Your Opportunity as the Lead IS Business Analyst, Governance
The Lead Analyst, Governance serves as a bridge between business stakeholders, technical teams, and governance partners, applying business analysis, facilitation, process design, and relationship management skills to translate governance strategy into practical, scalable ways of working. This role sits at the intersection of business and technology, partnering closely with Data Owners, Data Stewards, technical teams and other governance partners to ensure processes are understandable, consistently applied, and supported through clear documentation, decision pathways, and enabling technology. Working with limited guidance, the Lead Analyst coordinates the day-to-day operation and evolution of the Analytics Data Governance (ADG) program. Responsibilities include facilitating cross-functional collaboration, enabling governance decisions, administering governance tooling, and identifying opportunities to improve program effectiveness.
The role applies core business analysis disciplines, including stakeholder engagement, requirements elicitation, process analysis, facilitation, documentation, and change enablement to support both the ongoing Cloud Analytics Platform Implementation (CAPI) Program and the long-term evolution of the Analytics Data Governance capability. This role offers the opportunity to help shape and mature a growing enterprise capability. Individuals who thrive in this role are comfortable navigating ambiguity, aligning diverse stakeholder groups, and driving initiatives forward through influence rather than direct authority.
Location: Orrville, OH (Close proximity to Cleveland/Akron)
Work Arrangements: Hybrid - onsite a minimum of 9 days a month primarily during core weeks as determined by the Company; maybe more as business need requires
In this role you will:
Program Operations & Functional Coordination
Coordinate the day-to-day operation of the ADG program, including governance intake, prioritization, planning, and stakeholder coordination across domains.
Facilitate cross-functional discussions, working groups, and Governance Forum activities to gather requirements, drive decisions, identify risks, and advance actions toward resolution.
Identify stalled work, unresolved issues, unclear ownership, or recurring points of friction and initiate appropriate follow-up or escalation.
Support strategic Enterprise Data Platform initiatives through requirements gathering, process design, and cross-functional coordination.
Governance Standards, Processes, & Decision Enablement
Establish and maintain processes, decision frameworks, documentation, and guidance that enable consistent adoption of governance practices.
Enable effective decision-making by helping stakeholders understand decision authority, navigate escalation pathways, and document outcomes.
Contribute to the design and continuous improvement of governance processes and controls as business needs and governance maturity evolve.
Platform & Metadata Enablement
Administer & maintain business-facing configurations within the enterprise data governance platform that support data governance, data discovery, analytics consumption, and governance workflows.
Translate governance requirements into scalable platform capabilities partnering with platform engineering and technical teams on integrations, workflows, and support practices.
Coordinate the governance aspects of onboarding new domains, data products, or data sources, including ownership, metadata, classification, documentation, and workflow readiness.
Evaluate platform usability and governance needs, recommending improvements that strengthen discoverability, traceability, consistency, and adoption.
Monitoring, Reporting, & Continuous Improvement
Monitor governance health through adoption, participation, documentation, workflow, and effectiveness measures.
Analyze governance activity and recurring issues to identify opportunities for improvement.
Prepare governance insights, risks, recommendations, and program updates for leadership and Governance Partners.
Lead continuous improvement efforts that strengthen the consistency, usability, scalability, and sustainability of governance practices and supporting tools to enable trusted analytics and emerging AI use cases.
Partner Enablement, Communication, & Adoption
Develop and deliver governance communications and enablement resources, including role-based guidance, training, playbooks, and office hours that support partner adoption and engagement.
Build trusted relationships and shared accountability with Data Owners, Data Stewards, data producers, technical teams, and business stakeholders.
Advise governance partners on navigating governance processes, documenting decisions, using governance tools, escalating questions, and operating within established role boundaries.
Assess and support change impacts associated with evolving governance policies, processes, roles, and tooling through targeted communication, training, coaching, and adoption activities.
What we are looking for:
Minimum Requirements:
5+ years of experience in business analysis, process improvement, enterprise transformation, data management, governance, information technology, or a related discipline
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives or complex work involving business stakeholders, technical teams, and multiple interdependent contributors
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in ambiguity, learn unfamiliar subject areas, and establish structure in evolving environments
Experience translating policies, standards, business needs, or technical concepts into practical processes, guidance, and sustainable ways of working
Strong facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority and partner effectively across technical and non-technical teams
Additional skills & experience that we think would make someone successful in this role (not required):
Prior experience with Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Hands‑on experience with SQL for basic data profiling, validation, and issue analysis
Experience implementing, administering, or supporting an enterprise data catalog or governance platform; Atlan experience highly preferred
Experience with change management, training, communications, or partner enablement
Experience using reporting or analytical techniques to measure adoption, activity, process performance, or program health
The Right Place for You
We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.
Stay connected with us on LinkedIn®
We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.
Skills Required
- 5+ years of experience in business analysis, process improvement, enterprise transformation, data management, governance, information technology, or a related discipline
- Experience leading cross-functional initiatives or complex work involving business stakeholders, technical teams, and multiple interdependent contributors
- Ability to work effectively in ambiguity, learn unfamiliar subject areas, and establish structure in evolving environments
- Experience translating policies, standards, business needs, or technical concepts into practical processes, guidance, and sustainable ways of working
- Strong facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills, including the ability to influence without direct authority
- Prior Consumer Packaged Goods industry experience
- Hands-on SQL experience for basic data profiling, validation, and issue analysis
- Experience implementing, administering, or supporting an enterprise data catalog or governance platform; Atlan experience highly preferred
- Experience with change management, training, communications, or partner enablement
- Experience using reporting or analytical techniques to measure adoption, activity, process performance, or program health
The J.M. Smucker Co. Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about The J.M. Smucker Co. and has not been reviewed or approved by The J.M. Smucker Co..
-
Retirement Support — Retirement programs are described as strong, with a company 401(k) match, immediate vesting in some materials, and access to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. These elements contribute to a favorable view of total compensation value.
-
Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave for all parents and on-site childcare at key locations signal a family-forward approach. Additional supports such as adoption assistance and pet-related leave reinforce this emphasis.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, seasonal compressed schedules, and flexibility options are highlighted across materials. The ability to start with substantial PTO and buy additional time enhances perceived time-off breadth.
The J.M. Smucker Co. Insights
What We Do
Each generation of consumers leaves their mark on culture by establishing new expectations for food and the companies that make it. At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to be at the heart of this dynamic with a portfolio that appeals to each generation of people and pets with products found in 90 percent of U.S. homes and countless restaurants. This includes a mix of iconic brands consumers have always loved such as Folgers®, Jif® and Milk-Bone® and new favorites like Café Bustelo®, Smucker’s® Uncrustables® and Rachael Ray® Nutrish®. By continuing to immerse ourselves in consumer and pet parent preferences for food, how it’s purchased and how the companies that make it should operate, we will maintain the important role we play in their lives. This will allow us to continue growing our business and the positive impact we have on all of those who count on us.
