At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead design governance for a transformative programme, ensuring coherence and alignment across business and technical designs.
- Company: Join Haleon, a forward-thinking company committed to excellence and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, inclusive culture, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team that values your unique perspective and fosters belonging.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a dynamic environment while shaping the future of enterprise design.
- Qualifications: Experience in design governance and strong stakeholder management skills required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 75000 £ per year.
About the role The Enterprise Transformation Programme is a multi‑year journey focused on transforming the Haleon business by building an organisation that is wired for excellence to deliver our ‘Win as One’ strategy and drive growth through continuous improvement. The Programme is enabled through SAP S/4HANA, and the Functional Lead plays a critical role in ensuring that the Enterprise Transformation delivery enables the functional ambition and unlocks value at pace.
Key Responsibilities
- 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, Technical Design Authority and 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.
Design Governance Framework
- Create and own the Design Governance Approach, to ensure 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.
Orchestrate Design Decision Governance
- 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.
Design Coherence
- Ensure “fit to standard” is the default position and that any deviations (e.g., process exceptions, workarounds) are explicitly justified, enterprise‑assessed and approved through governance.
- Challenge proposals that create unnecessary business or 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.
Design Interlock and Interdependent Programmes
- 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, ops model), ensuring clarity of impact and escalation route.
- Assess whether dependencies create local optimisation risk or enterprise‑wide consequences requiring escalation beyond programme scope.
- Ensure design decisions taken in adjacent programmes are properly routed through the appropriate design authorities based on scope and enterprise impact.
- Maintain end‑to‑end traceability of design dependencies, from identification through decision, conditions and resolution.
Stakeholder Engagement
- 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 & technology design governance and enterprise design governance.
- Demonstrated track record of design governance leadership across complex, multi‑national transformation programmes.
- Expertise in identifying and classifying design‑led interdependencies; skilled in identifying implicit dependencies and determining delivery versus 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.
Equal Opportunities
Haleon is 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: Haleon Plc.
Haleon is an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation, making it an ideal place for professionals seeking to make a meaningful impact in the field of enterprise transformation. With a strong commitment to employee growth, Haleon offers extensive development opportunities and promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment where every voice is valued. Located in a dynamic setting, employees benefit from a supportive atmosphere that encourages excellence and continuous improvement, aligning perfectly with our 'Win as One' strategy.
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 on LinkedIn or at events. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Tailor your answers to show how you fit into their vision, especially around design governance and transformation.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Do mock interviews with friends or use online platforms. The more comfortable you are speaking about your experience, the better you'll perform.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who take that extra step!
We think you need these skills to ace Programme Design Governance Lead
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 Expertise:Don’t hold back on showcasing your deep mastery of design governance and your track record in complex programmes. We want to see how you've tackled similar challenges and what impact you've made in previous roles.
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it clear and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to read through your achievements and skills. We appreciate straightforward communication!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands and shows your enthusiasm for joining our team at StudySmarter!
How to prepare for a job interview at Haleon Plc.
✨Understand the Design Governance Framework
Before your interview, make sure you have a solid grasp of design governance principles, especially as they relate to SAP S/4HANA. Familiarise yourself with how these frameworks operate within large transformation programmes, as this will show your potential employer that you can hit the ground running.
✨Prepare for Stakeholder Engagement Scenarios
Think about examples from your past experiences where you've successfully engaged with senior stakeholders. Be ready to discuss how you built relationships and facilitated decision-making, as this is crucial for the Programme Design Governance Lead role.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Be prepared to discuss how you've identified and managed interdependencies in previous projects. Highlight specific instances where you’ve navigated complex design choices and how you ensured alignment across different teams—this will demonstrate your ability to handle the challenges of the role.
✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
Practice articulating complex design considerations in a straightforward manner. During the interview, aim to frame your responses in a way that reflects clarity and confidence, as this will help build trust with your interviewers and showcase your ability to translate technical jargon into actionable insights.
