Job Description

As the Head of Enterprise Risk Management, you will act as a trusted advisor to the Executive and senior leaders across the Group, embedding a strong risk culture and enabling informed decision-making.
You will be responsible for leading the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Connells Group Risk Management Framework. This role ensures proactive identification, assessment, and mitigation of significant risks and monitors the effectiveness of material and key controls.
Key Responsibilities will include:

• Strategic Leadership Framework

• Design and evolve the Group's Risk Management Framework in alignment with FCA requirements and industry best-practice
• Champion a forward-looking risk culture that balances commercial agility with robust risk management
• Provide horizon scanning and scenario analysis to inform strategic planning and resilience

• Risk Governance & Reporting

• Oversee risk committee governance, including agenda setting, reporting, and papers for the Connells Limited Board, Audit & Risk Committee and Executive Risk Committee
• Deliver concise, and insightful risk reporting and thematic deep dives for Board and Executive members
• Maintain a repository of risk policies, and approvals, and ensure policy reviews are conducted as required

• Risk Identification & Assessment

• Facilitate enterprise-wide risk assessments, including top-down assessments supported by empirical data and metrics
• Maintain the level 1 and level 2 risk register, engaging with Risk Owners and Stewards to review and update the risk profile
• Engage in scenario testing and analysis, working with colleagues across the Skipton Group and Connells Group

• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence

• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across the Group, and with the Skipton Building Society, translating complex risk concepts into actionable insights
• Influence cross-functional teams to embed risk ownership and accountability
• Act as a key liaison with internal audit, compliance, financial crime management, and data protection

• Operational Integration

• Partner business units to embed risk controls into operational processes and change programmes
• Support incident management and root cause analysis for material risk events
• Lead risk input into supplier due diligence, outsourcing arrangements, and operational resilience / business continuity planning

The ideal candidate will have:

• Professional qualification (e.g. IRM, ICA)
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements relating to enterprise risk, operational risk, operational resilience and other risk disciplines (FCA) including SYSC, Conduct Risk, TCF, UK GDPR, industry scheme rules
• Ability to set out a clear plan for the Group Risk Management Framework, and to bring stakeholders and colleagues on the journey
• Ability to connect risk insights to strategic priorities and commercial outcomes
• Strong communication skills, (verbal and in writing), with the ability to create compelling dashboards, heatmaps and board-level narratives
• Experienced in leading ross-function risk initiatives, mentoring risk professionals and colleagues across the group, and in working through a matrix management approach
• Familiarity with risk systems, data analytics, and governance tooling (e.g. GRC platforms Excel functionality

CF00688

Skills Required