Description
Overview of the role
The Head of Business Assurance provides expert advice and challenge, processes and frameworks, and information - acting as a senior business partner to senior leaders and managers.
Through this they ensure the organisation:
- Understands its risks, its risk appetite, and has the right controls in place.
- Works in a way that is legal and safe, taking an appropriate approach to comply with key requirements.
- Has proportionate and effective assurance in place so the Board, Executive and managers know how the organization is performing.
- Has appropriate reporting in place for things that go wrong, and learns from mistakes.
Ultimately, the work of this role facilitates coherent, engaging and meaningful reporting and conversations that enable managers and leaders in the organization to make effective decisions, act and learn. The role holder will be empowered to escalate areas of concern, where needed, supported by proposals for resolution.
Fundamental Tasks
- Support the Director of Finance and Corporate Services to rebuild the Business Assurance function within the organisation after turnover in the team. Help to design and build the team, and restore the critical friend relationship with senior leaders and managers.
- Work as a partner to the rest of the organisation to ensure assurance of risks. Refresh the Business Assurance framework as appropriate, integrating it to underpinning quality assurance frameworks, and compliance, review and audit plans.
- Work with MOD Internal Audit (DIA) to agree and deliver an audit programme.
- Deliver internal audits supported by the Quality Manager and small team.
- Oversee the tracking of key registers of organisational governance and complicance, escalating areas for action to the appropriate risk register where necessary.
- Prepare engaging reports for key governance audiences including the Executive Leadership Team, the Board and other management groups on risk and assurance, providing an accurate picture of organizational position, bringing together related assurance intelligence.
- Supported by the Risk Manager, regularly review risks with the Executive Leadership Team and Board/ARAC. Report on completion of mitigating actions.
Essentials
- Evidence of continuing professional development and awareness of best practice and up-to-date knowledge of legislation, policy and guidance as it affects this role.
- At least 5 years management experience in functionally related activities or equivalent evidence such as an interim consultant or business partner.
- A good understanding of risk, assurance and compliance and relevant management frameworks
- Experience of successfully facilitating work involving a high degree of collaboration from senior stakeholders.
- Ability to write Executive and Board level papers and present these effectively.
- Ability to analyse complex information and make judgements based on multiple sources of information, including situations of considerable ambiguity.
- Ability to make effective recommendations to senior leaders, based in an understanding of their context, with the ability to present complex positions in concise and impactful ways to a variety of audiences.