Strategic 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

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