Controls Testing Lead: Finance Risk & Assurance

St. James's Place; Cirencester; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 28 days

Private Medical Insurance

Generous pension

Enhanced Parental Leave

Life insurance & income protection

EV salary sacrifice (Tusker)

Job summary

St. James's Place is seeking a Controls Testing Manager to strengthen our internal controls framework within CFO.

You’ll lead day-to-day controls testing delivery, partnering with control owners and senior stakeholders to drive robust governance and actionable improvements. In this hybrid Cirencester role, you’ll develop annual testing plans, coach testers, and ensure effective documentation and attestation of controls.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACCA or ACA) with strong external financial reporting knowledge.
• Proven ability to engage, influence, and provide practical guidance to stakeholders across Finance and wider business teams.
• Experience within financial services.
• Awareness of automation tools or techniques to enhance controls and improve testing efficiency.
• Experience in testing financial reporting controls.
• Strong understanding of controls frameworks, governance, and standard testing methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Leading and managing the day-to-day delivery of controls testing, including reviewing work completed by testers and delivering complex testing yourself
• Developing the annual controls testing plan and tracking/reporting progress to key stakeholders
• Communicating testing outcomes clearly, providing actionable recommendations to strengthen control weaknesses
• Partnering with control owners and project teams to maintain and enhance the controls framework as processes evolve
• Identifying and implementing efficiencies in the controls testing approach to reduce effort and improve effectiveness
• Providing coaching and support to controls testers, ensuring consistent quality and delivery
• Supporting the documentation and attestation of controls effectiveness in collaboration with the Financial Controls Lead
• Contributing to the ongoing development and maintenance of the internal controls framework

Skills

Controls knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

Leadership

Education

ACCA/ACA

Tools

Automation tools

Testing methodologies

Governance frameworks

Job description

St. James's Place is seeking a Controls Testing Manager to strengthen our internal controls framework within CFO.

You’ll lead day-to-day controls testing delivery, partnering with control owners and senior stakeholders to drive robust governance and actionable improvements. In this hybrid Cirencester role, you’ll develop annual testing plans, coach testers, and ensure effective documentation and attestation of controls.