Head of Governance

Vacancies

Head of Governance

Job Introduction

Thanks for checking out our vacancy, we're delighted you want to learn more about Dechra!

Dechra is a growing, global specialist within the world of veterinary pharmaceuticals. Our expertise is in the development, manufacture, marketing and sales of high quality products exclusively for veterinarians worldwide .

Here at Dechra, our values are embedded within our culture and thrive within our family of almost 2000 colleagues globally . From manufacturing to marketing, (D)edication, (E)njoyment, (C)ourage, (H)onesty, (R)elationships and (A)mbition are at the heart of our everyday operations and the way we do business

The Opportunity

The Head of Governance provides strategic, regulatory, and operational leadership for cybersecurity governance. Based in the United States, this role is critical in ensuring the organisation is prepared for IPO, with governance structures, reporting, and assurance aligned to US and global regulations (SEC, SOX, HIPAA, FDA, NIS2, GDPR). In addition, the Head of Governance acts as a chief of staff to the CISO - ensuring that the cybersecurity strategy runs to plan, tracking cadence, coordinating governance forums, and producing executive reporting for the Audit & Risk Committee and Senior Executive Team

Key Responsibilities

• Governance & Compliance
  • • Lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of enterprise-wide cybersecurity policies, standards, and control frameworks.
    • Ensure alignment to relevant US and international regulatory requirements (e.g., SEC, SOX, HIPAA, FDA, NIS2, GDPR).
    • Drive readiness for IPO, ensuring governance structures, compliance posture, and reporting meet investor and regulatory expectations.
    • Maintain relationships with regulators, auditors, and assurance providers.
• Policy & Standards Leadership
  • • Develop, publish, and maintain global cybersecurity policies and standards.
    • Ensure alignment with international frameworks (NIST CSF, ISO 27001, COBIT, SOX).
    • Oversee global policy refresh cycles and track compliance adoption.
• Strategy Execution & Chief of Staff Duties
  • • Track delivery of the cybersecurity strategy and ensure progress against agreed roadmaps.
    • Maintain the cadence of cyber governance activities (committees, working groups, reporting deadlines, Board cycles).
    • Collate, review, and publish materials for the CISO to present at ARC, SET, and Board meetings.
    • Act as the central coordination point for information flow and governance reporting.
    • Produce internal governance publications (dashboards, maturity reports, quarterly updates) to keep stakeholders informed.
• IPO Readiness & Assurance
  • • Lead cyber governance workstreams in IPO preparation.
    • Provide assurance reporting to the CISO for Audit & Risk Committee and Senior Executive Team consumption.
    • Ensure governance sign-offs are in place for IPO due diligence.
    • Work with external auditors to validate governance and compliance posture.
  • Collaboration& Integration
    • • Partner with the Head of Risk & Compliance, drawing on their ownership of risk registers and compliance evidence to produce consolidated reporting for ARC and SET.
      • Work closely with Heads of Protect, Architecture & Engineering, Detect & Respond, and Recover to ensure governance drives consistent standards without conflicting with delivery.
      • Support Security Champions in business units to embed governance in daily activities.

Here at Dechra we pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer and we embrace candidates from all walks of life. We're particularly excited to hear from those who have/are:

Essential

• Extensive experience in cybersecurity governance and compliance leadership
• Demonstrated experience preparing an organisation for IPO or major regulatory milestone
• Experience coordinating cyber strategy execution and governance reporting at executive/board level
• Strong knowledge of US regulations and reporting requirements (SEC, SOX, FDA, HIPAA)
• Track record of successful regulatory/audit outcomes at enterprise scale
• Strong stakeholder management skills with boards, executives, regulators, and external assurance
• Bachelor's degree in Information Security, Risk, Law, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• This role forms part of the senior leadership team within Cybersecurity and plays a key role in ensuring Dechra's cyber maturity and regulatory alignment, including preparation for NIS2.
• Global travel as required

Desirable

• Experience in pharmaceutical, healthcare, or other highly regulated sectors
  Experience building governance functions in a global organisation
• Familiarity with emerging global regulations (NIS2, DORA)

As a people first values-based culture, we provide free weekly wellness sessions focused on our employee's physical and mental wellbeing, and flexible work arrangements . We offer a generous employer 401k match and an other incentives for long-term financial wellness. Our full array of health, financial and voluntary benefit programs are what you would expect from a recognized Best Place to Work .