Corporate Governance, Risk & Assurance Lead

UK Ministry of Defence; Lichfield; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service pension

Learning and development

25 days annual leave

Defence Discount Service

Flexible working

Job summary

The Defence Housing Service within the Ministry of Defence is recruiting a Corporate Governance, Risk & Assurance Lead to provide strategic oversight across the organisation. You will shape the governance framework, advise senior leaders, and maintain risk-management processes to support informed decision-making.

You will produce high-quality assurance reporting, build trusted relationships with MOD Centre and external partners, and lead a high-performing team to deliver improvements aligned

Qualifications

• 1. Significant experience of leading governance, risk, assurance or control activity in a complex organisation, with the ability to operate confidently at senior leadership level.
• 2. Experience of providing strategic advice, challenge and assurance to senior stakeholders, boards or committees, translating complex issues into clear recommendations and decision-ready outputs, encouraging a collaborative environment.
• 3. Demonstrable experience of leading teams and delivering through others to achieve shared priorities, improve standards and build organisational capability.
• 4. Strong analytical, organisational and communication skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands, exercise sound judgement and maintain quality in a fast-paced environment.
• 5. Experience of building and sustaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including assurance partners, to influence outcomes and secure collaborative delivery.
• 6. Advanced use of Microsoft Office packages, particularly Outlook, OneNote, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, to support analysis, reporting and senior-level communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, maintenance and continuous improvement of the DHS governance framework, ensuring it remains fit for purpose, strategically aligned and compliant with the operating model and sponsorship arrangements to ensure DHS governance arrangements support accountability, transparency and organisational performance.
• Provide authoritative advice and challenge to senior leaders on governance design, operating principles and decision-making routes, ensuring effective governance is understood, adopted and embedded across the organisation.
• Lead the corporate approach to risk and assurance across DHS, working with risk owners and senior stakeholders to identify, assess, manage and escalation the most significant strategic and operational risks facing the organisation; and to drive the improvement in DHS risk and assurance maturity.
• Set, review and maintain the DHS risk management regime, including ownership of risk policy, the Risk Handbook and associated standards, tools and guidance to strengthen the DHS internal control environment by ensuring a consistent, proportionate and effective approach across the organisation.
• Lead the production of high-quality corporate assurance reporting, including the Annual Assurance Report, quarterly corporate risk deep dives and associated improvement activity, to support the Accounting Officer and senior governance bodies.
• Lead the team with collaborative relationships across DHS, MOD Centre and external partners, ensuring issues and risks are identified early and managed proactively.

Skills

Governance

Risk management

Assurance

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Communication

Microsoft Office

Education

IRM International Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

DIO , What we deliver every day.

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same, or substantially the same, terms and conditions of employment.

About the role:

The Corporate Governance, Risk & Assurance Lead role is at the centre of the Defence Housing Service (DHS), providing strategic oversight of corporate governance, risk, assurance and control across the organisation.

You’ll be responsible for shaping and embedding the DHS governance and assurance framework, ensuring that arrangements are effective, proportionate and aligned to the Defence Operating Model and wider departmental expectations.

Leading on the development of risk-based assurance policy, reporting, processes and capability across DHS, you’ll provide expert advice to senior leaders on corporate, business and programme risk. You’ll ensure that high-quality analysis, insight and escalation, supports informed decision-making by the Executive Committee, Board, Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and other governance authorities.

You’ll maintain an effective organisational control environment, strengthening assurance maturity, driving continuous improvement. You’ll build trusted relationships across MOD and key assurance partners, to ensure robust stewardship, transparency and organisational resilience.

What you’ll be doing:

Governance:

• Lead the development, maintenance and continuous improvement of the DHS governance framework, ensuring it remains fit for purpose, strategically aligned and compliant with the operating model and sponsorship arrangements to ensure DHS governance arrangements support accountability, transparency and organisational performance.
• Provide authoritative advice and challenge to senior leaders on governance design, operating principles and decision-making routes, ensuring effective governance is understood, adopted and embedded across the organisation.

Risk and Assurance:

• Lead the corporate approach to risk and assurance across DHS, working with risk owners and senior stakeholders to identify, assess, manage and escalation the most significant strategic and operational risks facing the organisation; and to drive the improvement in DHS risk and assurance maturity.
• Set, review and maintain the DHS risk management regime, including ownership of risk policy, the Risk Handbook and associated standards, tools and guidance to strengthen the DHS internal control environment by ensuring a consistent, proportionate and effective approach across the organisation.
• Lead the production of high-quality corporate assurance reporting, including the Annual Assurance Report, quarterly corporate risk deep dives and associated improvement activity, to support the Accounting Officer and senior governance bodies.

Leadership:

• Build strong collaborative relationships across DHS, MOD Centre and external partners, ensuring emerging issues, strategic dependencies and delivery risks are identified early and managed proactively.
• Provide visible, credible and inclusive leadership to the team, setting direction, prioritising workload and ensuring delivery of high-quality outputs in support of DHS and MOD priorities by creating a high-performing team culture, and supporting colleagues to deliver with confidence and accountability.

About you:

1. Significant experience of leading governance, risk, assurance or control activity in a complex organisation, with the ability to operate confidently at senior leadership level.

2. Experience of providing strategic advice, challenge and assurance to senior stakeholders, boards or committees, translating complex issues into clear recommendations and decision-ready outputs, encouraging a collaborative environment.

3. Demonstrable experience of leading teams and delivering through others to achieve shared priorities, improve standards and build organisational capability.

4. Strong analytical, organisational and communication skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands, exercise sound judgement and maintain quality in a fast-paced environment.

5. Experience of building and sustaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including assurance partners, to influence outcomes and secure collaborative delivery.

6. Advanced use of Microsoft Office packages, particularly Outlook, OneNote, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, to support analysis, reporting and senior-level communication.

Qualifications

• IRM International Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management (or equivalent)

What makes us great!:

Alongside your salary of £61,630, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,854 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role with a dedicated minimum of 5 days per year.
• 25 days paid annual leave rising (by 1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of five years’ service.
• Ability to roll up to 10 days annual leave per year.
• In addition to eight public holidays per year, you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Parental and Adoption Leave.
• Discounts on a range of services within and external to the civil service – Defence Discount Service, Civil Service societies for Sports and Leisure, Healthcare, Insurance, Motoring, Company discounts with Virgin, Vodafone, and Microsoft Office.
• In year rewards and ‘thank you’ schemes such as vouchers and gift cards
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Equality and Diversity

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.