Defence Risk and Assurance (DRA) - Risk and Assurance Professional

Work at the centre of Defence, helping to strengthen how risk and assurance support strategic decision-making, prioritisation and delivery across the Department.

This role sits within Defence Risk and Assurance (DRA), Defence’s Risk Centre of Excellence. DRA supports the Chief Risk Officer in strengthening risk management, assurance and governance across Defence and provides advice, challenge and insight to senior leaders.

As a Risk and Assurance Professional, you will manage a portfolio of Defence business areas, using analysis, judgement and business partnering to help senior stakeholders understand their risk exposure, assurance needs and opportunities for improvement. You will translate complex information into clear insight and contribute to reporting for senior governance forums, including Executive Committee, the Defence Board and the Defence Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.

This is a stretching opportunity for a high-performing SEO or experienced HEO ready to operate with greater autonomy, build senior stakeholder confidence and develop expertise in risk, assurance and governance at the centre of Defence.

You do not need to be a risk or assurance specialist to apply. We are looking for someone with strong analytical ability, sound judgement, clear communication skills and the confidence to work constructively with stakeholders on complex issues.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

As a Risk and Assurance Professional within DRA, you will own a portfolio of Defence business areas and help provide a clear, evidence-based view of risk, assurance and control effectiveness across the Department. You will work closely with senior risk owners, risk teams and colleagues across DRA to identify key issues, strengthen the quality of risk information and support better-informed decisions.

A key focus of the role will be turning complex information into clear, practical insight for senior leaders. You will use evidence from business partnering, reporting cycles and assurance activity to identify trends, gaps, interdependencies and areas where action or improvement may be needed.

You will also contribute to the development of Defence’s Risk Centre of Excellence by helping improve risk and assurance policy, guidance, tools and ways of working. The role offers strong exposure to senior governance and is well suited to someone looking to build the skills and experience needed for future leadership roles in risk, assurance, governance, policy, finance or corporate delivery.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Manage a portfolio of Defence business areas, building effective relationships with senior risk owners, risk teams and other stakeholders to understand their priorities, risks and assurance needs.
• Provide proportionate challenge and practical advice to improve risk assessments, mitigations, assurance activity, governance arrangements and the quality of risk information.
• Analyse and quality assure risk, control, mitigation and assurance information, identifying themes, gaps, interdependencies and issues requiring escalation or senior attention.
• Use evidence and judgement to produce portfolio assessments and contribute to clear, timely and decision-focused reporting for senior governance forums.
• Support stakeholders to improve the maturity and consistency of risk management, drawing on Defence policy, wider government good practice and practical insight from across the Department.
• Contribute to the development of Defence’s Risk Centre of Excellence by supporting improvements to risk and assurance policy, guidance, tools, learning products and ways of working.

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.

Candidates will be required to complete an online Verbal test and Civil Service Judgement test.

The Civil Service Judgement Test is not bankable and therefore must be taken on every vacancy where it is applied.

Should you be invited to complete the online tests, please allow sufficient time to complete the tests and the remainder of the full application form; only candidates who are successful at the test stage will be invited to complete the remainder of the application by clicking ‘Submit Application’. Your application must be completed by 23:55 on the closing date of the vacancy. Late submissions cannot be accepted. The tests are not timed, as they work by giving you harder questions if you answer the previous question correctly, and easier if you get it wrong. You should allow up to an hour for each test, and each test must be completed before you will be invited to complete the second part of your application. Internet access will be required for the duration of the test. Please refer to the attached Candidate Guidance for further information.

Candidates that reach the minimum required pass mark will have their results saved as a banked score against the following tests:

• New Civil Service Verbal Test

When a candidate has a banked score they’re not asked to re-take the same test providing it is set at the same level. Scores will be banked for a 6 month period from the date of test completion. If a candidate is invited to take the same test against multiple vacancies, the banked score will be recognised against all vacancies and all active applications will progress.

CSJT scores cannot be banked as each test is generated from the behaviours required for a specific role which will vary between recruitment campaigns.

If you require any particular arrangements (for example due to a disability or health problem) to be made in order for you to complete the online test you MUST contact the DBS Enquiry Centre on 0800 345 7772 BEFORE accessing the online test.

Opening times Mon -Friday 0800- 1600 hrs.

At sift, you will be assessed on the following:

• A CV
• Personal Statement (750 words maximum) to include evidence of the essential criteria
• Communicating and Influencing

In the event of a high number of applications, the initial sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement only.

At interview, you will be asked to deliver a short presentation, with the topic and any supporting information shared in advance. You will also be assessed against the following Success Profile Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Further information:

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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