Director of Standards & Governance

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The Director of Standards & Governance leads our entire approach to compliance, quality, and health & safety standards across a significant business unit or region. You'll set the strategic direction for how we define, implement, and monitor adherence to internal and external regulations. Frankly, your work directly impacts our operational licence to operate, our reputation, and the safety of our people. When you do this well, we avoid major incidents, steer clear of hefty fines, and build a culture where safety and quality are just how we do business. If you get it wrong, the consequences can be severe – think regulatory sanctions, public scrutiny, or worse, serious harm to our colleagues. The challenge here is balancing absolute compliance with operational reality, often needing to push back on unrealistic timelines or budget cuts. The reward? Knowing you're protecting thousands of colleagues and the company's future, whilst building a truly world-class governance system.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: VP, EHS & Quality
• Direct reports: Typically 25-100+ (including managers)
• Matrix relationships: VP, Standards Development, Head of Compliance Standards, Director, Regulatory Affairs & Standards,

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• C-Suite (CEO, CFO, COO)
• Legal & Risk Management
• Operations Leadership (Plant Managers, Regional Heads)
• Engineering & Product Development
• Internal Audit

External:

• Regulatory Bodies (e.g., HSE, FDA, local authorities)
• Industry Associations & Standard-Setting Bodies
• External Auditors & Certification Bodies
• Key Suppliers & Partners

