Director Corporate Real Estate Governance, India & APAC

About the role

Corporate Real Estate Governance team at Cognizant leads enterprise-wide governance, compliance and risk oversight for the company's real estate portfolio across India and APAC. The Director establishes governance frameworks, owns policies and approval matrices, and partners with Finance, Legal and Risk to ensure transparent, auditable CRE spend and regulatory compliance. Based in Chennai, India with on-site expectations, the role offers flexibility to support regional projects and transformations.

What you’ll do

• Establish and maintain CRE governance framework aligned with legal, ESG and risk standards
• Own CRE policies, standards, approval matrices and delegations of authority
• Provide oversight for construction, design, refurbishment and capital works programs
• Validate approvals, compliance and readiness prior to financial commitments
• Identify, assess and mitigate legal, financial, operational and compliance risks
• Govern CRE commercial and financial models and ensure auditability
• Partner with Finance and FP&A to control CRE spend
• Set third‑party governance standards and ensure vendor compliance

What you’ll bring

• 15+ years corporate real estate governance experience
• Graduate degree in Law, Business, Engineering or Finance
• Proven ability to design and enforce governance, compliance and risk frameworks
• Experience with CRE policies, approval matrices and statutory requirements
• Stakeholder partnership across Finance, FP&A, Legal and Risk functions
• Experience governing capital projects and vendor programs
• Knowledge of ESG, enterprise risk and third‑party risk standards
• Advanced degree or equivalent qualifications

Benefits

• Flexible work arrangements
• Health and wellbeing programs
• Professional development opportunities
• Relocation assistance if required

Education

Graduate degree