Head of Compliance, Risk & Assurance

Gattaca Plc; Whiteley; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Gattaca plc is seeking an experienced Head of Compliance, Risk & Assurance to lead the group’s compliance function, embedding governance and controls to support clients, candidates and colleagues.

You will build and develop the compliance team, manage risk assurance, health and safety, insurance, and mandatory training, while partnering with stakeholders across Sales, Finance and Technology to protect the business and enable sustainable growth.

Qualifications

• Experience leading compliance, regulatory or risk-focused operational teams.
• Strong understanding of compliance within recruitment, workforce solutions or similar environments.
• Experience managing operational controls, audits and assurance activities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organisational and problem-solving capabilities.
• A proactive, collaborative and solutions-focused approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Compliance team and ensure accurate, efficient delivery of activities.
• Maintain effective compliance frameworks, governance and controls.
• Manage contractor compliance processes and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee health and safety, insurance programmes and training compliance.
• Produce reporting and insight to support operational decision-making.
• Coordinate risk reviews and assurance activities across the Group.
• Monitor control effectiveness and drive remediation where needed.
• Provide assurance reports to the Director and Audit Committee.

Skills

Compliance leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Problem solving

Organisational skills

People management

Risk management

Continuous improvement

Job description

Build confidence. Protect our business. Enable success.

At Gattaca, our purpose is simple; to provide the skills needed to build a better future, one job at a time.

We're looking for an experienced and people-focused Head of Compliance, Risk & Assurance to lead our Compliance function and ensure our processes, controls and governance standards support the delivery of exceptional outcomes for our clients, candidates, contractors and colleagues.

This is an opportunity with responsibility for contractor compliance, health and safety, insurance management, risk assurance and the effectiveness of the Group's control environment. You'll play a critical role in protecting the business, supporting sustainable growth and ensuring we continue to meet our legal, regulatory, contractual and governance obligations.

The Role

As Head of Compliance, Risk & Assurance, you'll be responsible for the day-to-day leadership and operational delivery of Group compliance activities. ensuring robust governance, effective controls and operational excellence across all compliance and assurance activities.

You’ll lead a team responsible for the Group's compliance framework, risk assurance programme and controls structure, ensuring the business operates in accordance with legal, regulatory, client, contractual and accreditation requirements.

You will provide leadership across contractor compliance and assurance activities, health and safety management, insurance programmes, mandatory training compliance and the ongoing monitoring of key operational and regulatory risks.

Working closely with stakeholders across Sales, Finance, Technology, People and Operations, you'll act as a trusted operational leader who balances commercial awareness with robust risk management.

What You'll Be Doing

Compliance & Governance

• Leading and developing our Compliance team.

• Ensuring compliance activities are delivered accurately, efficiently and within agreed service levels.

• Managing contractor compliance processes and regulatory requirements.

• Maintaining effective compliance frameworks, controls, governance and governance processes.

• Managing compliance risks, escalations and operational issues.

• Identifying opportunities to improve processes, systems and ways of working.

• Building strong relationships with stakeholders across the business.

• Producing reporting and insight to support operational decision-making.

• Embedding a culture of accountability, quality and continuous improvement.

Risk Management and Assurance

• Own and continuously enhance the Group's Risk Assurance Framework.

• Maintain the Group's risk register and support business leaders in identifying, assessing and managing risks.

• Coordinate periodic risk reviews and assurance activities across the Group.

• Monitor control effectiveness and ensure remediation plans are implemented where control weaknesses are identified.

• Provide meaningful risk, compliance and assurance reports to the Director of Technology & Transformation and Audit Committee.

Audits and Accreditations

• Lead the Groups assurance reviews and accreditation programmes including ISO accreditations.

• Manage relationships with auditors, accreditation bodies and assurance providers.

• Drive continuous improvement activities arising from audit findings, reviews and business feedback.

Health and Safety

• Maintain oversight of the Group's Health & Safety framework, policies and procedures.

• Ensure appropriate controls and processes are in place to manage workplace and operational health & safety risks.

• Monitor health & safety compliance, reporting and incident management processes.

• Support investigations into significant incidents and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.

• Promote a proactive health & safety culture across the business.

Other

• Oversee the Group's insurance programme and associated governance processes.

• Support annual insurance renewals and ensure cover remains appropriate

• Oversee insurance claims processes and support the resolution of significant claims and related matters.

• Own the Group's mandatory training framework.

• Ensure mandatory training requirements are defined, maintained and communicated effectively.

• Monitor training completion rates and compliance across the Group.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for a confident operational leader who combines strong compliance expertise with excellent people management and stakeholder skills.

You'll likely have:

• Experience leading compliance, regulatory or risk-focused operational teams.

• A strong understanding of compliance requirements within recruitment, workforce solutions, professional services or a similar environment.

• Experience managing operational controls, audits and assurance activities.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Strong organisational and problem-solving capabilities.

• The ability to drive performance, quality and continuous improvement.

• A proactive, collaborative and solutions-focused approach.

What Success Looks Like

• High-quality compliance delivery with strong service performance.

• Positive audit and assurance outcomes.

• Effective management of compliance risks and issues.

• Engaged and high-performing team members.

• Strong internal stakeholder confidence and satisfaction.

• Continuous improvement in efficiency, controls and service delivery.

Why Join Gattaca?

At Gattaca, you'll be part of a business that combines ambition with purpose. You'll work alongside talented colleagues who care deeply about delivering great outcomes for customers, candidates and each other.

We're committed to creating an environment where people can thrive, develop and make a meaningful impact.

If you're passionate about operational excellence, compliance and leading great teams, we'd love to hear from you.

Next steps

Upload your CV and if we think there is a match, a member of our Talent Hub will be in touch.Our recruitment process will include a combination of telephone, video and face to face interviews for you to showcase your talents and potential.
We offer reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of our applicants, such as providing interview questions in advance, offering written formats, changing interview times, structure, or settings, and arranging office visits before the interview. This list is not exhaustive, and we are open to considering any additional adjustments to support our candidates.