Job Description

Global FSQ Senior Manager Specification Governance at a glance ...

The Senior Manager Specification Governance manages the enterprise-wide governance of the global specification process within the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)/specification ecosystem to ensure standardization, data integrity, and end-to-end lifecycle control. This role establishes scalable, auditable governance mechanisms that balance regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, speed-to-market, and data quality. The role defines specification change control, manages risk-based conditional approvals (exceptions), leads a team of specification/data governance professionals, and drives implementation of new data requirements to support evolving business and regulatory needs.

Key Ingredients:

Global Data Governance

• Define and maintain scalable and auditable global specification standards, processes, naming conventions, and business rules for specification content and structure to ensure high-quality, reliable product data in the PLM/specification management system.

• Establish and maintain attribute ownership models (functional ownership and accountability), required fields, validation rules and status controls to drive data integrity.

• Lead forums to review new attributes, standards, and material changes to governance rules.

Change Control and Continuous Improvement

• Serve as a key liaison for standardization initiatives, process improvements, and data integrity enhancements across the digital landscape.

• Partner with IT/Digital, R&D, Regulatory, and Quality to translate business, regulatory, and operational needs into clear requirements for specifications.

• Ensure changes are effectively communicated, trained, and adopted across functions and regions; monitor adoption and address gaps.

Risk, Compliance, and Audit

• Establish and oversee conditional approval protocols for exceptions to standard processes.

• Ensure conditional approval processes align with internal and external compliance expectations.

• Serve as escalation point for conditional approval requests, ensuring risk assessment, appropriate approvals, and complete documentation.

• Support internal/external audits by ensuring governance controls are effective, evidence-ready, and consistently executed.

Training, Documentation and Enablement

• Ensure consistent understanding and execution of specification processes across functions.

• Develop and maintain onboarding and training materials (in collaboration with cross-functional partners) for specification creation, review, approval, and change control.

• Assess training effectiveness; continuously improve training content, delivery methods, and supporting job aids/SOPs.

Metrics and Performance Management

• Define objectives and monitor KPIs (e.g., specification completeness, right-first-time quality, approval cycle times, exception volume, audit observations/findings, data quality metrics).

• Provide regular reporting and insights to stakeholders; drive corrective and preventive actions where performance is below target.

• Identify process and system improvement opportunities; lead or support initiatives that strengthen governance maturity and user experience.

People Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Lead and develop a team of specification and data governance professionals (coaching, performance management, succession planning).

• Drive enterprise-wide alignment across Quality, Regulatory, R&D, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Digital/IT stakeholders.

Recipe for Success: Apply if this sounds like you!

• Include specific, qualitative proven experiences versus generic years of experience

• Include both “hard” and “soft” skills

• Include skills that are observable, measurable, and assessable (speaking to their criticality to the role and business)

NOTE: Exclude “preferred” skills that are not required to perform the job effectively.

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in a relevant field (e.g., science, engineering, quality, regulatory, data/technology, supply chain).

• 5+ years of leadership experience managing specifications, quality systems, regulatory/quality data, or related governance at a regional or global level.

• Strong understanding of data governance fundamentals (standards, stewardship/ownership, controls, quality, lifecycle management).

• Proven ability to influence and lead cross-functionally across geographies, including senior stakeholder engagement.

• Strong communication skills (written and verbal) with the ability to simplify complex requirements and drive adoption.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities in a matrixed environment.

Work Environment & Schedule

This position is considered a Normal office environment with moderate travel to customer locations, stores, manufacturing facilities, etc.; offices are open workspaces Additionally, this role requires 40 hours/week schedule, 5 days a week.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain all duties or responsibilities that are required of the role. Duties or responsibilities may change or be added with or without notice.

Location(s)

Amsterdam

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes