Corporate Real Estate Governance - Senior Manager

About Cognizant Corporate

Cognizant Corporate is a global community united by a shared purpose: to make a meaningful impact. We are committed to excellence and driven by outcomes that matter. Collaboration is at the heart of how we work, and our forward-thinking mindset fuels continuous learning, innovation, and growth.

At Cognizant, careers transcend titles. We empower our people to think strategically, inspire others, and lead with purpose – always guided by our core values. Join us in shaping the future of business. Could you be the one to make a difference

Senior Manager – Corporate Real Estate Governance

About The Role

As a Senior Manager – Corporate Real Estate Governance, you will provide governance leadership across Corporate Real Estate projects, contracts, commercial models, and third-party engagements. You will be a key member of the Corporate Real Estate team, collaborating with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Compliance, Business Leadership, and external partners to ensure all initiatives are commercially sound, compliant, and aligned with enterprise governance standards.

You will have the opportunity to influence strategic decision-making, drive governance excellence, strengthen risk management practices, and support high-impact real estate initiatives across a global environment. You will play a critical role in enabling business outcomes while maintaining effective governance controls and operational integrity.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead governance oversight across major Corporate Real Estate projects, including site acquisitions, expansions, consolidations, exits, capital expenditure programs, fit-outs, and workplace technology implementations.
• Establish and embed governance checkpoints throughout project lifecycles to ensure adherence to legal, financial, commercial, and risk management standards.
• Govern commercial contracts and vendor agreements across Integrated Facilities Management, Facilities Management Services, construction, and strategic outsourcing engagements.
• Provide governance advisory and risk-based recommendations to leadership teams during negotiations, RFPs, contract renewals, and key commercial decisions.
• Drive third-party risk oversight, financial governance, policy compliance, audit readiness, and continuous improvement while fostering collaboration across functional stakeholders.

• Extensive experience in Corporate Real Estate Governance, Contract Management, Commercial Governance, Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance, or related disciplines.
• Strong expertise in contract management and governance, including contract review, interpretation, change management, amendments, and enforcement of contractual obligations.
• Deep commercial acumen with experience evaluating commercial models, pricing structures, cost management approaches, financial controls, and business cases.
• Strong risk management and compliance capabilities, including the ability to identify, assess, mitigate, monitor, and escalate legal, financial, operational, and compliance risks.
• Extensive experience managing vendor governance frameworks, third-party compliance programs, remediation initiatives, and supplier performance oversight.
• Strong project governance knowledge with the ability to establish governance frameworks, approval controls, checkpoints, and compliance mechanisms throughout project lifecycles.
• Sound understanding of budgeting, accruals, prepayments, spend management, financial controls, and contract-related financial governance processes.
• Experience developing, implementing, and maintaining governance frameworks, policies, controls, standards, and authority matrices.
• Strong audit and assurance experience, including audit readiness, issue remediation, corrective action tracking, and governance reporting.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, influencing, communication, and collaboration skills across Legal, Finance, Procurement, Corporate Real Estate, and Business Leadership teams.
• Strong analytical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, negotiation, and advisory capabilities.
• Bachelors Degree in Law, Business Administration, Commerce, Finance, Engineering, Real Estate, Facilities Management, or a related discipline.
• A strong sense of ownership, desire to create meaningful outcomes, and passion for work that serves a greater purpose.
• The embodiment of Cognizants Values of: Work as One, Dare to Innovate, Raise the Bar, Do The Right Thing, and Own It.

• MBA (Finance, Operations, Strategy), Masters in Real Estate, or an equivalent postgraduate qualification.
• Experience with Corporate Real Estate technologies such as IWMS, CAFM, Planon, Archibus, ServiceNow Workplace, or similar platforms.
• Knowledge of AI, automation, analytics, and governance reporting solutions.
• Familiarity with ESG, sustainability, and green building frameworks including LEED, WELL, GRI, and ISO 14001.
• Understanding of lease administration and real estate transaction management.
• Experience supporting global RFPs, outsourcing programs, and vendor transitions.
• Knowledge of business continuity, crisis management, and operational resilience frameworks.
• Understanding of data privacy and information security requirements applicable to workplace services and vendor management.
• Experience developing and evaluating financial models, ROI assessments, and business cases.
• Familiarity with regulatory audits, SOX controls, internal controls, and governance assurance programs.
• Experience with Contract Lifecycle Management platforms and digital approval workflows.
• Knowledge of procurement governance, category management, and strategic sourcing practices.
• Experience working within highly matrixed multinational organizations across India and APAC.
• Advanced capabilities in Power BI, Excel analytics, dashboarding, and executive reporting.
• Experience supporting transformation programs, change management initiatives, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Professional certifications such as:
• Certified Commercial Contracts Manager (CCCM) / WorldCC
• PMP or PRINCE2
• ISO 37301 Compliance Management
• Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt
• RICS, IFMA, CoreNet, or equivalent Corporate Real Estate certifications

We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this roles business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring attendance at a Cognizant office location in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, or other Cognizant India locations as required.

Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs. The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting and may change based on business requirements.

Work Authorization

Must be legally authorized to work in the country without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.