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Governance and Assurance Director
SFIA Level 6
Role Summary
The Governance and Assurance Director is a senior client-facing leadership role responsible for the strategic delivery of governance, risk, compliance and assurance services across complex client environments.
The role provides executive-level advisory services to client leadership teams, establishing trusted relationships and supporting informed decision-making through effective governance, risk management and assurance practices.
As a senior member of the Security Practice, the Governance and Assurance Director is accountable for leading multidisciplinary teams, developing capability, assuring delivery quality, supporting business growth and ensuring successful client outcomes.
The role requires extensive experience operating within complex, regulated and critical national infrastructure environments, providing strategic oversight whilst balancing business objectives, security risks and regulatory obligations.
What you'll be doing:
- Client Leadership and Advisory
- Act as a trusted advisor to executive and senior client stakeholders including CIOs, CISOs, Security Directors and Programme Directors.
- Provide strategic guidance on governance, risk management, compliance and assurance matters.
- Lead client engagement activities across multiple concurrent programmes and accounts.
- Build and maintain strong client relationships based on trust, credibility and delivery excellence.
- Facilitate governance forums, steering groups and executive-level discussions.
- Present complex security, risk and assurance information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Influence strategic decision-making through risk-based recommendations.
- Governance, Risk and Compliance
- Lead the design, implementation and continual improvement of governance and assurance frameworks.
- Establish effective security governance processes aligned to business objectives.
- Oversee identification, assessment and treatment of information security and cyber risks.
- Ensure governance activities align with recognised industry standards and frameworks.
- Support clients in defining risk appetite and risk management approaches.
- Review and challenge risk decisions to support appropriate risk ownership and accountability.
- Provide oversight of regulatory, legal and contractual compliance obligations.
- Assurance and Security Oversight
- Lead assurance activities to assess the effectiveness of security controls and governance arrangements.
- Direct security control reviews, maturity assessments and independent assurance activities.
- Provide challenge and scrutiny to programmes, projects and operational functions.
- Oversee production of assurance reports and recommendations for senior stakeholders.
- Lead internal and external assessment activities.
- Support audit preparation and remediation planning.
- Develop meaningful metrics, KPIs and KRIs to support strategic reporting.
- Practice Leadership
- Contribute to the strategic direction of Security Practice.
- Support the development and continual improvement of Governance and Assurance service offerings.
- Identify opportunities to enhance methodologies, frameworks and delivery approaches.
- Lead internal initiatives that improve capability, quality and consistency.
- Act as a thought leader across governance, risk and assurance disciplines.
- Promote best practice and innovation throughout the Practice.
- People Leadership
- Provide line management, coaching and mentoring to consultants, senior consultants and managers.
- Support career development, performance management and professional growth.
- Foster an inclusive, positive and high-performing team culture.
- Drive employee engagement, wellbeing and retention initiatives.
- Support recruitment activities and talent development programmes.
- Build succession plans and identify future leadership talent.
- Ensure teams possess the skills and capabilities required to meet client demand.
- Business Development
- Support business growth through client relationship management and opportunity development.
- Contribute to proposals, bids, Statements of Work and client presentations.
- Identify opportunities for service expansion and account growth.
- Support revenue generation through the successful delivery of Governance and Assurance services.
- Represent the organisation at client meetings, industry events and practice initiatives.
- Contribute to market propositions and thought leadership activities.
What experience you'll bring:
- Essential
- Significant experience within information security, cyber security, governance, risk, compliance or assurance disciplines.
- Experience operating in client-facing consultancy or professional services environments.
- Proven experience leading governance and assurance engagements within complex organisations.
- Experience presenting to senior executives and board-level stakeholders.
- Experience managing and developing high-performing teams.
- Experience working within regulated, government or critical national infrastructure environments.
- Strong commercial awareness and understanding of delivery management principles.
- Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams and client engagements.
- Desirable
- Demonstrable experience delivering governance, risk, compliance and assurance services across Critical National Infrastructure and Public Sector organisations within complex and highly regulated environments.
- Experience supporting large-scale transformation programmes.
- Experience contributing to bids, proposals and account growth activities.
Technical Knowledge
- Demonstrable experience in:
- Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC).
- Security Assurance.
- Risk Management.
- Security Control Frameworks.
- Security Governance.
- Security Policy Development.
- Regulatory Compliance.
- Audit and Assurance.
- Third Party Risk Management.
- Supplier Assurance.
- Security Maturity Assessments.
- NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF).
- Secure by Design Principles.
- NIST Cyber Security Framework.
- ISO 27001.
- Government Security Policy Frameworks.
Qualifications and Certifications
Essential
- Degree level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
Desirable
- CISSP.
- CISM.
- CRISC.
- ISO 27001 Lead Auditor.
- ISO 27001 Lead Implementer.
- CIISec Chartered Status.
- Security Institute Chartered Status.
- Relevant Governance, Risk or Audit Qualifications.
Key Competencies
- Strategic Leadership.
- Executive Stakeholder Management.
- Governance and Assurance Expertise.
- Risk-Based Decision Making.
- Client Relationship Management.
- People Leadership and Development.
- Commercial Awareness.
- Influencing and Negotiation.
- Complex Problem Solving.
- Communication and Presentation Skills.
- Delivery Leadership.
- Business Development.
SFIA Level 6 Alignment (Initiate, Influence)
- The role:
- Initiates and influences organisational, programme and client-level decisions.
- Has significant responsibility for people, service delivery and client outcomes.
- Establishes governance direction and drives strategic objectives.
- Operates with substantial autonomy.
- Influences executive and board-level stakeholders.
- Leads complex client engagements and multidisciplinary teams.
- Ensures governance and assurance activities deliver measurable business outcomes.
Director Expectations
In addition to client delivery responsibilities, the Governance and Assurance Director will be expected to:
- Lead and develop a Governance and Assurance capability within the Security Practice.
- Manage and develop consultants and managers.
- Own utilisation, capability and performance.
- Actively contributes to practice growth and strategic direction.
- Support recruitment, talent development and succession planning.
- Serve as a senior representative of the Security Practice internally and externally.
Who we are:
At NTT DATA, you have endless opportunities to think big, act bold and take ownership. As a $30+ billion business and technology services, AI and digital infrastructure leader, we co-innovate solutions with clients and partners globally for business and societal impact. Serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100, with experts in over 70 countries, we encourage experimentation and recognize great work. Proudly a Global Top Employer, NTT DATA is part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion annually in R&D. Make this the place where you belong, learn, and build your network. Make this the place where you grow.
what we'll offer you:
We offer a range of tailored benefits that support your physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. Our Learning and Development team ensure that there are continuous growth and development opportunities for our people. We also offer the opportunity to have flexible work options.
You can find more information about NTT DATA UK & Ireland here: https://uk.nttdata.com/
We are an equal opportunities employer. We believe in the fair treatment of all our employees and commit to promoting equity and diversity in our employment practices. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. We actively collaborate with individuals who have disabilities and long-term health conditions which have an effect on their ability to do normal daily activities, ensuring that barriers are eliminated when it comes to employment opportunities. In line with our commitment, we guarantee an interview to applicants who declare to us, during the application process, that they have a disability and meet the minimum requirements for the role. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. Join us in building a truly diverse and empowered team.
Location
“Upon joining the NTT DATA UK family, you will experience a culturally diverse organisation living our values of Clients First, Teamwork and Foresight as we partner with our customers every day.
At NTT DATA UK, we are proud to support and invest in our people. We offer a variety of rewarding career paths and opportunities to develop professionally - with access to cutting edge innovation.”
Niccolo Spataro, CEO, NTT DATA UK
