Shiseido IT Strategy and Governance Manager

Role & Responsibilities

• Structure, maintain and continuously evolve the EMEA IT operating model, aligning IT processes, governance mechanisms and financial transparency with business priorities and organizational maturity, in coordination with Group IT and country teams.
• Define, document, maintain and continuously improve key IT processes across the full lifecycle, from ideation and design through build, run, deployment and change, drawing on ITIL best practices.
• Ensure each process is understood, adopted and assigned an operational owner within IT teams; provide governance tools and performance indicators, including dashboards and KPIs. Act as a process architect rather than an operational executor.
• Engage with all stakeholders, including Japan headquarters and Global IT.
• Design and facilitate IT governance mechanisms, including portfolio reviews, prioritization committees and IT–Business–HQ alignment forums.
• Structure agendas, decision criteria and escalation mechanisms, and ensure decisions are traceable in line with IT capacity and strategic business objectives.
• Coordinate the monitoring and governance of internal and external audits and remediation plans, including JSOX.
• Define and maintain IT financial governance processes in close collaboration with Finance, the CIO and department directors.
• Provide clear, fact-based visibility into IT costs, cost drivers, budget consumption and the financial components of the project portfolio. Ensure data quality, transparency and decision readiness without owning budgetary or accounting responsibility.
• Assess IT maturity using recognized frameworks such as ITIL and COBIT; identify inefficiencies, gaps and opportunities for improvement, and coordinate practical actions with IT leads and transformation roles.
• Contribute to IT leadership deliverables, including Executive Committee materials, headquarters presentations, audits and operating reviews; provide the CIO with a structured overview of portfolio health, governance effectiveness and overall IT maturity.

Qualifications

• Structure IT processes across Build, Run and Change using a pragmatic approach inspired by ITIL.
• Manage cross-functional governance and IT operating models, structuring ways of working and decision pathways.
• Demonstrate functional expertise in IT financial governance, including cost, budget and portfolio analysis to support decision-making.
• Produce executive materials, including presentations, summaries and Executive Committee reporting.
• Bring senior-level credibility and presence without relying on hierarchical authority.
• Influence across functions and engage with executive-level stakeholders.
• Demonstrate excellent structuring and synthesis capabilities, as well as pragmatism.
• Speak fluent English at C1 level.
• Bring exposure to complex, international or matrix organizations.
• Have experience in cross-functional roles such as process management, governance, CIO Office or transformation.

Skills

Experience

At least 7 years of professional experience, including a significant period in a structured IT environment.

Education

A master's-level qualification (Bac +5) is recommended, such as an engineering degree or a master's in IT, information systems or management.

About Cerulean

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