Business Information Security Expert, Financial - Mergers & Acquisitions

Novartis; Hyderabad; Hybrid; INR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Novartis in Hyderabad is seeking an Associate Director DDIT ISC FM&A Compliance to lead security diligence for mergers and acquisitions, translate complex risks into business impact, and shape practical risk-mitigation plans across Finance and IT.

You will partner with FM&A, Information Security, Technology, Legal, and Risk teams to drive Day 1 readiness, integration, and post-close remediations, while balancing deal timelines with security controls.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of enterprise Information Security and Cybersecurity experience, with governance and controls.
• Ability to assess risk across applications, infrastructure, cloud, identity, data, AI tools and third parties.
• Strong analytical, investigative and critical-thinking skills, pragmatic proportionate and risk-based decision-making.
• Ability to rapidly understand unfamiliar technologies, companies and business environments, and judgement to distinguish material risk from technical noise.
• Confidence making recommendations when information is incomplete, ambiguous or evolving.
• Excellent written, verbal and executive communication skills, with strong stakeholder-management and influencing capabilities.
• Ability to work autonomously while knowing when specialist expertise or escalation is required.
• Intellectual curiosity, ability to learn quickly and comfort operating in fast-moving, complex environments.

Responsibilities

• FM&A Information Security Due Diligence: Assess acquisition targets, rapidly understand unfamiliar technology and security environments, and identify risks that could materially affect the transaction, integration strategy or post-close risk profile.
• Risk Analysis & Decision Support: Distinguish material risks from lower-priority technical findings and translate complex issues into clear business impact, options and recommendations.
• Transaction Security Strategy: Define proportionate security priorities, mitigations and escalation requirements, balancing security objectives with transaction timelines and business realities.
• Day 1 & Integration: Determine what must be addressed before or at closing and what can appropriately be remediated post-close.
• Third-Party Risk: Identify material risks arising from suppliers and technology partners and coordinate specialist assessment or mitigation where required.
• Business Partnership: Work closely with Leadership and Technical Experts in FM&A, Information Security, Technology, Finance, Legal, Privacy, Risk and Compliance to develop practical solutions to complex transaction challenges.
• Security SME Coordination: Recognize when deeper expertise is needed, engage the right specialists and translate their findings into the broader transaction risk picture.
• Executive Communication: Explain complex security matters clearly and concisely, focusing on what matters, why it matters and what should be done.
• Continuous Improvement: Apply lessons from transactions to improve FM&A security methodologies, tools and our teams’ ways of working.

Skills

Business Acumen

Compliance Management

Compliance Training

Digital Capabilities

Influencing Skills

Job description

Job Description Summary

Location: Hyderabad, India #LI-Hybrid

Internal job title: Associate Director DDIT ISC FM&A Compliance

About the Role:
Mergers and acquisitions create some of the most complex and interesting challenges in Information Security. Every transaction presents a different challenge, information may be incomplete, timelines are often compressed, and security decisions need to support the pace and objectives of the deal.
As a Business Information Security Expert (BISE) supporting FM&A, you will operate at the intersection of Information Security, Cybersecurity, Technology, Finance and FM&A execution. Acting as a trusted security adviser and business partner, you will support the organization’s understanding of cyber risk, enabling transactions to proceed securely, intelligently and at business speed.
You will provide Information Security expertise across the FM&A lifecycle, from due diligence and pre-close risk assessments that feed ECN decision making, through Day 1 readiness, integration and post-close remediation as well as supporting divestitures or other transaction types where required.
This is not simply about identifying security issues. You will need to be pragmatic and determine what genuinely matters, translate technical findings into business risk and help identify practical ways forward, often when information is incomplete and decisions need to be made quickly.

Key Responsibilities:

• FM&A Information Security Due Diligence: Assess acquisition targets, rapidly understand unfamiliar technology and security environments, and identify risks that could materially affect the transaction, integration strategy or post-close risk profile.
• Risk Analysis & Decision Support: Distinguish material risks from lower-priority technical findings and translate complex issues into clear business impact, options and recommendations.
• Transaction Security Strategy: Define proportionate security priorities, mitigations and escalation requirements, balancing security objectives with transaction timelines and business realities.
• Day 1 & Integration: Determine what must be addressed before or at closing and what can appropriately be remediated post-close.
• Third-Party Risk: Identify material risks arising from suppliers and technology partners and coordinate specialist assessment or mitigation where required.
• Business Partnership: Work closely with Leadership and Technical Experts in FM&A, Information Security, Technology, Finance, Legal, Privacy, Risk and Compliance to develop practical solutions to complex transaction challenges.
• Security SME Coordination: Recognize when deeper expertise is needed, engage the right specialists and translate their findings into the broader transaction risk picture.
• Executive Communication: Explain complex security matters clearly and concisely, focusing on what matters, why it matters and what should be done.
• Continuous Improvement: Apply lessons from transactions to improve FM&A security methodologies, tools and our teams’ ways of working.

Essential Requirements:

• 8+ years of experience with strong understanding and knowledge of enterprise Information Security and Cybersecurity, with experience in compliance, governance and controls aspects.
• Ability to assess risk across applications, infrastructure, cloud, identity, data, AI tools and third parties.
• Strong analytical, investigative and critical-thinking skills, pragmatic proportionate and risk-based decision-making.
• Ability to rapidly understand unfamiliar technologies, companies and business environments, and judgement to distinguish material risk from technical noise.
• Confidence making recommendations when information is incomplete, ambiguous or evolving.
• Excellent written, verbal and executive communication skills, with strong stakeholder-management and influencing capabilities.
• Ability to work autonomously while knowing when specialist expertise or escalation is required.
• Intellectual curiosity, ability to learn quickly and comfort operating in fast-moving, complex environments.

Desirable requirements:

• Experience in M&A transactions, cyber due diligence, technology integration, third-party risk, pharmaceuticals/life sciences or another regulated industry

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

We are committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Why Novartis?

Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Accessibility and accommodation:

Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to all individuals. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to receive more detailed information about the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Skills Desired

Business Acumen, Compliance Management, Compliance Training, Digital Capabilities, Influencing Skills