Head of Risk Assurance and Controls

Head of Risk Assurance and Controls

Department: Governance

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: UK - London

Reporting To: Melissa Brown

Description

We're looking for a Head of Risk Assurance & Controls to shape how assurance works at CFC. This is a high impact second line role, bringing together audit, controls and external assurance to create a clear, joined up view of risk and control effectiveness across the business.

This role provides an independent view of control effectiveness, risk management and governance, ensuring assurance activity is well coordinated and delivered to the right stakeholders in a clear and impactful way. Working closely across the business, you'll strengthen the control environment and support sustainable improvement. The focus is not on delivering assurance directly, but on setting direction, connecting insight across the organisation and driving follow through to ensure actions land and deliver real change.

About the role Internal Audit Oversight

• Own the relationship with the outsourced Internal Audit provider, ensuring delivery of a risk aligned audit plan.
• Review and challenge outputs so reporting is clear, consistent and genuinely useful for decision making.
• Maintain oversight of actions, including ownership, progress and delivery timelines, and identify any recurring or systemic themes to feed into the broader risk and assurance view.

Controls Environment

• Provide second line oversight of the controls framework and how it operates day to day.
• Challenge and support the business on control design and effectiveness, ensuring controls are embedded in a practical, sustainable way.
• Review risk and control assessments where needed, and drive consistency and quality across the control environment.

External Audit & Assurance (including Syndicate partners)

• Coordinate external assurance activity across the business, acting as the key point of contact for auditors and Syndicate partners.
• Ensure reviews and deep dives are aligned to the right risks and don't duplicate effort.
• Challenge findings and make sure outputs translate into clear, practical improvements.

Reporting & Insight

• Turn audit and assurance activity into clear, meaningful insight for senior stakeholders.
• Maintain a consolidated view of risks, findings and actions, with strong oversight of tracking and data quality.
• Use trends and themes to support prioritisation and better decision making.

Systems & Assurance Coordination

• Oversee governance and reporting of assurance activity to senior management, Risk Committee and Board.
• Ensure actions are tracked accurately and consistently, with good data discipline. Drive effective use of risk and control systems (e.g. Decision Focus), and support the development of a coordinated, risk based assurance plan.

About you

The role is best suited to individuals with a strong track record in Risk, Audit or Assurance, ideally within a second line or oversight role, and a good working understanding of how risk and controls operate in practice. Experience engaging with Internal Audit or broader assurance activity would be beneficial.

Experience in insurance or financial services would be valuable, particularly within complex or regulated environments. Exposure to the Lloyd's or MGA market is helpful, but not essential.

You'll be comfortable operating at pace, bringing clarity to complex issues and maintaining momentum across multiple priorities. Experience in change or programme led environments is advantageous, particularly where risk, controls or assurance activity is evolving.

Strong organisational and delivery focus is key. You'll be someone who can think ahead, keep actions moving and drive progress through others across the business. Just as important is your ability to build trusted relationships, communicate clearly and influence effectively without relying on formal authority.

A pragmatic, commercial mindset is essential, able who can strike the right balance between challenge and partnership, and help position Risk as a function that adds real value.