Programme Design Governance Lead

Programme Design Governance Lead

Full-Time 80000 - 100000 € / year (est.) No home office possible
GSK Group of Companies

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead design governance for a transformative programme, ensuring coherence and alignment across teams.
  • Company: Join Haleon, a forward-thinking company committed to excellence and innovation.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, inclusive culture, and opportunities for personal growth.
  • Other info: Be part of a diverse team that values your unique perspective and fosters belonging.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping the future of our business through effective design governance.
  • Qualifications: Experience in design authority models and strong stakeholder management skills required.

The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 € per year.

The Enterprise Transformation Programme is a multi-year journey focused on transforming the Haleon business, building an organisation that is wired for excellence to deliver our 'Win as One' strategy and drive growth through continuous improvement. The programme aims to strengthen the heartbeat of our business, enabling us to become more agile, efficient, and innovative, and is enabled through SAP S/4HANA.

The Programme Design Governance Lead ensures that business and technical design decisions are coherent, standard-led, enterprise safe, and decision-ready. The role governs the design interlock across the Enterprise Transformation programme Business Design Authority and Technical Design Authority and the Enterprise Design Authority, working closely with Business Process Owners, Programme Leads, and Technology teams to manage interdependencies and protect end-to-end enterprise design integrity. They ensure design decisions are traceable, aligned to design principles, and protect long-term enterprise value.

Key Responsibilities
  • Create and own the Design Governance Approach, ensuring it is relevant to the Programme, compliant with overall Haleon governance expectations, and aligned to SAP S/4 principles.
  • Embed design governance into the broader Programme Governance Framework, keeping it current across programme phases.
  • Review key design deliverables for readiness before Stage Gates, ensuring process, data, integration, and technology designs are robust and meet design guardrails.
  • Ensure Enterprise Design Authority (EDA) and Programme Business Design Authority (BDA) decisions are final, traceable, and auditable, with clear lineage to enterprise objectives and S4 design principles.
  • Maintain the Design Decision register, tracking approvals, conditions, and follow-up actions.
  • Act as Secretariat and Quality Keeper for the EDA and BDA, ensuring submissions are properly framed, pre-aligned, and supported by impacts, implications, and clear recommendations.
  • Set and enforce clear submission standards, templates, and pre-read expectations to ensure design forums focus on decisions, not discovery.
  • Communicate effectively on outcomes arising from Design Governance and escalations requiring intervention from leadership and/or external governance bodies.
  • Ensure escalations are design-led and evidence-based, not delivery-panic driven.
  • Ensure 'fit to standard' is the default position and that any deviations are explicitly justified, enterprise-assessed, and approved through governance.
  • Challenge proposals that create unnecessary business/technical debt or future legacy burden, escalating to the Enterprise Design Authority where enterprise impact exists.
  • Review and assure design readiness prior to Stage Gates; confirming that business and technical designs are sufficiently mature and aligned to guardrails.
  • Confirm that unresolved design risks or dependencies are explicitly surfaced to governance rather than implicitly accepted.
  • Establish and actively drive cross-programme design working groups to resolve interdependencies before escalation is required.
  • Partner with workstreams and adjacent programmes to surface implicit dependencies, clarify definition of done, and agree delivery dates.
  • Classify interdependencies across dimensions (process, tech, data, security, op model), ensuring clarity of impact and escalation route.
  • Assess whether dependencies create local optimisation risk or enterprise-wide consequences requiring escalation beyond programme scope.
  • Maintain end-to-end traceability of design dependencies, from identification through decision, conditions, and resolution.
  • Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders to support alignment, rapid decision-making, and consistency.
  • Educate programme teams on design governance principles, promoting process standardisation, simplification, and adoption of the global template.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, enabling translation of complex design considerations into clear, decision-grade trade-offs.
Experience and Key Competencies
  • Deep mastery of design-authority models across programme business skilled in identifying implicit dependencies and determining delivery vs. design dependencies.
  • Expertise in understanding when interdependencies cross threshold from programme to enterprise concern.
  • Strong understanding of SAP S/4 design principles including fit-to-standard, clean core, controlled exception management.
  • Able to challenge both business and SI-led proposals that introduce unnecessary technical debt or legacy carry-over.
  • Able to translate complex design choices into clear trade-offs and clearly frame decisions in a way that enables Executive confidence.
  • Excellent relationship management; operates credibly across a variety of stakeholders including Executives, Functional Leads, Business Process Owners, Architecture, Data, Technology, and PMO.
  • Ability to influence through authority of judgement and evidence; builds strong collaborative relationships across stakeholders.
  • Confident in enforcing escalation discipline even under delivery pressure.

