Quality, Risk & Governance Manager

Sanderson Government & Defence; Leatherhead; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government & Defence is seeking an experienced Quality, Risk & Governance Manager to lead governance, assurance and risk across a complex government contract. You will ensure quality, risk, compliance and governance controls are embedded, evidenced and operating effectively.

The role covers mobilisation, transition to steady state delivery and ongoing service performance, with a focus on audit readiness, documentation control and senior-level reporting to clients and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Experience leading governance, risk and assurance functions.
• Ability to translate contractual/regulatory requirements into controls and reporting.
• Proven record of managing quality management systems and audit evidence.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and Continuous improvement of the contract-wide Quality, Risk and Governance framework.
• Translate contractual and regulatory requirements into practical controls, assurance processes and reporting.
• Own the QMS and governance documentation, ensuring audit readiness.
• Oversee document management, evidence repositories, permissions and version control.
• Lead governance forums covering quality, risk, compliance and corrective actions.
• Manage contract-level risks, issues, dependencies and escalations.
• Plan and deliver internal audits, readiness reviews and compliance checks.
• Manage non-conformities, findings and corrective actions through to closure.
• Provide independent assurance and challenge to delivery teams.
• Maintain mobilisation assurance artefacts and readiness trackers.
• Produce senior-level governance and assurance reporting with dashboards.
• Support client reviews, external audits and governance inspections.
• Work with suppliers to apply governance and quality obligations.
• Support business continuity, resilience and continuous improvement.

Skills

Quality governance leadership

Risk management

Compliance leadership

Audit readiness

Stakeholder management

QMS/DMS management

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Quality, Risk & Governance Manager to lead governance, assurance and risk activity across a complex government contract.

The role will cover mobilisation, transition into steady-state delivery and ongoing service performance, ensuring quality, risk, compliance and governance controls are embedded, evidenced and operating effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of the contract-wide Quality, Risk and Governance framework.
• Translate contractual and regulatory requirements into practical controls, assurance processes and reporting.
• Own the Quality Management System and associated governance documentation, ensuring policies, procedures and records remain controlled and audit-ready.
• Oversee document management, evidence repositories, permissions, workflows and version control.
• Lead governance forums covering quality, risk, compliance, mobilisation assurance and corrective actions.
• Manage contract-level risks, issues, dependencies and escalation processes.
• Plan and deliver internal audits, readiness reviews, self-assessments and compliance checks.
• Manage non-conformities, findings, incidents and corrective/preventive actions through to closure.
• Provide independent assurance and challenge to delivery teams.
• Maintain mobilisation assurance artefacts including readiness trackers, evidence matrices, gateway reviews and acceptance criteria.
• Produce senior-level governance and assurance reporting, including dashboards covering risks, issues, audits, compliance and quality trends.
• Support preparation for client reviews, external audits and governance inspections.
• Work with suppliers and subcontractors to ensure governance and quality obligations are applied consistently.
• Support business continuity, resilience, service change and continuous improvement activity.

Key Experience

• Strong experience in Quality, Governance, Risk, Assurance or Compliance leadership.
• Experience supporting mobilisation and transition of complex contracts or services.
• Strong understanding of contract governance, assurance frameworks and compliance controls.
• Experience managing QMS and DMS environments, including document control and audit evidence.
• Proven experience leading internal audits, compliance reviews and corrective action activity.
• Strong risk and issue management experience.
• Experience producing senior-level quality, risk and governance reporting.
• Strong stakeholder management across operational teams, clients and suppliers.
• Good understanding of ISO 9001, audit methodology and root cause analysis.
• Experience within government, secure, regulated, infrastructure or outsourced service environments would be advantageous.

The successful candidate will need to be comfortable operating across both strategic governance and hands‑on assurance activity in a fast-moving delivery environment.

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.