26.128 - Associate Director - Risk, Assurance and Resilience

The Associate Director for Risk, Assurance & Resilience provides strategic leadership for the organisation's enterprise risk management, assurance, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) posture as well as the Government Functional Standards and Government Internal Audit Agency programme.

The postholder is responsible for developing and maintaining an integrated framework that enables the Board, Executive Team and Accounting Officer to understand, manage and mitigate risks affecting the achievement of organisational objectives. The role ensures that assurance activities are aligned, proportionate and effective, supporting informed decision-making and continuous improvement across DBS.

As the organisational lead for corporate risk and assurance, the postholder will influence at Board level, build organisational capability, drive a strong risk culture and ensure compliance with government functional standards, the Orange Book principles and wider governance requirements.

The postholder will also lead DBS’ BCDR strategy, ensuring alignment with resilience standards and security requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensuring clear policies, procedures and framework are available and develop new ideas and best practise to drive continuous improvement within your portfolio.
• Leading on the development, implementation and regular review of risk management and assurance frameworks and the development of relevant improvement plans which drive improvements in risk maturity.
• Promoting a joined-up approach with strategy and policy development, planning, change delivery, performance, portfolio risk team and other relevant functions.
• Ownership of the Risk Management system and risk reporting, which provides strong insight to drive strategic decisions and discussions.
• Providing expert advice, framework and support to Executive teams and business groups on all aspects of risk management and BCDR, providing assurance on evolving risk areas such as cyber and AI.
• Ownership of the Counter fraud and Internal Audit Government Functional Standard as well as leadership of the wider consolidation and governance of all other Government Functional standards across the organisation.
• Working closely with performance management colleagues, compliance functions, auditors, inspectors, regulators and other relevant teams to build a coordinated picture of opportunities, risks and issues.
• Delivering a positive impact on improving risk management, delivery of plans, value for money, securing good external relationships and enhancing organisational capability.
• Developing communication and upskilling tools to train staff in the risk management and business continuity frameworks.
• Building positive relationships with key stakeholders, including the wider civil service community, to ensure the local approach reflects wider best practise.
• Support the Executive Director of Finance and Commercial or equivalent post holder in advising the board when it is setting the overall risk appetite, strategy and architecture of the risk management framework.
• Persuading and influencing senior leaders about the importance of good risk management, building positive risk management relationships with key stakeholders, including the wider government community to ensure the department's approach reflects wider best practise.
• Lead DBS’ Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery response, including taking on the role of DBS Incident Manager for major incidents.
• Own and maintain the organisation wide Business Continuity Management Framework, ensuring business impact analyses (BIA’s), continuity plans and recovery strategies remain current.
• Ensure critical services, systems, data and suppliers have tested recovery plans.
• Provide assurance to executives and sponsors on organisational resilience and recovery activities.
• Conduct scenario testing, simulation exercises and lessons-learned reviews, ensuring recovery plans are validated and improved following exercises and incidents.
• Undertake corporate duties as a senior leader within DBS, including deputising for the Executive Director of Finance and Commercial and/or representing the function, including at Executive Team and Board Committees, and in meetings with external stakeholders. This includes membership of the organisation’s Executive groups and potentially fulfilling the role of Chair or Vice Chair for one of those groups.

The successful candidate must have achieved or is working towards IRM Certificate/ Diploma in Enterprise Risk Management (or equivalent)

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply for this role, please provide a CV along with a Personal Statement of no more than 1000 words outlining how your skills, experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the role, including all essential and desirable criteria.

Please be advised that the CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

Candidates successful at the sift stage will be invited to attend an interview which will include a presentation and will assess the following behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing & Improving
• Leadership
• Developing Self & Others
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Further details on the presentation topic and the assessed behaviour will be provided to shortlisted candidates invited to interview.

Interviews will be held virtually via MS Teams.

The following timetable outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice.

Advert closing date: Friday, 11th September at 10am.

The initial candidate sift is due to take place week commencing 14th September 2026.

Interviews are due to take place week commencing 28th September 2026.

Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.

Security

• *SC clearance level is a requirement for this role.**

You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, the expectation of UK residency for SC clearance is 5 years continuous presence in the UK. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.

See our vetting charter.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.