Organisational Impact

Scope: This role directly shapes the compliance posture and risk profile of a major business unit. Your decisions influence everything from product design to manufacturing processes, employee training, and how we respond to incidents. You're essentially the guardian of our operational integrity, ensuring we meet our ethical and legal obligations, which, in turn, protects our brand and financial performance.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: Incident Rate Reduction
2. Desc: The year-over-year reduction in serious incidents (Lost Time Injury Rate - LTIR, Serious Incident Frequency Rate - SIFR) within your business unit, directly attributable to improved standards and their adoption.
3. Target: Contribute to a 10% year-over-year reduction in LTIR/SIFR.
4. Freq: Quarterly and Annually
5. Example: If the LTIR was 0.8 in Q1 2023, we'd expect it to be 0.72 or lower in Q1 2024, showing our standards are making a tangible difference to safety.
6. Metric: Cost of Non-Conformance (COPQ) Reduction
7. Desc: The measurable financial savings achieved by preventing rework, recalls, regulatory fines, and warranty claims through more effective standards and governance.
8. Target: Reduce COPQ by £2M-£5M annually across the business unit.
9. Freq: Annually, with quarterly reviews.
10. Example: Identifying a systemic flaw in product quality standards that led to £3M in warranty claims last year, and implementing new standards that cut that by £1.5M this year.
11. Metric: Regulatory Audit & Certification Success
12. Desc: Maintaining 100% successful certification for key standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001) with zero major findings, and a significant reduction in minor findings.
13. Target: Achieve 100% successful certification with zero major findings and a 25% reduction in minor findings year-over-year.
14. Freq: Annually (for certifications), ongoing (for internal audit findings).
15. Example: Successfully renewing our ISO 9001 certification with no major non-conformances and only two minor observations, down from eight last year.
16. Metric: Regulatory Engagement & Influence
17. Desc: Your active participation and influence in relevant industry bodies and regulatory discussions, helping to shape future standards and ensure our voice is heard.
18. Target: Active participation in 2-3 key industry standards committees, with demonstrable influence on upcoming regulatory changes.
19. Freq: Annually
20. Example: Successfully advocating for a more pragmatic implementation timeline for a new environmental regulation, saving the company significant compliance costs.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Strategic Standards Roadmap Maturity
2. Desc: The clarity, ambition, and alignment of your standards development roadmap with the business unit's strategic objectives and emerging risks. This means having a clear plan for what standards need developing, updating, or retiring.
3. Evidence: Regularly presenting a well-defined, forward-looking standards roadmap to the VP and C-Suite. The roadmap clearly links to business goals, identifies key risks, and shows resource allocation. It's not just a list of documents; it's a strategic plan.
4. Metric: Organisational Standards Adoption & Culture
5. Desc: The degree to which standards are genuinely embedded in daily operations, understood by employees at all levels, and seen as a tool for improvement rather than just a bureaucratic hurdle. This is about cultural shift.
6. Evidence: Feedback from internal audits consistently shows high levels of compliance and understanding at the frontline. Operations leaders proactively seek your team's input on new projects. Employee surveys show a positive perception of safety and quality culture. You're seen as a partner, not just the 'compliance police'.
7. Metric: GRC/QMS Platform Optimisation & Impact
8. Desc: The effectiveness with which the GRC/QMS platform is configured, used, and continuously improved to support standards management, incident reporting, and audit processes. It's about getting real value from our tech.
9. Evidence: The platform is the single source of truth for standards. Dashboards provide real-time, actionable insights for leadership. User adoption rates are high, and there's a clear feedback loop for continuous improvement, leading to measurable efficiency gains in compliance activities.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Meticulously Precise (at Scale)
• Manifestation: You're the one who spots the subtle inconsistency between a new product safety standard and an existing environmental standard. You'll challenge legal counsel on the exact phrasing of a regulatory interpretation because you know the operational implications. When reviewing a major incident report, you'll drill down into the 'shall vs. should' of the involved procedures, knowing a single word can change accountability. This isn't just about catching typos; it's about architectural precision across a vast library of documents.
• Benefit: At this level, a lack of precision can lead to enterprise-level risks. A poorly drafted standard or an ambiguous policy can open us up to multi-million pound fines, product recalls, or even fatalities. Your ability to ensure absolute clarity and consistency across our entire governance framework is fundamental to protecting our business and our people.
• Trait: Politically Astute & Influential
• Manifestation: You don't just present facts; you understand the underlying motivations of the C-Suite, Operations, and Sales. You'll frame a new, costly compliance requirement in terms of brand reputation and market access to gain buy-in from the CEO. You know when to push hard and when to compromise, always with an eye on the long-term strategic goal. When facing resistance from a powerful business unit head, you'll find an ally in their peer or their boss, or present data that makes your case undeniable. You're a master at building coalitions.
• Benefit: A technically perfect standard that never gets adopted is utterly useless. Your job isn't just to create standards; it's to ensure they're embraced and embedded across the organisation. This requires significant influence, the ability to navigate complex organisational politics, and the skill to articulate the 'why' in terms that resonate with different leaders. Without this, you're just a highly intelligent paper-pusher, and we can't afford that at this level.
• Trait: Unflappably Patient & Resilient
• Manifestation: You'll view a multi-year programme to harmonise global standards as a strategic challenge, not a source of frustration. When a major regulatory change forces a complete overhaul of a standard you just finished, you'll calmly re-plan. You can sit through endless committee meetings, patiently guiding diverse stakeholders towards consensus, even when they seem intent on derailing progress. You understand that cultural change is slow and requires persistent, calm leadership, not reactive panic.
• Benefit: Standards development and governance at an enterprise level is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be setbacks, political battles, and seemingly endless cycles of review. Impatience at this level leads to burnout, alienated stakeholders, and ultimately, weak, unenforceable standards. Your resilience and calm approach are crucial for maintaining momentum and credibility over the long haul, especially when the stakes are high.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Systematic & Holistic Thinker
• Desc: You see the entire ecosystem of standards, regulations, and operational processes. You understand how a change in one area can have cascading effects across multiple business units and compliance domains. You're always thinking about the interconnectedness.
• Trait: Exceptional Communicator (Board-level)
• Desc: You can distill incredibly complex regulatory requirements into concise, actionable summaries for the C-Suite, and then explain the same concepts in simple terms to a frontline worker. You're equally comfortable presenting to the board as you are leading a workshop with engineers. It's about tailoring the message perfectly.
• Trait: Pragmatic Problem Solver
• Desc: You know the difference between the 'ideal' standard and the 'implementable' standard. You're skilled at finding practical, risk-based solutions that meet compliance obligations without crippling operations. It's about smart compliance, not just blind adherence.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Protecting the Organisation & its People
2. Daily: You'll feel a deep sense of responsibility for preventing harm, ensuring ethical operations, and safeguarding the company's reputation. This means constantly scrutinising risks and building robust defences.
3. Motivator: Shaping Strategic Direction
4. Daily: You'll thrive on defining the long-term vision for compliance and governance, influencing executive decisions, and seeing your strategic roadmap come to life across the business.
5. Motivator: Building High-Performing Teams & Systems
6. Daily: You'll get a kick out of mentoring and developing your team, seeing them grow, and architecting elegant, efficient governance systems that work seamlessly.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, this role isn't for everyone. You'll spend a fair bit of time battling entrenched ways of working and legacy systems that resist change. There will be moments where you feel like you're the only one advocating for compliance against commercial pressures. You'll have to make tough calls that aren't popular, and sometimes, you'll be held accountable for failures that weren't directly your fault but happened on your watch. If you need constant, immediate gratification or can't handle long, complex political battles, you'll struggle here. The reality is messier than the job posting suggests, and you'll often be dealing with the 'cost of avoidance' – proving the value of incidents that *didn't* happen because of your work.