Haleon are committed to mobilising our purpose in a way that represents the diverse consumers and communities who rely on our brands every day. It guides us in creating an inclusive culture, where different backgrounds and views are valued and respected - all in support of understanding and best serving the needs of our consumers and unleashing the full potential of our people.

It's important to us that Haleon is a place where all our employees feel they truly belong. During the application process, we may ask you to share some personal information, which is entirely voluntary. This information ensures we meet certain regulatory and reporting obligations and supports the development, refinement, and execution of our inclusion and belonging programmes that are open to all Haleon employees. The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, used only for legitimate business purposes, and will never be used in making any employment decisions, including hiring decisions.

Programme Design Governance Lead employer: GSK Group of Companies

Haleon is an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of inclusivity and collaboration, making it an ideal place for professionals seeking to make a meaningful impact. With a strong commitment to employee growth and development, Haleon offers robust opportunities for career advancement within the dynamic environment of the Enterprise Transformation Programme. Located in a vibrant area, employees benefit from a supportive work culture that values diverse perspectives and encourages innovation, ensuring that every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute to the company's success.

GSK Group of Companies

Contact Detail:

GSK Group of Companies Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Programme Design Governance Lead

Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to people in your industry, especially those who work at Haleon. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insider info about the company culture and what they really value.

Tip Number 2

Prepare for interviews by diving deep into Haleon's values and the specifics of the Programme Design Governance Lead role. Think about how your experience aligns with their goals and be ready to share examples that showcase your skills.

Tip Number 3

Don’t just wait for job openings to pop up! Keep an eye on our website and apply proactively. Sometimes, showing interest before a position is officially listed can give you a leg up.

Tip Number 4

Follow up after interviews with a thank-you note. It’s a simple gesture that shows your enthusiasm for the role and keeps you fresh in their minds. Plus, it’s a great chance to reiterate why you’re the perfect fit!

We think you need these skills to ace Programme Design Governance Lead

Design Governance
SAP S/4HANA
Stakeholder Engagement
Relationship Management
Interdependency Management
Decision-Making
Process Standardisation

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight how your experience aligns with the Programme Design Governance Lead role. Use keywords from the job description to show that you understand what we're looking for.

Showcase Your Skills:Don’t just list your skills; demonstrate them! Provide examples of how you've successfully managed design governance or interdependencies in past roles. We want to see how you can bring value to our team.

Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it straightforward. Use clear language and avoid jargon where possible. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the point!

Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to the right people. Plus, you’ll find all the details you need about the role there!

How to prepare for a job interview at GSK Group of Companies

Understand the Design Governance Framework

Before your interview, make sure you have a solid grasp of the Design Governance Approach. Familiarise yourself with how it aligns with SAP S/4 principles and Haleon's overall governance expectations. This will show that you're not just interested in the role but also understand its critical importance in the Enterprise Transformation Programme.

Prepare for Stakeholder Engagement Scenarios

Think about how you would build relationships with senior stakeholders. Prepare examples from your past experiences where you've successfully engaged with various teams to promote design governance principles. Being able to articulate these experiences will demonstrate your capability to act as a trusted advisor.

Showcase Your Understanding of Interdependencies

Be ready to discuss how you identify and manage interdependencies across programmes. Bring examples of how you've navigated complex design choices and ensured alignment between different teams. This will highlight your expertise in maintaining end-to-end traceability and managing design coherence.

Demonstrate Your Decision-Making Skills

Prepare to discuss how you approach decision-making in design governance. Think of instances where you've had to challenge proposals or enforce submission standards under pressure. Showing that you can maintain clarity and discipline in decision-making will resonate well with the interviewers.