Global HSEQ Risk & Assurance Associate

Arup; Camden Town; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Profit sharing

Job summary

Arup is seeking a Global Risk & Assurance Associate to convert risk, governance and resilience priorities into regional delivery. Reporting to the Global Risk & Assurance Leader, you will champion risk-led practices, embed assurance and drive transformation across regions, with hands-on delivery and global coordination.

This role combines strategic leadership with practical implementation. You will engage regional leaders, coordinate HSEQ initiatives, and translate insights into action, ensuring

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in risk management, governance, assurance, HSEQ, business management, engineering or related discipline.
• Professional membership or certification in IRM, IIA, IOSH, CQI/IRCA, ISO Lead Auditor or similar.
• Extensive senior practitioner experience delivering risk, assurance, governance, and resilience programs within a complex global organisation.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise risk management frameworks and internal control environments.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Direction: implement Arup's governance, risk, assurance and resilience across regions.
• Digital Transformation, AI and Innovation: adopt regional digital risk tools and AI-enabled approaches.
• Governance and Assurance Excellence: embed risk-based assurance across regions and improve escalation.
• Transformation Delivery: drive regional adoption of major global programmes and changes.
• Capability Building and Regional Enablement: coach regional teams and establish strong relationships.
• Industry Leadership: represent Global Risk & Assurance and share practical lessons.

Skills

Risk management

Governance

Stakeholder management

Data analytics

AI-enabled tools

HSEQ

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent

Professional membership/certification (IRM/IIA/IOSH/CQI/IRCA)

Job description

Arup’s purpose, shared values and collaborative approach has set us apart for over 75 years, guiding how we shape a better world.

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built and natural environment. Working in more than 140 countries, the firm’s designers, engineers, architects, planners, consultants, and technical specialists work with our clients on innovative projects of the highest quality and impact. As a wholly independent organisation, we are owned in trust for the benefit of our employees and their dependants: with no shareholders or external investors we determine our own business priorities and direction.

The Opportunity

The Global Risk & Assurance Associate is a senior role within the Global Risk & Assurance function, responsible for converting global risk, assurance, governance and resilience priorities into effective regional implementation.

Reporting to the Global Risk & Assurance Leader, the role acts as a senior implementer, champion and focal point for risk and assurance across regions, ensuring agreed frameworks, controls, assurance practices and programme requirements are translated into practical delivery within regions.

The position has a substantive delivery role in programmes including regional Safety Critical Controls, Assurance Transformation, AMS modernisation (regional-global harmonisation) and the establishment of risk-based assurance practices, working with regional leadership teams, enterprise functions and programme leads to embed consistent ways of working and translate assurance insight into action.

The role requires a hands-on senior practitioner who can operate within a global function, engage credibly with regional leaders and delivery teams, and convert risk and assurance intent into visible practice, evidence and continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities:

Strategic Direction

• Undertake defined implementation activities for Arup's global approach to governance, risk management, assurance and organisational resilience across regions, under the direction of the Global Risk & Assurance Leader.
• Act as a focal point for implementation advice, alignment and escalation, ensuring regional HSEQ teams understand required risk and assurance activities.
• Champion a risk-led culture by driving practical application, clear accountability and timely action across the globe supporting regional teams.

Digital Transformation, AI and Innovation

• Undertake regional implementation of digital tools, analytics and AI-enabled approaches that improve risk insight, assurance planning, evidence capture and follow-up action.
• Coordinate regional adoption of modernised HSEQ systems and risk intelligence tools, ensuring regional input, testing, adoption and feedback are actively managed.
• Champion responsible use of digital and emerging technologies so regions make faster, better-evidenced risk and assurance decisions.
• Implement and continuously improve practical application of Arup's enterprise risk management framework within regions, ensuring strategic and operational risks are identified, assessed, managed and escalated appropriately.
• Bring together regional insight on emerging, digital, operational, regulatory and reputational risks to support regional-level visibility and action.
• Enable regional leadership teams to use risk intelligence, reporting and governance routines to make clear decisions and track follow-through.

Governance and Assurance Excellence

• Establish and embed risk-based assurance practices across regions, ensuring assurance activity is targeted to material risks, critical controls, system performance and improvement priorities.
• Coordinate delivery of assurance activity that gives leaders confidence in control effectiveness, compliance, resilience, programme adoption and the quality of regional follow-through.
• Convert assurance outcomes, control verification results and regional trends into practical improvement actions, with clear owners, timeframes and escalation where required.