Common Frustrations

1. Death by Committee: Watching a clear, strong, data-driven standard get watered down into a vague, meaningless document to appease every single stakeholder in the review process.
2. Accountability without Authority: Being held responsible for an incident when a business unit knowingly failed to implement or follow the standard you wrote, often due to budget or schedule pressures.
3. Glacial Timelines: Spending 18 months developing a critical standard, only to have the underlying technology or regulation change right before publication, forcing you back to square one.
4. The 'Not Invented Here' Syndrome: Battling fierce resistance from individual sites or departments who believe their 'special' way of doing things is better than the standardized corporate approach.
5. Fighting for Budget: Constantly having to justify the function's existence by calculating the 'cost of avoidance,' trying to prove the value of incidents that *didn't* happen because of your work.

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A quiet, predictable routine with minimal stakeholder interaction.
2. The ability to make unilateral decisions without extensive consultation and buy-in.
3. A direct, immediate link between every piece of work and a tangible, positive outcome.
4. A role where you can avoid difficult conversations and challenging established norms.

ADHD Positives

1. The need to manage multiple, complex projects and strategic initiatives simultaneously can be a strength, tapping into hyperfocus when deeply engaged.
2. Ability to quickly pivot between high-level strategy and detailed problem-solving, which is essential for navigating regulatory changes.
3. High energy and drive can be incredibly beneficial for leading major organisational change programmes.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. The extensive documentation, detailed review cycles, and long-term strategic planning might feel overwhelming without structured support. We can help with tools for task breakdown and visual project management.
2. Maintaining focus during long, detailed committee meetings could be a challenge. We encourage short breaks, active participation, and providing pre-reads for optimal engagement.
3. Managing a large team with diverse needs requires consistent attention. We offer executive coaching and support for delegation strategies.

Dyslexia Positives

1. Often brings strong visual-spatial reasoning and 'big picture' strategic thinking, which is invaluable for seeing how different standards interconnect and impact the business.
2. Excellent oral communication and storytelling skills, crucial for influencing senior leaders and making complex compliance concepts accessible.
3. A knack for simplifying complex information, which is vital for translating dense regulations into actionable standards for the frontline.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. The sheer volume of complex regulatory text and detailed standards documentation can be daunting. We use advanced text-to-speech software and provide access to professional proofreaders.
2. Drafting formal board reports and policy documents requires precision. We support with advanced grammar/spell-checking tools and dedicated editorial review.
3. Note-taking during critical meetings might be challenging. We offer digital recording tools and transcription services to ensure accuracy.

