Director - Rewards & HR Service Delivery (Enterprise & Innovation Solutions)

Summary

The Director - Rewards & HR Service Delivery is accountable for the end-to-end ownership of the Reward (Compensation& Benefits), product line delivered on Workday (Compensation and Adv Comp), Benifix (MYTR), Equatex, Global Mobility and Service Now (HRSD) and portfolio relevant integration including strategy, design, BAU operations, change delivery, project execution, release management, and audit readiness.

This role acts as the single accountable owner ensuring solutions are product-led, scalable, compliant, user-centric, and continuously improved, while leading a team of Product Owners, Business Analyst, Business Advisors, and Product Experts

About the Role

Key Responsibilities:

This role owns the entire product lifecycle, not just design or delivery:

• Product strategy & roadmap
• Day-to-day BAU operations
• Enhancements & change demand
• Large transformation projects
• Release & deployment management
• Risk, audit, and compliance outcomes
• Country Engagement and stakeholder management

End-to-end product ownership (BAU + change + projects)

• Own the overall product portfolio for Rewards and Service Now.
• Be accountable for:
  • BAU stability and performance
  • Continuous improvement and enhancements
  • Delivery of funded projects and initiatives
  • AI enablement and aligning with Novartis AI and digital roadmap
• Balance run vs change vs transform priorities with clear trade-offs.
• Ensure all work aligns to product roadmaps, not fragmented projects.

Product-based governance & operating model

• Establish and run product-based governance for P&O platforms:
  • Clear product boundaries
  • Defined ownership and decision rights
  • Intake and prioritization model
• Ensure consistency across:
  • Design standards
  • Ways of working
  • Release cadence
• Act as the design and governance authority for all Product and align with respective Product Director to support the same.

Solution design & architecture authority

• Own end-to-end solution design for all Product portfolio use cases-.
• Ensure designs are User-centric, Secure and privacy-aware, Scalable across geographies, Aligned to enterprise product architecture.
• Approve and govern Governance models, Data usage and access, AI-enabled capabilities, Prevent solution sprawl and one-off customization.

Release, deployment & change management

• Own the end-to-end release management strategy under the portfolio.
• Define and govern Release calendars, Environment strategy, Deployment controls, Change impact management.
• Ensure predictable, low-risk releases across BAU fixes, enhancements, and projects.
• Partner with DDIT and vendors and GPO and business stakeholder to ensure operational excellence.

Audit, risk & compliance accountability

• Act as the single accountable owner for the portfolio system audits.
• Ensure continuous compliance with Internal controls, Data privacy and security requirements, HR and regulatory obligations.
• Maintain strong:
  • Audit trails
  • Design documentation
  • Change and release records
• Proactively identify and remediate control gaps before audit events.

Team leadership & capability building

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Product Owners, Product Experts / Platform Specialists/Business Analyst/Advisor.
• Set clear expectations around End-to-end product accountability, Design quality and governance & Outcome-based delivery
• Build a strong product culture:
  • Business-outcome focused
  • User-led
  • Governed but not bureaucratic

Stakeholder & vendor leadership

• Act as the senior face of the Rewards and HRSD platform to:
  • P&O leadership
  • DDIT and GPOs
  • Risk, Legal, and Audit
• Own relationships with system integrators and vendors:
  • Delivery quality
  • Commercial performance
  • Knowledge transfer
• Resolve prioritization and ownership conflicts decisively.

Essential Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree (Engineering preferred) with minimum 15 years of experience with 5 + years of Senior leadership experience owning Workday Compensation, Benefits, Adv Compensation, SAP HR and Service Now HRSD.
• Proven accountability for BAU + change + transformation delivery in enabling HR teams in Global organizations.
• Strong product governance and operating model experience
• Deep understanding of:
  • Service Delivery Management
  • HR Service Delivery
  • Workflow and case management
  • Release and deployment governance
  • Design and Deployment expertise in Workday Product as a leader who can guide PO and PE on product improvement.
• Experience owning system audit outcomes
• Provide a clear vision to Novartis HR in terms of AI enablement and lead the journey.
• Strong people leadership capability
• Strong knowledge on RFI, RFP and vendor and product evaluation.

Desirable requirements:

• Experience integrating experience with other HR systems
• Exposure to AI-enabled HR services with governance
• Strong AI first mindset and knowledge of key HR AI tools like Co-Pilot, Azure foundry, Workday AI, SANA Enterprise, AWS
• Background in large, complex, global organizations
• Experience operating at Director / enterprise decision-making level

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)

Division People & Organization Business Unit Human Resources Location India Site Hyderabad (Office) Company / Legal Entity IN10 (FCRS = IN010) Novartis Healthcare Private Limited Alternative Location 1 Prague, Czech Republic Functional Area Human Resources Job Type Full time Employment Type Regular Shift Work No

Accessibility and accommodation

Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.