Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Master Data Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

The Master Data Analyst is a senior-level subject matter expert responsible for the integrity, stewardship, and governance of the organization's critical master data domains, such as Customer, Product, Vendor, and Location. This role acts as a crucial bridge between business stakeholders and technical teams, defining data standards, establishing governance policies, and overseeing the implementation and operation of Master Data Management (MDM) solutions. You will be the primary authority for master data, ensuring its accuracy, completeness, and consistency across all enterprise systems to underpin key business processes, advanced analytics, and strategic reporting initiatives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Data Analyst
Data Governance Steward
Business Intelligence (BI) Developer
ETL Developer

Advancement To:

Principal Data Analyst / Data Architect
Manager, Master Data Management
Head of Data Governance
Director of Data & Analytics

Lateral Moves:

Senior Data Scientist
Product Manager, Data Platforms
Solutions Architect

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Spearhead the development, implementation, and enforcement of enterprise-wide data governance policies, standards, and procedures to ensure data is managed as a critical corporate asset.
Design, configure, and maintain the master data management (MDM) platform, including defining match/merge rules, survivorship logic, and data models.
Lead data quality initiatives by developing and monitoring data quality metrics, dashboards, and reporting to identify and remediate data issues proactively.
Act as the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) for key master data domains (e.g., Customer, Product, Vendor), understanding the end-to-end data lifecycle and its business impact.
Drive the resolution of complex data quality issues by performing root cause analysis and coordinating with business and IT stakeholders to implement lasting solutions.
Establish and govern the creation, update, and deactivation processes for master data records to ensure a consistent and reliable single source of truth.
Create and maintain a comprehensive data dictionary, business glossary, and data lineage documentation to improve data understanding and trust across the organization.
Collaborate with data architects and engineers to design and implement data integration (ETL/ELT) flows for ingesting and syndicating master data across the enterprise.
Analyze the impact of proposed business process changes and system enhancements on master data and advocate for best practices to maintain data integrity.
Define data stewardship roles and responsibilities within business units and provide training and support to empower them in their governance functions.
Conduct data profiling and analysis to uncover insights, anomalies, and opportunities for improvement in master data sets.
Manage the Master Data issue log, ensuring tickets are prioritized, assigned, and resolved in accordance with established service level agreements (SLAs).
Develop and execute data cleansing, standardization, and enrichment projects to enhance the value and utility of core business data.
Partner with legal and compliance teams to ensure master data handling practices adhere to data privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant policies.
Govern reference data management, ensuring that code lists, taxonomies, and hierarchies are consistently applied across systems.
Facilitate Data Governance Council meetings, preparing materials and presenting findings to senior leadership to drive strategic data decisions.
Evaluate and recommend new tools, technologies, and methodologies to improve the effectiveness of the master data management program.
Perform complex data reconciliations between source systems, the MDM hub, and downstream consuming applications to ensure synchronization.
Define and manage the approval workflows for master data creation and changes, ensuring appropriate levels of review and validation.
Lead user acceptance testing (UAT) for MDM system upgrades, enhancements, and new data integrations.
Mentor junior data analysts and data stewards, fostering a culture of data ownership and quality throughout the organization.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer critical business questions.
Contribute to the organization's broader data strategy and long-term roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate functional data needs into technical requirements for engineering teams.
Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and other agile ceremonies within the data engineering and analytics teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced SQL: Expertise in writing complex queries, stored procedures, and functions for data analysis, transformation, and validation.
MDM Platforms: Hands-on experience with one or more leading Master Data Management tools (e.g., Informatica MDM, Profisee, Semarchy, TIBCO EBX, Reltio).
Data Governance Tools: Proficiency with data catalog and governance platforms like Collibra, Alation, or Informatica Axon.
resorting.
Business Intelligence & Visualization: Strong ability to create reports and dashboards using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Qlik to communicate data quality and business insights.
Data Modeling: Deep understanding of data modeling concepts (conceptual, logical, physical) and database design principles (relational, dimensional).
ETL/ELT Processes: Solid knowledge of Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) and Extract, Load, Transform (ELT) patterns and tools.
Data Quality Tools: Experience with data quality software (e.g., Informatica IDQ, Trillium, Ataccama) for profiling, cleansing, and monitoring.
Scripting Languages: Proficiency in a scripting language like Python or R for data manipulation, automation, and advanced analysis is highly preferred.

Soft Skills

Stakeholder Management: Proven ability to collaborate with, influence, and manage expectations of diverse stakeholders from technical teams to executive leadership.
Analytical & Problem-Solving: Exceptional ability to dissect complex problems, perform root cause analysis, and devise effective, scalable solutions.
Meticulous Attention to Detail: A precise and thorough approach to data analysis and process management, ensuring the highest level of accuracy.
Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
Strategic Thinking: The capacity to see the bigger picture and align data management initiatives with broader business goals and objectives.
Leadership & Influence: Ability to lead cross-functional projects and guide business partners toward data governance best practices without direct authority.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's Degree in a relevant quantitative or technical field.

Preferred Education:

Master's Degree in a relevant field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science, Information Systems, Management Information Systems (MIS)
Statistics, Business Analytics, Data Science, Economics
Engineering, Finance

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

7-10+ years of progressive experience in a data-focused role.

Preferred:

A minimum of 5 years of direct, hands-on experience in a dedicated Master Data Management (MDM), Data Governance, or Data Quality role.
Proven track record of leading or playing a key role in the successful implementation of an MDM solution or a large-scale data governance program.
Experience in a complex, multi-system enterprise environment.