The Head of Technical Controls will help shape and establish a Technology General Controls capability across a complex technology landscape, spanning the Sainsbury’s business.

As a new capability for Sainsburys, the Technology Controls team will need to introduce this skillset into our organisation. This team will ultimately be accountable for measuring, evidencing, and reporting on control compliance across critical technology products and applications across our business.

This new capability / skillset is required in anticipation of new and complex legislative changes planned to be introduced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in FY23/24 that Sainsburys will be required to comply with. This will mean establishing the right processes, tools and teams in Sainsburys.

Technology functions work with agile, empowered teams that contain the skills and support needed to deliver at pace. Our culture encourages teams to innovate, collaborate, learn and take ownership. The Head of Technical Controls will help to define and deliver new capabilities into this type of environment and be adept at working in a world of agile and iterative development at scale.

What you need to do

• Help to deliver a strategy and framework for the delivery and ongoing improvement of a BEIS-compliant Technology General Controls capability. Ultimate sign off for the strategy and framework sits with the CTO and CFO for Sainsburys who will look to the Technology Controls Team as the experts in this area.
• Operate across a broad span of Sainsburys Tech systems and deliver additional legislative change into our business on an on-going basis, ensuring it is robust, comprehensive and repeatable.
• Against a defined set of systems and technologies operate the suite of Technology General Controls processes, ensuring Sainsburys becomes increasingly compliant, efficient and automated in how this set of processes function over time. The initial implementation for key systems should be in place for the start of FY23/24.
• Work with the broader engineering, product and architecture communities to promote the importance of Technology General Controls to ensure that all new products are built with these controls in mind and upskilling the wider technology and business colleague population on effective controls.
• Provide continuous expertise on the implementation of Technology Controls to support other areas of our business also required to implement BEIS-related change. Partner with other Assurance teams across the business (Finance Controls, Internal Audit and Information Security) to share knowledge and promote best practice.
• Consider and promote other material measurement opportunities which can drive the efficiency and operation. (e.g., measurement of Technical Standards compliance)
• Take a collaborative and inclusive approach with teams and colleagues they need to network with, balancing the need for impartiality and constructive, yet supportive challenge, continuous improvement and strong partnering with key stakeholders.
• Scan the external environment to bring fresh and innovative perspectives in support of the overall Technology General Controls strategy, taking external advice from our audit partners as required.

What you need to know and show

• Deep expertise and knowledge of compliance and regulatory controls and experience of implementing a technology control framework across a large and complex business. This is an emerging area where legislation is still being determined.
• Significant first-hand experience of working in a complex, large-scale technology organisation using a mix of on-premise, SaaS and cloud-based technology solutions.
• In-depth knowledge of US-based public companies and how they have implemented Sarbanes-Oxley controls across their organization.
• A good understanding of modern engineering practices and the application of technical assurance and standards in agile methodologies
• Sound judgement and resilience – the ability to assess a complex technology landscape and make a balanced assessment in a high-paced retail technology environment.
• Strong business and commercial acumen seeing Technology Controls and frameworks as an aid to business excellence, not an inhibitor
• Proven experience of collaborating with senior leaders and influencing across multiple business divisions and stakeholders up to Operating Board level.
• You are curious. Colleagues at Sainsbury’s are encouraged to find answers to the questions that matter to them and their teams.
• You influence, communicate and share. Where teams have the autonomy to deliver outcomes themselves, problem solving solutions, new ways of working and innovative ideas emerge quickly. To interface with these teams, the Head of Technical Controls will need to be a highly credible collaborator who can influence brilliantly up, down and across Sainsbury’s Tech and with the wider business
• You are comprehensive. As the Technology General Controls capability will be legislative in nature, it is important that the Head of Technical Controls is comprehensive in how they approach work – measuring and evidencing our effectiveness, with appropriate plans and governance in place to ensure that we continually improve.
• You deliver change. Where controls are not in place, or significant improvement is required, the Head of Technical Controls will be responsible for driving change forward to build and potentially automating some of these controls. As such, we expect them to be a self-starter, able to deliver change to time and budget, seeking support from other teams as they work through the required change.

What decisions I can make including budget

• Operation and maintenance of an ongoing Technology General Controls framework that meets legislative and external audit requirements
• Directly or indirectly manages
• Indirectly help manage team of 3 C5s (Senior Technical Controllers)

Support we will provide

• Head of Technical Controls Management
• Access to key stakeholders including CTOs, Directors of Engineering, Information Security and Internal Audit
• Engineering teams where systemic work is required to deliver automated controls processing
• Access to indirect cross functional teams on a need’s basis
• Other resources as required

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