Head - Quality Assurance

Our Client is seeking an experienced and visionary Assurance Head to design and implement a comprehensive assurance strategy that drives a quality-centric culture throughout the organization. This leadership role is pivotal in establishing robust frameworks, processes, and governance models to ensure operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation.

The Assurance Head will align organizational goals with global best practices and foster a continuous improvement mindset across all teams and functions.

What You'll Be Doing:

Strategic Leadership:

- Develop and implement a holistic Assurance Strategy that integrates governance, risk management, quality, and compliance across all business functions.

- Foster a culture of quality by embedding quality principles and best practices into organizational processes and decision-making frameworks.

- Define and communicate the organization's quality vision, ensuring alignment with leadership priorities and strategic objectives.

- Lead initiatives to institutionalize a culture of accountability, innovation, and operational excellence. Frameworks and Governance:

- Establish, maintain, and continuously improve assurance frameworks, policies, and procedures based on global standards (e.g., ISO, SOC, CMMI, ITIL).

- Create scalable processes and tools to standardize delivery excellence, risk assessment, and compliance management.

- Ensure alignment with regulations and industry standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and CCPA.

- Oversee the design of dashboards, metrics, and KPIs to measure quality, delivery performance, and risk mitigation effectiveness.

Operational Excellence:

- Drive quality transformation through structured frameworks like Lean, Six Sigma, and Agile methodologies.

- Lead cross-functional projects to improve process efficiency, reduce risks, and enhance client satisfaction (CSAT).

- Conduct regular audits, partner assessments, and internal reviews to ensure compliance with established standards and frameworks.

- Promote business continuity by developing and implementing robust crisis management and incident response plans.

Risk Management and Compliance:

- Serve as the 2nd Line of Defence, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated effectively across operational, compliance, and strategic categories.

- Develop and maintain risk response plans to align with organizational risk appetite and tolerances.

- Provide assurance support to delivery teams, ensuring security and privacy requirements are met for cloud and SaaS solutions.

Leadership and Collaboration:

- Partner with senior leadership to integrate assurance goals into broader business strategies.

- Build and mentor a high-performing assurance team to deliver consistent and measurable outcomes.

- Act as a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment on assurance initiatives.

Client Engagement & Value Delivery:

- Define and implement methodologies for enhancing the client experience, ensuring predictable delivery outcomes.

- Develop and deliver executive-level presentations on assurance programs, business value, and partnership milestones.

Experience:

- 18+ years in quality assurance, risk management, or governance leadership roles, with a track record of implementing scalable frameworks and driving cultural change.

Education:

Bachelor's/Master's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.

Certifications:

- Lead Auditor in ISO 27000/ISO 9001/ISO 20000.

- Lean Six Sigma (Green or Black Belt).

- Cloud certifications (e.g., AWS Professional) are a plus.

Skills:

- Strategic thinker with a strong understanding of assurance frameworks, governance models, and process optimization.

- Expertise in Agile and ITIL practices, with hands-on experience in quality standards like CMMI and SOC 2.

- Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.