Autism Positives

1. Exceptional attention to detail and pattern recognition, critical for identifying inconsistencies in standards or gaps in regulatory compliance.
2. A strong sense of integrity and adherence to rules, which is foundational for a role in governance and compliance.
3. Ability to process and analyse vast amounts of technical information, essential for deconstructing complex regulations and international standards.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. Navigating complex organisational politics and unspoken social cues can be taxing. We provide clear communication channels, direct feedback, and opportunities for mentorship on stakeholder engagement strategies.
2. Leading large, diverse teams requires constant social interaction. We support with structured meeting agendas, clear expectations for team dynamics, and coaching on leadership styles.
3. Unexpected changes or urgent demands can be disruptive. We strive for predictability where possible and provide clear rationales for any necessary shifts in priority, offering support for managing transitions.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Director of Standards & Governance (16-20 years)
2. Responsibilities: Define the strategic vision and roadmap for all Compliance, Quality, Health & Safety standards across a major business unit or region. This means looking 3-5 years ahead, anticipating regulatory shifts, and aligning our standards with future business goals.
3. Lead and mentor a large team of standards professionals (25-100+), including managers. You'll be responsible for their development, performance, and ensuring we have the right talent to meet our strategic objectives.
4. Act as the primary interface with key external regulatory bodies (e.g., HSE, FDA, local authorities), representing the company's position and influencing future policy where appropriate. This isn't just reacting; it's proactive engagement.
5. Own the entire GRC/QMS platform strategy for your business unit. You'll architect its use, ensure data integrity, drive continuous improvement, and ensure it effectively supports our governance framework. Get this wrong, and our compliance data is a mess.
6. Chair the Business Unit Standards Committee, driving consensus on critical policy decisions, managing complex stakeholder conflicts, and ensuring timely approval and deployment of new or revised standards. This is where the political acumen really comes into play.
7. Direct major standards harmonisation programmes, consolidating disparate local standards into a unified, enterprise-wide framework. This often involves significant change management and overcoming 'not invented here' syndrome.
8. Present regular updates on our compliance posture, key risks, and standards programme progress to the C-Suite and, on occasion, the Board. They'll expect clear, concise, and actionable insights, not just data dumps.
9. Supervision: You'll operate with full strategic autonomy within your business unit, aligning quarterly objectives with the VP, EHS & Quality, and the C-Suite. Day-to-day, you're expected to self-direct and lead.
10. Decision: You have full P&L authority for your function, typically managing budgets between £2M-£10M+. This includes hiring, organisational design within your remit, and significant vendor selection up to £500K. Decisions impacting enterprise-wide policy or requiring board-level approval will need alignment with the VP and CEO. You'll also be involved in M&A due diligence and integration from a standards perspective.
11. Success: Success at this level means a demonstrable reduction in major compliance risks, a significant improvement in our regulatory audit performance, and a measurable positive impact on our safety and quality metrics. Your team will be highly engaged and effective, and you'll be recognised internally and externally as a thought leader in compliance and governance. Ultimately, it's about protecting the business and driving continuous improvement through robust, practical standards.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Strategic Direction of Standards Programme
• Entry: Follows defined programme plan, escalates deviations.
• Mid: Proposes minor adjustments to programme plan within established parameters.
• Senior: Designs and owns a significant workstream's strategic plan, makes recommendations on programme scope.
• Type: Budget Allocation & Resource Management
• Entry: Manages own time within allocated project hours.
• Mid: Manages project-level spend up to £5K, flags resource constraints.
• Senior: Manages workstream budget up to £50K, makes recommendations on hiring for specific projects.
• Type: Regulatory Interpretation & Response
• Entry: Researches specific regulatory clauses, drafts summaries for review.
• Mid: Interprets routine regulatory updates, proposes internal impact assessments.
• Senior: Leads impact analysis for complex regulatory changes, recommends company position to legal.
• Type: GRC/QMS Platform Architecture & Vendor Selection
• Entry: Uses the platform for daily tasks, reports system issues.
• Mid: Configures standard workflows, creates basic reports.
• Senior: Designs complex workflows, builds custom dashboards, evaluates new features for existing platform.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

As a Director, your foundation skills need to be rock solid, but critically, they need to be applied at a strategic, organisational level. It's not just about doing the work; it's about leading, influencing, and shaping the environment for others to do their best work. Think less about individual tasks and more about systemic impact and leadership.

• Category: Strategic Leadership & Vision
• Skills: Organisational Strategy Development: The ability to define and articulate a multi-year vision for standards and governance that aligns with broader business objectives and anticipates future challenges.
• Change Leadership: Guiding the organisation through significant shifts in compliance culture, processes, and systems, overcoming resistance and building consensus.
• Executive Influence & Persuasion: The skill to effectively engage and influence C-Suite executives, board members, and external regulators, advocating for your strategic agenda.
• Category: Complex Problem Solving & Decision Making
• Skills: Enterprise Risk Management: Identifying, assessing, and mitigating compliance and safety risks at an organisational level, making complex trade-offs with significant financial and reputational implications.
• Crisis Management: Leading the compliance response during major incidents, regulatory investigations, or public scrutiny, ensuring swift and appropriate action.
• Strategic Judgement: Making sound decisions under pressure, often with incomplete information, that have long-term consequences for the business unit.
• Category: Team & Talent Development
• Skills: Building High-Performing Teams: Recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent within your large team, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
• Mentorship & Coaching: Providing strategic guidance and development opportunities for your direct reports and their teams, helping them grow into future leaders.
• Performance Management: Setting clear expectations, providing constructive feedback, and managing performance across a diverse and multi-layered team.
• Category: Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Skills: Board-Level Communication: Presenting complex compliance information clearly and concisely to the board, answering tough questions with confidence and gravitas.
• Regulatory Diplomacy: Building and maintaining strong, credible relationships with regulatory bodies, acting as a trusted advisor and advocate for the company.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration (Executive Level): Driving alignment and securing buy-in from peer executives across functions like Operations, Legal, HR, and Engineering for compliance initiatives.

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

Your functional skills need to be at the 'expert' or 'strategic' level. This means you're not just applying methodologies; you're defining how they're used across the business, challenging existing norms, and innovating new approaches. You're the ultimate authority in these areas for your business unit.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: ISO Framework Interpretation & Strategic Implementation
• Desc: You don't just know ISO 9001, 45001, 14001, and 31000; you understand their strategic implications for business growth, market access, and risk management. You'll define how these frameworks are integrated into our business unit's strategy, ensuring certification and driving continuous improvement at an enterprise scale.
• Level: Strategic
• Skill: Enterprise Root Cause Analysis (RCA) & Systemic Prevention
• Desc: You're an expert in formal RCA methodologies (5 Whys, Fishbone, FTA, TapRooT®), but crucially, you'll lead investigations into major incidents, identifying systemic failures across multiple departments and driving organisational-level corrective actions. You'll ensure lessons learned are embedded into our standards architecture.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Regulatory Deconstruction, Foresight & Gap Analysis
• Desc: You can deconstruct dense regulatory text from global agencies (e.g., OSHA, EPA, HSE, FDA, EMA) and translate it into auditable operational controls, but more importantly, you anticipate future regulatory trends. You'll lead the strategic gap analysis, prioritising compliance investments for the entire business unit.
• Level: Strategic
• Skill: Technical Committee & Consensus Management (Executive Level)
• Desc: You're a master at facilitating diverse groups of senior stakeholders (C-Suite, VPs, external experts) to achieve consensus on complex technical standards, navigating significant political deadlocks and ensuring robust, defensible outcomes. You'll chair these committees, not just participate.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Management of Change (MOC) Programme Ownership
• Desc: You own the structured approach for MOC across the business unit, ensuring that safety, quality, and compliance are never compromised during changes to processes, equipment, or standards. You'll define the policy, audit its effectiveness, and ensure it's embedded in every major project.
• Level: Strategic
• Skill: Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) & Risk Architecture
• Desc: For safety-critical operations, you'll define the strategy for PHA methodologies (HAZOP, FMEA) across the business unit. You'll ensure these proactive risk assessments inform the development of all new standards and that the resulting controls are robust and auditable.
• Level: Strategic

