Controls Assurance Specialist

Vanguard; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanguard is seeking a Controls Assurance Specialist to join the UKPI Controls Assurance team. You will lead end-to-end assurance across Financial Adviser Services, Regulatory Operations, Operational Resilience and Third-Party Risk Management, shaping test plans and reporting findings to senior stakeholders.

This hybrid role involves travel to London and Dublin offices and requires delivering clear, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen controls and enhance governance across Vanguard’s

Qualifications

• Proven experience in risk, control, audit, or governance functions.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver under pressure.
• Effective communicator with strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Familiarity with financial services, retail investment, or regulatory environments.
• Experience with data analytics tools and technology controls testing is highly desirable.
• Background in internal or external audit is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement detailed test plans to assess the design and operational effectiveness of controls.
• Identify control gaps and assess remediation efforts to ensure risks are fully mitigated and controls are sustainable.
• Communicate findings to stakeholders and senior leaders, providing actionable recommendations.
• Maintain a central repository of assurance documentation and contribute to knowledge sharing across teams.
• Stay abreast of regulatory developments and industry best practice in control and controls testing, ensuring alignment and proactive adaptation of the framework.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, identifying opportunities to strengthen controls, simplify processes, and enhance efficiency.
• Support the development and enhancement of control policies and procedures.
• Some travel to London and Dublin offices will be required.

Skills

Risk and controls

Audit

Governance

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Report writing

Communication

Tools

Data analytics tools

Job description

Controls Assurance Specialist

The Role

As part of the UKPI Controls Assurance team, you will play a leading role in providing first-line assurance over critical control processes across Vanguard’s European operations. Your work will provide senior leaders with confidence that key operational risks are being effectively mitigated and that Vanguard’s internal control framework remains robust, sustainable and aligned with its governance standards.

You will lead end-to-end assurance assignments across areas including Financial Adviser Services, Regulatory Operations, Operational Resilience and Third-Party Risk Management. This will involve setting the scope and approach for reviews, developing detailed test plans, evaluating both control design and operational effectiveness, identifying weaknesses, and assessing whether proposed remediation provides a sustainable response to the underlying risk.

Through clear, evidence-based reporting, you will bring insight and constructive challenge to senior stakeholders, translating assurance findings into practical recommendations that strengthen controls, simplify processes and improve operational effectiveness. You will also contribute to the development of control policies, procedures and assurance methodologies, while supporting consistent documentation and knowledge sharing across the wider Business Risk and Controls function.

This is an influential and highly collaborative role. You will guide colleagues through complex assurance activity, support the development of team capability and work across organisational boundaries to resolve issues and promote a strong culture of accountability and control excellence. The role will require some travel to Vanguard’s London and Dublin offices

In this role you will

• Develop and implement detailed test plans to assess the design and operational effectiveness of controls.
• Identify control gaps and assess remediation efforts to ensure risks are fully mitigated and controls are sustainable.
• Communicate findings to stakeholders and senior leaders, providing actionable recommendations.
• Maintain a central repository of assurance documentation and contribute to knowledge sharing across teams.
• Stay abreast of regulatory developments and industry best practice in control and controls testing, ensuring alignment and proactive adaptation of the framework.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, identifying opportunities to strengthen controls, simplify processes, and enhance efficiency.
• Support the development and enhancement of control policies and procedures.
• Some travel to London and Dublin offices will be required.

What it takes

• Proven experience in risk, control, audit, or governance functions.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver under pressure.
• Effective communicator with strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Familiarity with financial services, retail investment, or regulatory environments.
• Experience with data analytics tools and technology controls testing is highly desirable.
• Background in internal or external audit is beneficial.

Special Factors

• Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position
• This is a hybrid position and would require you to work in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday)
• Please note that we review applications on a rolling basis and may close this role early if there is a high level of interest. To avoid missing out, we recommend applying as soon as possible

Why Vanguard?

Vanguard is a different kind of investment company. It was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients.

This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments.

It’s what we stand for: value to investors.

Inclusion Statement

Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.”

We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values.

When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard’s core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long‑term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.