Head of PDLC Governance, QA, Testing at Apparel Group · Dubai

The Head - PDLC Governance, QA & Testing is responsible for establishing and overseeing governance frameworks that ensures disciplined, compliant, and high-quality technology delivery. The role focuses on strengthening Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) governance, delivery assurance, quality management, and testing oversight to ensure that technology products are delivered in alignment with enterprise standards, regulatory requirements, architecture principles, and business objectives. The incumbent reporting to the Head of Product Engineering operates at the intersection of Technology Governance, PMO, Engineering, Architecture, Risk & Compliance, providing structured oversight to ensure that technology products follow standardized lifecycle practices and deliver reliable, secure and scalable solutions.

Objective:

The Head - PDLC Governance, QA & Testing is responsible for establishing and overseeing governance frameworks that ensures disciplined, compliant, and high-quality technology delivery. The role focuses on strengthening Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) governance, delivery assurance, quality management, and testing oversight to ensure that technology products are delivered in alignment with enterprise standards, regulatory requirements, architecture principles, and business objectives. The incumbent reporting to the Head of Product Engineering operates at the intersection of Technology Governance, PMO, Engineering, Architecture, Risk & Compliance, providing structured oversight to ensure that technology products follow standardized lifecycle practices and deliver reliable, secure and scalable solutions.

Key Responsibilities •Establish and maintain the Technology Delivery Governance framework, including PDLC standards, lifecycle controls and stage-gate mechanisms. •Ensure all technology initiatives follow a structured development lifecycle aligned with enterprise architecture, security and compliance practices. •Lead governance reviews to ensure technology initiatives adhere to defined standards and delivery frameworks. •Define quality assurance governance mechanisms covering test strategy, test coverage, defect management, and release readiness. •Establish structured Go-Live readiness and release governance controls, ensuring solutions are production-ready before deployment. •Lead governance and oversight of external technology vendors, system integrators, and testing partners involved in product development and delivery. •Ensure that delivery teams adopt consistent quality engineering practices across development lifecycles. •Oversee testing function across functional testing, integration testing, performance testing, security testing and user acceptance testing. •Ensure PDLC and quality practices comply with enterprise policies, audit requirements, and regulatory standards. •Support internal and external technology audits by ensuring availability of governance artefacts and quality evidence. •Facilitate governance forums and executive reviews to provide transparency on technology delivery performance and quality indicators. •Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Architecture, PMO, Security, and Risk teams to ensure consistent adoption of PDLC standards. •Provide advisory support to delivery teams on lifecycle governance, quality assurance practices, and risk mitigation. •Continuously review PDLC, quality assurance, and testing processes to identify opportunities for improving delivery quality, efficiency and governance maturity. •Recommend and implement enhancements to lifecycle governance frameworks, testing capabilities, and quality assurance practices.

Desired Experience:

12–15 years of experience in technology governance, delivery oversight, QA leadership, or program management. •Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Information Technology •Professional certifications such as: oITIL oPMP / PRINCE2, or Agile / Scrum certifications oEquivalent Testing certification •Technology governance and risk certifications (e.g., CGEIT, CRISC) are considered an advantage. •Proven experience in establishing technology governance frameworks, policies & procedures, delivery controls and lifecycle standards. •Demonstrated ability to build structured governance frameworks, controls, and quality oversight mechanisms across technology delivery environments. •Experience in leading cross-functional technology governance across PMO, QA, and Testing functions •Strong experience managing external technology vendors / partners •Proven ability to build strong partnerships across teams to drive adoption of governance frameworks and quality standards. •Prior experience working in large enterprise environments managing multiple technology initiatives and distributed delivery teams.