Digital Tools

• Tool: ServiceNow GRC, Intelex, Cority, MasterControl (GRC/QMS Platform)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Leading the selection, architectural design, and enterprise-wide deployment of the GRC/QMS platform. You'll own the strategic vendor relationship, ensure data integrity for board reporting, and drive continuous optimisation to support our entire governance framework.
• Tool: Wolters Kluwer Enablon, Compliance.ai, Red-on-line (Regulatory Intelligence)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Defining the scope and strategy for enterprise-wide regulatory monitoring. You'll ensure intelligence feeds are integrated into our GRC platform, oversee impact analysis, and ensure timely dissemination of critical regulatory updates to the C-Suite and relevant business leaders.
• Tool: Jira, Confluence, MS Teams (Collaboration & PM)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Establishing the governance model for how these tools are used across the entire Compliance, Quality, Health & Safety function. You'll ensure they support efficient standards development, incident management, and knowledge sharing at scale, driving productivity for your large team.
• Tool: SharePoint (with versioning/workflows), Veeva QualityDocs (Document Control)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Setting the enterprise document lifecycle policy and approving the system architecture for all controlled documents and records management. You'll ensure our document control systems meet stringent regulatory requirements and support auditable processes across the business unit.
• Tool: Power BI, Tableau, Excel (Power Query, PivotTables) (Data & Analytics)
• Level: Strategic
• Usage: Defining the key metrics, KPIs, and reporting framework for the entire CQHS function. You'll present high-level, actionable dashboards to the C-Suite and board, using data to drive strategic decisions and demonstrate compliance performance.
• Tool: Diligent, Nasdaq Boardvantage (Board Reporting)
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: Preparing and uploading comprehensive board packs related to compliance and governance. You'll manage permissions for committee members and present data directly from the tool during board and executive committee meetings, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: Global Regulatory Landscape & Foresight
• Desc: A deep, nuanced understanding of international and regional compliance regulations relevant to our industry, including the ability to anticipate future regulatory shifts and their strategic implications for the business.
• Area: Enterprise Risk Management Frameworks
• Desc: Expert knowledge of how to integrate standards development into broader enterprise risk management frameworks (e.g., COSO, ISO 31000), ensuring a holistic approach to risk mitigation.
• Area: Ethical Governance & Corporate Social Responsibility
• Desc: A strong understanding of ethical governance principles and how standards contribute to the company's corporate social responsibility agenda, brand reputation, and licence to operate.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Regulations (UK)
• Usage: Defining our business unit's strategic approach to complying with all relevant UK health and safety legislation, including COSHH, LOLER, PUWER, and RIDDOR. You'll ensure our internal standards not only meet but exceed these requirements where appropriate, driving best practice.
• Reg: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Regulations (US, if applicable)
• Usage: If our business operates in regulated product sectors, you'll own the strategic compliance with FDA regulations (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11, Part 820 for medical devices, or relevant food safety regulations). This includes ensuring our quality standards and documentation meet these stringent requirements for market access.
• Reg: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regulations (US, if applicable) / Environmental Agency (EA) Regulations (UK)
• Usage: Defining our environmental compliance strategy, ensuring our operational standards meet all relevant environmental permits, emissions limits, waste management regulations, and sustainability reporting requirements. You'll drive initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint through robust standards.
• Reg: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU/UK)
• Usage: Ensuring our standards for data handling, record-keeping, and information security are fully compliant with GDPR, particularly as it relates to employee data, incident reporting, and compliance documentation. You'll work closely with Legal and IT to embed these requirements.
• Reg: Industry-Specific Standards (e.g., API, NFPA, IEC, BSI)
• Usage: You'll ensure our internal standards are harmonised with relevant industry-specific standards and best practices (e.g., American Petroleum Institute for oil & gas, National Fire Protection Association for fire safety, British Standards Institution). You'll actively participate in these bodies to influence future standards.

Essential Prerequisites

• Extensive experience (10+ years) leading large-scale standards development, quality management, or regulatory compliance programmes within a complex, multinational organisation.
• Demonstrable track record of successfully influencing C-Suite and board-level stakeholders on critical compliance and governance matters.
• Proven experience managing and developing large teams (20+ people, including managers) across multiple locations or disciplines.
• Deep, practical expertise in implementing and auditing major international management system standards (e.g., ISO 9001, 45001, 14001).
• Significant budget management experience (£1M+ annually) for a functional department or major programme.
• Experience in managing and optimising GRC/QMS platforms at an enterprise level.

