands their responsibility for the data they handle, and that Kids Planet meets all obligations and sector-specific regulatory requirements.

The role will be central to evaluating, procuring, and ope rationalising specialised data governance tooling, including Data Loss Prevention (DLP) platforms, to give the organisation real-time visibility and control over its sensitive data estate.

Kids Planet Day Nurseries Central Support Office will be relocating to Altrincham in the coming months.

Key Responsibilities

Data Governance Framework

• Develop, own, and continuously improve the Kids Planet Data Governance Framework, including data classification schemes, data dictionaries, and data quality standards.

• Define and enforce policies covering data creation, storage, sharing, retention, archiving, and secure deletion across all business functions.

• Establish and chair a Data Governance Working Group, bringing together representatives from operations, People, finance, and IT to embed a culture of data stewardship.

• Maintain a comprehensive data asset register and ensure all critical data flows are mapped and documented.

Data Protection & GDPR Compliance

• Act as the organisation's subject matter expert for UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, providing guidance to all departments on compliant data handling.

• Manage and coordinate responses to Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs), erasure requests, and other data subject rights in line with statutory timescales.

• Conduct and maintain Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) for new systems, processes, and third-party relationships.

• Maintain and test the organisation's data breach response procedures, coordinating with the IT Security team and, where required, the ICO.

• Ensure Records of Processing Activities (RoPA) are kept accurate and up to date.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) & Tooling

• Lead the evaluation, procurement, and implementation of the organisation's DLP platform

• Define DLP policies and rules that reflect Kids Planet's data classification framework, ensuring sensitive data - including children's personal data - cannot leave the organisation inappropriately.

• Monitor DLP dashboards and reporting, investigating alerts, identifying patterns, and driving remediation actions.

• Oversee the AI data usage governance programme, ensuring that staff use of AI tools is controlled, audited, and compliant with the organisation's acceptable use policy.

• Act as the business owner for all data governance tooling, managing vendor relationships and licence renewals.

Third-Party & Supplier Data Governance

• Lead the data governance aspects of supplier onboarding, ensuring Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) are in place and proportionate data-sharing controls are enforced.

• Conduct periodic reviews of third-party data processors to…