Head of Audit Data Governance

Head of Audit Data Governance

Summary of role purpose:

Audit Technology is delivering a significant transformation agenda to modernise how data is created, governed, used and shared across the UK Audit business. As data becomes a foundational asset enabling Generative AI, digital audit delivery, and a more connected and efficient operating model we are expanding our leadership capability to ensure data is managed consistently, responsibly and strategically across all Audit portfolios.

The Head of Audit Data Governance will sit horizontally across our Solutions and Run & Maintain organisations, working closely with Product, Engineering, Architecture, Transformation, Operations, and the Audit Practice. You will lead a multi‑pillar data function spanning Data Governance, Data Quality, Data as Insight, and Data as a Service, ensuring that data drives value, supports Audit Quality, and enables scalable and trustworthy digital products.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the data landscape of Audit Technology and embed a unified data operating model across a complex and high‑growth portfolio.

Description of the role:

The Role

The Head of Audit Data Governance is responsible for defining, operationalising, and continuously improving a holistic, enterprise‑aligned data operating model across the UK Audit business. The role ensures that the people, processes, technology, and controls needed to manage data as a strategic asset are fully in place.

You will lead the four core pillars of the Audit Data:

1. Data Governance

Establishing trust, ownership, accountability, policy, and lifecycle management.

2. Data Quality

Ensuring data is accurate, complete, consistent, and continually monitored and improved.

3. Data as Insight

Enabling actionable intelligence from data through reporting, analytics and trusted audit insights.

4. Data as a Service

Operationalising data products, pipelines, and reusable data capabilities to support product teams and Audit delivery.

You will report to the Head of Audit Technology & Solutions and work across all Audit portfolios, collaborating with senior leaders to embed data excellence into product development, service operations, and the future Audit Target Operating Model.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define and implement a unified Data Operations strategy aligned to the firm's Enterprise Data Strategy and Audit Technology’s transformation roadmap.
• Provide leadership across the four data pillars, ensuring cohesive delivery and standardisation across portfolios.
• Shape the long‑term vision for data as a strategic asset within Audit, ensuring data underpins our growth, trust, AI adoption, and Audit Quality ambitions.
• Represent Audit Technology in firmwide data governance forums and cross‑capability data initiatives.

Data Governance

• Establish and operationalise a robust governance framework, ensuring critical data assets are defined, catalogued, owned, and stewarded.
• Lead business-wide alignment of data roles, responsibilities, accountabilities and stewardship structures.
• Develop and maintain policies and processes for managing data throughout its lifecycle.
• Chair or oversee data governance forums, ensuring actions, risks and decisions are captured and enforced.

Data Quality

• Build and operate a data quality management capability—including profiling, monitoring, controls, remediation and reporting.
• Identify and track data quality KPIs across portfolios and establish continuous improvement cycles.
• Implement automated data quality tooling and standards across Engineering and Product teams.

Data as Insight

• Drive consistent reporting, dashboards and insight capabilities to support performance, risk management and audit delivery.
• Partner with the Audit function and SMEs to translate operational and audit data into meaningful insight.
• Define the operating model for insight development, including metadata management, lineage, and data interpretation standards.

Data as a Service

• Develop a scalable model for providing reusable, trusted, secure datasets, pipelines and APIs to product teams.
• Work with Architecture, Engineering and Cloud teams to operationalise data platforms (e.g., Fabric, Informatica, Purview, Collibra).
• Establish service definitions, SLAs, demand processes and capacity models for data consumption across the portfolio.

Culture & Change

• Champion data-driven culture change, embedding stewardship, data literacy, and trust in data across Audit.
• Lead education and enablement programmes to strengthen responsible data behaviours.
• Foster high‑challenge, high‑support ways of working, modelling KPMG values.

Performance & Risk

• Conduct maturity assessments and define improvement roadmaps across the four pillars.
• Maintain oversight of data risks, issues, non‑compliance and regulatory obligations.
• Ensure data controls are aligned with Audit Quality and risk management expectations.

Other responsibilities will typically include accountability for leading teams; providing technical, risk & compliance management, operational and quality management support; overseeing project management, budgeting and planning, senior stakeholder management, and analysis and delivery of quality reports; taking part in tenders or proposals; and some performance management responsibilities.

Due to the nature of the position, you may be working at/visiting other KPMG offices or external sites.

The person:

Experience and knowledge requirements:

• Deep expertise in data governance, data quality, data management or enterprise data operations.
• Experience leading multi pillar data functions or horizontal data capabilities across complex organisations.
• Strong understanding of data platforms, data integration, metadata cataloguing, lineage and data quality tooling (e.g., Informatica, MS Purview, Collibra, Fabric).
• Strong stakeholder and relationship management skills across technical and non technical communities.
• Evidence of driving cultural and behavioural change related to data ownership and quality.
• Experience translating technical data concepts into business language.
• Strategic thinker able to balance long term vision with practical delivery.
• A proactive, tenacious leader who can drive transformation across multiple teams and portfolios.
• Passionate advocate for trustworthy, responsible, high quality data.

Behavioural Attributes and Skills:

• Role model the Audit Technology culture of high support and high challenge.
• Foster inclusion, empowerment, psychological safety and collaboration across teams.
• Actively coach and develop cross functional colleagues, building data capability across the organisation.
• Contribute to a sense of community, purpose and enjoyment across the team.

Qualifications:

A professional accountancy qualification from a recognised accountancy body is desirable but is not essential.

KPMG overview:

KPMG in the UK is part of a global network of firms that offers Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. Through the talent of over 16,000 colleagues, we bring our creativity, insight and experience to solve our clients’ and communities’ biggest problems. We’ve been doing this for more than 150 years.

We aim to be universally recognised as a place for great people to do their best work. A firm known for our collaborative and inclusive culture, using technology to empower and equip our people to deliver outstanding work with real flexibility – through inspiring workspaces, innovative ways to collaborate and hybrid ways of working.

With offices across the UK, we work with everyone from small start- ups and individuals to major multinationals, in virtually every industry imaginable. Our work is often complex, yet our mission is simple: To support the UK in a connected world. It guides everything we do, underpinned by our values: Courage, Integrity, Excellence, Together and For Better.

KPMG are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunity employer and we seek to attract and retain the best people from the widest possible talent pool.

As a member of the Business Disability Forum we're committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the Recruitment Process.

We pride ourselves on being a place where your individuality is valued; you can be yourself and still achieve your potential. We believe that your individuality helps us to deliver the best results to our clients. Diversity of background, diversity of experience, diversity of perspective - that's the KPMG difference.