Career Pathway Context

To step into this Director role, you'll have already proven yourself as a Principal Standards Developer or a Standards Development Manager, likely leading a significant programme or department. You'll have a history of not just technical excellence but also strategic thinking, people leadership, and a knack for navigating complex organisational dynamics. This isn't a role where you learn to lead; it's where you apply seasoned leadership to a critical function.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: Ethical AI Governance & Bias Mitigation
• Why: As AI becomes embedded in everything from risk assessments to automated decision-making, ensuring these systems are fair, transparent, and unbiased is paramount. Regulators are already looking at this, and ethical failures can lead to massive reputational and legal damage. This isn't just an IT problem; it's a core governance challenge.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'AI Ethics Principles', 'description': 'Understanding core principles like fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy in AI systems.'}, {'concept_name': 'Algorithmic Bias Detection', 'description': 'Methods for identifying and mitigating bias in AI models used for compliance, risk, or HR decisions.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI Audit Frameworks', 'description': 'Developing and implementing frameworks for auditing AI systems to ensure compliance with ethical guidelines and regulations.'}, {'concept_name': 'Explainable AI (XAI)', 'description': 'Understanding how to ensure AI decisions can be understood and justified, especially in critical compliance contexts.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Read leading books/articles on AI ethics and governance (e.g., by Kate Crawford, Cathy O'Neil).
• Next 3 months: Attend a virtual conference or executive workshop on AI governance and risk.
• Next 6 months: Work with your Legal and IT teams to develop a preliminary internal policy on ethical AI use within your business unit.
• Next 12 months: Lead a pilot project to assess bias in an existing AI-driven compliance tool.
• QuickWin: Start discussions with your Head of Legal and Head of IT about their current understanding and concerns regarding AI ethics and compliance. Get on the same page.
• Skill: Complex Geopolitical Risk Integration
• Why: Global supply chains, international operations, and increasing geopolitical tensions mean that compliance risks are no longer purely domestic. Sanctions, trade wars, and regional conflicts can rapidly create new, complex compliance challenges that impact our standards and operations. You need to be able to factor these into your strategic planning.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Sanctions & Export Control Regimes', 'description': 'Understanding the complexities of international sanctions (e.g., OFAC, UK sanctions) and export control regulations.'}, {'concept_name': 'Supply Chain Resilience & Compliance', 'description': 'Developing standards that ensure compliance and ethical sourcing across complex, global supply chains, often in high-risk regions.'}, {'concept_name': 'ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Reporting Standards', 'description': 'Understanding evolving global ESG reporting requirements and integrating them into our internal standards and data collection.'}, {'concept_name': 'International Data Transfer Regulations', 'description': 'Navigating the complexities of cross-border data flows and ensuring compliance with multiple jurisdictional requirements.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Regularly review reports from geopolitical risk consultancies and international trade organisations.
• Next 3 months: Partner with your Legal and Supply Chain teams to map our most critical international compliance exposures.
• Next 6 months: Develop a 'geopolitical risk impact assessment' framework for new standards development.
• Next 12 months: Present a strategic briefing to the C-Suite on emerging geopolitical compliance risks and our mitigation strategy.
• QuickWin: Subscribe to newsletters from leading geopolitical analysis firms and set up internal alerts for major international policy changes.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Advanced GRC/RegTech Integration & Automation
• Why: The future of compliance isn't just about having a GRC platform; it's about integrating it seamlessly with operational systems, leveraging automation for continuous monitoring, and using RegTech solutions to predict and prevent non-compliance. This requires a strategic, technical vision for our entire governance technology stack.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'API-led Integration Strategies', 'description': 'Understanding how to connect GRC platforms with ERP, HR, and IoT systems for real-time data exchange.'}, {'concept_name': 'Continuous Control Monitoring (CCM)', 'description': 'Designing and implementing automated controls that continuously monitor compliance against standards and regulations.'}, {'concept_name': 'Blockchain for Traceability & Trust', 'description': 'Exploring the potential of blockchain for immutable record-keeping and supply chain transparency in compliance contexts.'}, {'concept_name': 'Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in Compliance', 'description': 'Identifying and implementing RPA solutions for automating routine compliance tasks like data entry, report generation, and basic checks.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Research leading RegTech vendors and their capabilities beyond our current GRC platform.
• Next 3 months: Work with IT to map our current GRC integration points and identify automation opportunities.
• Next 6 months: Develop a business case for a 'predictive compliance' pilot project using advanced analytics and automation.
• Next 12 months: Lead the selection and implementation of a new RegTech solution to enhance our continuous monitoring capabilities.
• QuickWin: Identify one manual, repetitive compliance reporting task within your team and explore how RPA could automate it with IT's help.
• Skill: Data Governance & Compliance Analytics at Scale
• Why: Data is the lifeblood of modern compliance. As a Director, you'll need to ensure we have robust data governance frameworks that support accurate, reliable compliance reporting and predictive analytics. This means understanding data architecture, quality, and security from a governance perspective, not just an IT one.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Data Lineage & Provenance', 'description': 'Ensuring we can trace the origin and transformations of all data used for compliance reporting and decision-making.'}, {'concept_name': 'Data Quality Management for Compliance', 'description': 'Implementing processes and tools to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of compliance-critical data.'}, {'concept_name': 'Data Privacy & Security Architectures', 'description': 'Collaborating with IT and Legal to design data architectures that protect sensitive compliance data and meet regulatory privacy requirements.'}, {'concept_name': 'Predictive Compliance Modelling', 'description': 'Using statistical models and machine learning to anticipate potential compliance breaches or emerging risks before they occur.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Partner with the Head of Data & Analytics to understand our current enterprise data governance framework.
• Next 3 months: Identify the top 3 critical data sources for your compliance KPIs and assess their data quality.
• Next 6 months: Develop a 'compliance data dictionary' for your business unit, defining key terms and data ownership.
• Next 12 months: Lead a project to implement a new data quality monitoring tool specifically for compliance-critical data.
• QuickWin: Review your current compliance dashboards and identify any data points where you lack full confidence in the underlying data quality.

