Business Controls Partner, Payments Centre of Excellence (CoE)

NatWest Group; City of Edinburgh; Remote; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution in Edinburgh is seeking a Business Controls Partner for their Payments Centre of Excellence. This role involves supporting Payments and Cash services to enhance risk awareness and governance frameworks. The ideal candidate has strong risk management and project management skills along with a proven track record in a complex operational environment. The position offers remote-first working and emphasizes career progression.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of operating processes.
• Proficient in identifying, evaluating, and prioritising risks.
• Understanding of regulations such as Payment Schemes and internal control frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Support Payments and Cash & Self Service businesses in risk management.
• Deliver a robust risk governance framework.
• Escalate emerging risks and implement governance frameworks.

Skills

Risk management

Project management

Analytical skills

Interpersonal communication

Conflict resolution

Job description

Join us as a Business Controls Partner, Payments Centre of Excellence (CoE)

• If you have a risk management or regulatory background and are looking for a new challenge, this could be the ideal role for you
• You’ll partner with the business and Risk function to identify, assess and manage the risks within the agreed risk appetite, using our risk framework to inspire a team of business and customer control partners, and make sure that the team objectives are achieved
• Hone your project management and people leadership skills in this fast-paced and varied role, with an emphasis on career progression

What you’ll do

As a Business Controls Partner, Payments CoE, you’ll be supporting the Payments and Cash & Self Service businesses. You’ll have an opportunity to make a vital contribution to driving a generative culture of risk awareness and recommend solutions to operations’ risk issues within the businesses. You’ll strengthen the level of ownership within the business, identifying and calling out areas of weakness and sharing best practices.

We’ll look to you to deliver a robust risk governance framework in line with the operational risk handbook, as well as supporting and delivering relevant risk activity to build credible and realistic plans to move and sustain a control environment certification rating within risk appetite.

Day-to-day, you’ll be:

• Escalating emerging risks in a timely manner, making sure actions are quickly defined and owned
• Developing and delivering a strong risk awareness across the business, contributing to the prioritisation, design and implementation of the operational risk principles into the business
• Implementing a robust governance framework that engages all relevant stakeholders to enable effective decision making and make sure that all aspects of risk management are delivered
• Managing the interface between the business, internal audit, second line of defence and other critical functions, as well as the wider risk and controls teams
• Making sure that all aspects of risk management are delivered within the requirements of the policy framework and in accordance with the conduct risk requirements

The skills you’ll need

As well as a strong understanding of our operating processes, you’ll need general and project management skills involving complex people, process and technology issues, along with a proven understanding and practical application of risk management principles. You’ll also need well developed knowledge of our businesses and associated products, processes and technologies.

You’ll also need to be proficient in identifying, evaluating, and prioritising risks across processes, systems, and operations, have strong analytical skills to interpret data and assess potential impact on business objectives, along with a deep understanding of relevant regulations, such as Payment Schemes, Wholesale Cash, Access to Cash and internal control frameworks such as COSO and COBIT.

On top of this, you’ll bring:

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to engage with senior management, auditors, and cross-functional teams
• A clear track record of delivery
• Influencing and conflict resolution skills, with the ability to view the impact of issues from a wider or macro perspective
• The ability to think creatively when resolving problems and identify alternatives where established procedures may not exist
• Expertise in designing effective controls to mitigate risks
• Skills in implementing and testing controls within operational and technology environments
• Ability to present complex risk issues clearly and influence decision-making

Hours

35

Job Posting Closing Date:

25/11/2025

Ways of Working: Remote First