Transformation Delivery

• Deliver defined implementation activities associated with major global transformation programmes, including Safety Critical Controls, Assurance Transformation, AMS modernisation and related regional change initiatives.
• Work directly with programme and regional leads to ensure change initiatives have clear risk ownership, defined decision points, effective control measures, implementation plans and evidence of adoption.
• Facilitate adoption of new operating models, technologies and ways of working by translating programme intent into consistent regional implementation and evidence.

Capability Building and Regional Enablement

• Coach, advise and challenge regional teams so tools, frameworks, controls and assurance expectations are understood, applied and embedded in normal business routines.
• Create strong working relationships across regions and functions, acting as a visible point of contact for risk and assurance advice, feedback and escalation.

Industry Leadership

• Represent the Global Risk & Assurance function in relevant internal and external forums, sharing practical lessons from implementation and regional adoption.
• Maintain effective relationships with professional bodies, certification organisations, industry partners and internal stakeholders to support practical application and continuous improvement.
• Monitor emerging trends, regulations and good practice, translating what matters into usable guidance for regions and escalating material implications to the Global Risk & Assurance Leader and Regional HSEQ Leads.

At Arup, you belong to an extraordinary collective – in which we encourage individuality to thrive. Our strength comes from how we respect, share and connect our diverse experiences, perspectives and ideas.

You will have the opportunity do socially useful work that has meaning – to Arup, to your career, to our members and to the clients and communities we serve.

Is this role right for you?

• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in risk management, governance, assurance, HSEQ, business management, engineering or a related discipline.
• Professional membership or certification in a relevant field, such as IRM, IIA, IOSH, CQI/IRCA, ISO Lead Auditor, enterprise risk management, governance, assurance or business continuity.
• Significant senior practitioner experience implementing risk, assurance, governance, HSEQ, audit, compliance or organisational resilience activity within a complex global or matrix organisation.
• Strong understanding of enterprise risk management frameworks, internal control environments, assurance models, governance structures and effective risk reporting.
• Demonstrable experience delivering or improving assurance programmes, including risk-based assurance, control verification and evidence-based reporting for senior leaders.
• Experience using data, digital systems, analytics or AI-enabled tools to improve risk insight, assurance planning, performance monitoring and decision-making.
• Ability to translate complex risk, governance and assurance information into clear, actionable guidance that regional teams can apply.
• Experience delivering organisational transformation or management system improvement programmes, preferably including safety critical controls, assurance transformation, AMS modernisation or comparable operating model change.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence, constructively challenge and advise senior leaders across regions, functions and disciplines.
• Knowledge of relevant management system standards and good practice frameworks, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, or equivalent.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to connect risk, assurance and governance activity to business performance, client confidence, operational resilience and regional delivery priorities.
• Inclusive, collaborative and culturally aware leadership style, with the ability to work effectively across global teams, geographies and regulatory contexts.

What we offer you

At Arup, we care about each member’s success, so we can grow together.

Guided by our values, we provide an attractive total reward package that recognises the contribution of each of our members to our shared success. As well as competitive, fair and equitable pay, we offer a career in which all of our members can belong, grow and thrive – through benefits that support health and wellbeing, a wide range of learning opportunities and many possibilities to have an impact through the work they do.

We are owned in trust on behalf of our members, giving us the freedom, with personal responsibility, to set our own direction and choose work that aligns with our purpose and adds to Arup’s legacy. Our members collaborate on ambitious projects to deliver remarkable outcomes for our clients and communities. Profit Share is a key part of our reward, enabling members to share in the results of our collective efforts.

Different people, shared values

Arup is an equal opportunity employer that actively promotes and nurtures a diverse and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of age (within legal limits), gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, neurotype or mental health, race or ethnicity, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and whether you’re pregnant or on family leave. We are an open environment that embraces diverse experiences, perspectives, and ideas – this drives our excellence.

Guided by our values and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we create and contribute to equitable spaces and systems, while cultivating a sense of belonging for all. Our internal employee networks support our inclusive culture: from race, ethnicity and cross-cultural working to gender equity and LGBTQ+ and disability inclusion – we aim to create a space for you to express yourself and make a positive difference. Discover more about life at Arup at www.arup.com/careers/your-life-at-arup.

We are committed to making our recruitment process and workplaces accessible to all candidates. Please contact [e-mail] to let us know if you need any assistance or reasonable adjustments throughout your application or interview process, and/or to perform the essential functions of the role. We will do everything we can to support you.