Education Requirements

• Level: Minimum
• Req: A Master's degree in a relevant field such as Law, Engineering, Business Administration, Risk Management, or Environmental Science.
• Alts: Exceptional candidates with a Bachelor's degree and an additional 5+ years of directly relevant, progressive leadership experience in a similar role will be considered. We value proven impact over pure academic pedigree.
• Level: Preferred
• Req: An MBA or a PhD in a related discipline would be a significant advantage, particularly if focused on regulatory affairs, organisational behaviour, or advanced risk analytics.
• Alts: Recognised executive leadership programmes from top-tier business schools can also be highly beneficial.

Experience Requirements

You'll need roughly 16-20 years of progressive experience in Compliance, Quality, Health & Safety, or a closely related field. Crucially, at least 8-10 of those years should be in a senior leadership or management capacity, responsible for setting strategy, managing large teams (20+ people, including managers), and overseeing significant budgets (multi-million pounds). We're looking for a track record of driving organisational change and influencing at the C-Suite level, not just managing projects.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP)
• Prod: Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE)
• Usage: Demonstrates advanced knowledge of compliance programme management, ethics, and regulatory enforcement, which is highly relevant for setting strategic governance frameworks.
• Cert: Certified Risk Management Professional (CRMP)
• Prod: Institute of Risk Management (IRM)
• Usage: Shows expertise in enterprise risk management, allowing for a more integrated approach to compliance and standards within the broader organisational risk framework.
• Cert: Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
• Prod: Various (e.g., ASQ, IASSC)
• Usage: Indicates a deep understanding of process optimisation and quality improvement methodologies, which are critical for designing efficient and effective standards and governance processes.

Recommended Activities

• Regular participation and speaking engagements at international compliance, quality, or health & safety conferences and industry forums.
• Enrollment in executive leadership development programmes focused on strategic influence, change management, and board engagement.
• Active involvement in industry standards-setting bodies or regulatory advisory groups to stay ahead of emerging trends and influence future policy.
• Continuous learning in emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and advanced analytics, specifically their application in governance and risk management.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: From Standards Development Manager (L5)
• Time: 3-5 years as a Manager
• Path: From Head of Regulatory Affairs (External)
• Time: 5-7 years in a Head of Regulatory role
• Path: From Senior Risk & Compliance Consultant (External)
• Time: 5-8 years as a Senior Consultant for large firms

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: VP, EHS & Quality
• Time: 3-5 years in the Director role

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)
• Time: 5-10 years
• Title: Chief Risk Officer (CRO)
• Time: 7-12 years
• Title: Head of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
• Time: 5-10 years

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.